10 Norman Foster quotes
as young architects and students it is fundamental to look for inspiration from the great minds in architecture. this will help us understand the way of thinking of our favorite—or least favorite—architects, getting a glimpse of the thoughts that conceived the great buildings of all time. for this reason I have created this series of famous architect quotes where I will be posting weekly a few famous—and not so much— phrases about architecture from different names within the field.
this time it is the turn of Sir. Norman Foster, one of the most reputable architects living today, a Pritzker Prize winner and an aircraft enthusiast. let’s take a peek into his mind through 10 quotes and learn about his thought and design process. enjoy!
“I think you never stop learning.” - Norman Foster
2. “Every time I’ve flown an aircraft, or visited steelworks, or watched a panel-beater at work, I’ve learned something new that can be applied to buildings.” - Norman Foster
3. “Anything that reduces fuel consumption and cuts down on greenhouse gasses is good news.” - Norman Foster
4. “I travel continuously, and I see many cities, but there is nowhere like London.” - Norman Foster
5. “I describe the design process as like the tip of the iceberg. What you don’t see is the long haul: all the endless auditing and things like that.” - Norman Foster
7. “As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.” - Norman Foster
8. “Since Stonehenge, architects have always been at the cutting edge of technology.” - Norman Foster
9. “ I’m not a creature of habit. I like to find things from unexpected sources.” - Norman Foster
10. “We now think it hilarious that medieval streets were used as open sewers. Equally, our descendants will say: You won’t believe this, but people were once allowed to hurl a couple of tons of dangerous metal around smashing into each other.” - Norman Foster
i hope you found these quotes took your mind someplace new and that you have found the inspiration you were looking for in Sir. Foster’s words of wisdom. let me know in the comments below if you would like me to do any architect in particular in the upcoming posts of this series. thanks for reading and have a good one!