Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, is an English architect and designer. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. His architectural practice Foster + Partners, first founded in 1967 as Foster Associates, is the largest in the United Kingdom, and maintains offices internationally. He is the president of the Norman Foster Foundation, created to 'promote interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations of architects, designers and urbanists to anticipate the future'. The foundation, which opened in June 2017, is based in Madrid and operates globally. Foster was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1999.
The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers and colloquially the KLCC Twin Towers, are an interlinked pair of 88-story supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at 451.9 metres. From 1998 to 2004, they were officially designated as the tallest buildings in the world until they were surpassed by the completion of Taipei 101. The Petronas Towers are the world's tallest twin skyscrapers and remained the tallest buildings in Malaysia until 2019, when they were surpassed by The Exchange 106. The Petronas Towers are a major landmark of Kuala Lumpur, along with the nearby Kuala Lumpur Tower and Merdeka 118, and are visible in many places across the city.
The Gherkin, formally 30 St Mary Axe and previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. It was completed in December 2003 and opened in April 2004. With 41 floors, it is 180 metres (591 ft) tall and stands on the sites of the former Baltic Exchange and Chamber of Shipping, which were extensively damaged in 1992 in the Baltic Exchange bombing by a device placed by the Provisional IRA in St Mary Axe, a narrow street leading north from Leadenhall Street.
The Lloyd's building is the home of the insurance institution Lloyd's of London. It is located on the former site of East India House in Lime Street, in London's main financial district, the City of London. The building is a leading example of radical Bowellism architecture in which the services for the building, such as ducts and lifts, are located on the exterior to maximise space in the interior.
St Helen's is a commercial skyscraper in London, United Kingdom. It is 118 metres (387 ft) tall and has 23 floors. The postal address is No. 1, Undershaft, though the main entrance fronts onto Leadenhall Street, in the City of London financial district.
122 Leadenhall Street, which is also known as the Leadenhall Building, is a 225-metre-tall (738 ft) skyscraper in central London. It opened in July 2014 and was designed by the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners; it is known informally as The Cheesegrater because of its distinctive wedge shape, similar to that of the kitchen utensil of the same name. It is one of numerous tall buildings recently completed or under construction in the City of London financial district, including 20 Fenchurch Street, 22 Bishopsgate and The Scalpel.
The Willis Building is a commercial skyscraper in London named after the primary tenant, Willis Group. It is located on Lime Street in the City of London financial district.
22 Bishopsgate, also known as Horizon 22, is a commercial skyscraper in London, England. Completed in 2020, it occupies a prominent site in Bishopsgate, in the City of London financial district, and stands at 278 m (912 ft) tall with 62 storeys. The project replaces an earlier plan for a 288 m (945 ft) tower named The Pinnacle, on which construction was started in 2008 but suspended in 2012 following the Great Recession, with only the concrete core of the first seven storeys. The structure was later subjected to a re-design, out of which it became known by its postal address, 22 Bishopsgate. It is the second tallest building in the United Kingdom and the seventeenth tallest building in Europe.
The Russia Tower was a skyscraper project planned for the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. It was started but eventually was cancelled due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008. It was replaced by the Neva Towers project.
Contemporary architecture is the architecture of the 21st century. No single style is dominant. Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new references and interpretations of traditional architecture to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. Some of these styles and approaches make use of very advanced technology and modern building materials, such as tube structures which allow construction of buildings that are taller, lighter and stronger than those in the 20th century, while others prioritize the use of natural and ecological materials like stone, wood and lime. One technology that is common to all forms of contemporary architecture is the use of new techniques of computer-aided design, which allow buildings to be designed and modeled on computers in three dimensions, and constructed with more precision and speed.
The Villa Magna Condominium Complex was an urban development that was planned to rise on a 2.5-acre (1.0-hectare) plot in Brickell, downtown Miami, Florida. It was approved in 2006 by the city council and the Federal Aviation Administration and construction was slated to begin in April 2007. The ending date was approximated to be late 2008 or early 2009; however, the housing crisis of the late 2000s halted the project. The project was revived as The Towers by Foster + Partners in 2016, after FAA approval of supertall heights. Done in the early 2020s the site was sold again to Citadel Group who planned a move to Miami from Chicago.
Deansgate Square, formerly known as Owen Street, is a residential skyscraper cluster on the southern edge of Manchester City Centre, England, consisting of four towers, the tallest of which is 201 metres (659 ft). The site is just south of Deansgate railway station and north of the Mancunian Way, bounded by Deansgate, Owen Street and the River Medlock. The towers sit at different angles to each other, with a slight bevel, or 'cut back', on each side of each building which ensures the towers catch the light at different times of day.
The tallest building in the world, as of 2024, is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The title of "world's tallest building" has been held by various buildings in modern times, including the Lincoln Cathedral in Lincoln, England, and the Empire State Building and the original World Trade Center, both in New York City.
1 Undershaft is a supertall skyscraper planned for the City of London financial district. The scheme is being developed by Aroland Holdings and designed by Eric Parry Architects. It is set to replace the St Helen's tower, and if built will share The Shard's status as the tallest skyscrapers in London and the United Kingdom.
Oceanwide Center is a mixed-use skyscraper complex on hold in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, California, consisting of two towers.
South Quay Plaza is a residential-led development under construction on the Isle of Dogs, London, England, within the borough of Tower Hamlets. It is being developed by Berkeley Group Holdings and was designed by architect Foster + Partners. The site of the development lies to the immediate north of Marsh Wall and to the immediate south of the financial district Canary Wharf. The entire development is scheduled for completion in 2028.
Varso or Varso Place is a neomodern office complex in Warsaw, Poland. It was designed by Foster + Partners and developed by HB Reavis. The complex features three buildings; the main one, Varso Tower, is the tallest building in Poland, the tallest building in the European Union, and the sixth-tallest building in Europe at 310 m (1,020 ft) in height. It was topped out in February 2021 and completed in September 2022, with the opening of the observation deck planned for summer 2025.
The Baltic Exchange bombing was an attack by the Provisional IRA on the City of London, Britain's financial centre, on 10 April 1992, the day after the General Election which re-elected John Major from the Conservative Party as Prime Minister. The one-ton bomb – concealed in a van and consisting of a fertiliser device wrapped with a detonation cord made from 100 lb (45 kg) of semtex – was the biggest bomb detonated on mainland Britain since World War II. The bombing killed three people, injured 91 others, and severely damaged the Baltic Exchange and its surroundings.
The Tulip was a 305-metre observation tower proposed to be constructed on 20 Bury Street in the City of London. The Tulip is a proposal by Brazilian billionaire Jacob Safra, of the Safra Group, the owner of the adjacent Gherkin building. The proposal was rejected on 11 November 2021.
