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15 arc 6.4 – CONTEMPORARY

ARCHITECTURE
6TH SEMESTER – P11

SIR NORMAN FOSTER

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His designs have many bold shapes and people are

fascinated by the dynamism of his buildings.
• Norman used natural light as an interacting medium
b/w
• man and nature.
• Foster Associates is famously known for "High -Tech
Architecture” that explores technological shapes and
ideas. He often uses off-site manufactured parts and
the repetition of modular elements.
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• ARCHITECTURAL PRINCIPLES
• ELEGANT MODERNISM

• Strength of size
• Curved lines
• Open planned
• Use of natural light
• Wide range of building materiails
• Attention to detail

• SOCIAL FOCUS
• Flexible Space
• Aims to create localized communities like Transportation ,Workshop,Shops ,Park
,recreation

• SUSTAINABILITY
• Green Power-Wind & Solar
• Energy saving measures
• Natural Ventilation
• Improved indoor air Quality
• Renewal Building materials
• Water conservation
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PHILOSOPHY
“THE BEST ARCHITECTURE COMES FROM A
SYNTHESIS OF ALL THE
ELEMENTS THAT SEPARATELY COMPRISE A
BUILDING…” - FOSTER

•The structure that holds it up;

•The services that allow it to work;
• The ecology of the building –
-Naturally ventilated, whether you can open the windows,
the quality of light;
•The materials used, their mass or their lightness;
•The character of the spaces;
•The relationship of the buildings to the skyline or streetscape;
•The way in which the building signals its presence in the city or the countryside.
•“The quality of our surroundings has a direct influence on the quality of our lives”.
•He believes that “Architecture is generated by the needs of people, both material and
spiritual”.
•The process of ‘reinvention’ distinguishes all of his work – past and present – and rests
on a duty to design well and to design responsibly – whether that is at the scale of an
airport or a door handle.
•He anticipated trends like energy conservation and ecological impacts, pioneering
design solutions that use totally renewable sources of energy and offer dramatic
reductions in CO2 emissions. Environmental awareness is an integral part of his design
as it evolves to meet the challenges of the next forty years

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1. HSBC Bank , Central Hong Kong

• The HSBC bank building
is the headquarters for
The Hong Kong and
Shanghai Banking
Corporation Limited in
Central Hong Kong.
• The previous HSBC
building was built in 1935
and pulled down to
make way for the
current bank building.

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• The building is 179-metres high with 47

floors and four basement levels.
• The main characteristic is its absence of
internal supporting structure.
• Foster's solution for the requirement to
build one million square feet in short time
span was to design a building whose
construction would rely on an exceptionally
high degree of off-site prefabrication.
• The need to build downwards and
upwards simultaneously led to the adoption
of a suspension structure, with pairs of
steel flagpoles arranged in bays.
• As a result, the building form is articulated
in a stepped profile of 3 individual towers,
respectively 36, 44 and 29, floors high,
which create floors of varying width and
depth and allow for garden terraces.

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• The most noticeable feature of the building are the eight groups
of 4 aluminum-clad steel columns, which rise from the
foundations up through the main structure, and the five levels of
triangular suspension trusses which are locked into these
flagpoles.
• Use of bridge engineering techniques: Eight large tubular steel
columns on two sides of the building, braced by rectangular beams,
act as bridge supports, with the floors suspended from them.
• The 5 groups of suspended floor levels from triangular suspension
trusses are seen clearly on the outside of the building.
• The inverted ‘V’ sections of the suspension trusses span the
structure at double-height levels giving the building much of its
distinctive character.
• At ground level, beneath the building, an open public area has
been created without any loss of office space.
• On entering this plaza the most prominent feature is the
spectacular atrium rising 170 feet through 11 levels of the
building. 12

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• The public banking areas are situated around the atrium and
are reached from the plaza by the longest freely supported
escalators.
• Open-plan offices surround the atrium, allowing staff to work
under natural light, while noise levels are controlled by means of
careful acoustic engineering.
• A distinguished feature is that natural sunlight is the major
source of lighting inside the building.
• At the top of the atrium is a row of giant mirrors.
• These form part of an innovative, computer-controlled sun-scoop
that reflects natural sunlight into the atrium and down to the plaza
helping to conserve energy.
• All internal walls are made up of movable partitions so that office
layouts can be changed and modified as required, without the need
for any structural alterations.

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• MATERIALS USED
• For off-site prefabrication:
• The structural steel came from Britain
• The glass & aluminum cladding and flooring from the USA
• The service modules from Japan.

• All these have been assembled together with a high degree of

precision.
• The emphasis on flexibility:
• All flooring is constructed from lightweight movable panels
made from the same material as that used for aircraft floors. The
panels covered with carpet tiles have a comprehensive network
of power, data, and telecommunication and air-conditioning
systems beneath them.

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SECTION ELEVATION 16
SKETCHES

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2.RENAULT DISTRIBUTION CENTRE

,ENGLAND
• The Centre was commissioned as the French car manufacturer’s main UK
distribution facility. In addition to warehousing, it includes a showroom, training
school, workshops, offices and a staff restaurant.
• Covered spaces were used for spare parts warehousing, visitor reception,
distribution and regional offices, vehicle showroom, after-sales maintenance
training, and staff dining.

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• It has brilliant yellow (Renault’s

corporate color); cable-stayed
tubular steel masts, that supports a
reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
membrane roof.
• Prefabricated rectangular building
was formed as a series of suspended
modules—42 in total—comprising
16m high masts, connected to pin-
jointed portal frames.

• Each module measured 24m x 24m

developed so as to maximize the
planning flexibility of the internal
spaces and is 7.5M high at the
edge and 9.5M in the center -
Allowing the Centre to
accommodate a range of uses from
industrial warehouse racking to its
subdivision into office floors.

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• As extensions were
required, modules could
be unbolted and new
ones added. Initially, 36
modules were devoted to
warehousing, the rest
located at the narrower
end of the site where the
building tapered to a
generous entry and Porte
cochere.
• Ample natural lighting was
achieved by clear glass
panels inserted where the
mast pierced the roof and
by a louvered roof light at
the apex of each module;
the louvers could be
opened for ventilation.

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Primarily a showroom - as signified by suspended car body shells - the gallery was used by
Renault as a popular venue for arts and social events, encouraging wider community
involvement in the building.
MATERIALS USED
Ample natural lighting was achieved by clear glass panels.
The innovative 288m long building which houses offices, a restaurant, showroom and training
center as well as warehouse space is supported by 360 Macalloy tendons with fork connectors
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QUOTES…

“THE BEST ARCHITECTURE COMES FROM A

SYNTHESIS OF ALL THE
ELEMENTS THAT SEPARATELY COMPRISE A
BUILDING…” - FOSTER

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CONCLUSION

•ENVIRONMENTALLY AWARE IN DESIGNS AND CREATES ECOLOGICALLY

SENSITIVE BUILDINGS.

•HE USES LINES TO FORM ORGANIC SHAPES.

SKELETON OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING IS VISIBLE TO THE EYE
RATHER THAN HIDING IT .

• MANY SPACES INSIDE ARE ENCLOSED IN GLASS AND ALMOST CAUSE

YOU TO FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE OUTSIDE.

•PUTS A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO-

HOW HIS DESIGNS WILL MAKE US FEEL ONCE YOU’RE INTERACTING
WITH THEM THROUGH THE USE OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS AND THE
SPACE OF AN AREA

•MANY OF HIS DESIGNS HAVE BEEN NAMED AS A“LANDMARK”

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