In Search of the Global Architect: the Case of Norman Foster (and Partners)

Donald McNeill

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2005, vol. 29, issue 3, 501-515

Abstract: The figure of the global architect is often quoted in public discourse but loosely used. This article focuses on Norman Foster, the prolific British architect, and seeks to examine his successful exploitation of the processes of architectural globalization. Yet it also seeks to unravel the varying meanings of Foster — as ‘creative’ individual, as visual design style, and as architectural practice or firm. To illustrate this, I consider the architect in multiple ways: as an individual creative designer within an increasingly globalized architectural ‘star system’; through his corporeal presence at various stages of project design or commissioning; as the manager and leader of a design process and studio; and through a discussion of the relationship between ‘signature’ and brand, questioning the nature of authorship in contemporary architectural production. L’architecte planétaire est souvent mais imprécisément évoqué dans le discours public. En se consacrant au prolifique architecte britannique Norman Foster; cet article examine son exploitation pertinente des processus de mondialisation architecturale, tout en démêlant les sens que revêt Foster — individu créatif, style de conception visuel, et exercice ou cabinet d’architecte. Pour ce faire, l’homme est observé de plusieurs façons: comme concepteur créatif particulier dans un ‘star system’ d’architectes toujours plus mondialisé; à travers sa présence physique à divers stades de conception ou de réception du projet; en tant que dirigeant et chef de file d’un processus et d’un studio de création; et via une discussion sur le rapport entre ‘signature’ et marque, mettant en doute la paternité des productions architecturales contemporaines.

Date: 2005
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