2. INTRODUCTION
Norman Foster was born in Manchester, England in 1935.
He entered Manchester University school of Architecture
and city Planning when he was 21(1956) and graduated in 1961.
Later he got a fellowship at Yale School of Architecture,
and completed his masters under Richard Rogers, also his future
business partner.
Foster Associates (now known as Foster and Partners) was
founded in 1967 and now has offices in London,
Berlin, and Singapore, with over 500 employees worldwide.
Foster and Partners has received over 190 awards and has won
over 50 national international competitions.
3. DESIGN 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 were light in mass.
• 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”.
• He anticipated trends like energy conservation and ecological impacts, and
used design solutions that use totally renewable sources of energy and offer
dramatic reductions in CO2 emissions.
4. DESIGN ELEMENTS.
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 HIS DESIGNS.
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”
5. RENAULT DISTRIBUTION CENTER
LOCATION: Swindon, England
CLIENT: RENAULT UK LTD
CONSTRUCTION: 1980-982
HEIGHT: 10m
CAPACITY: 250
AREA: 63,000 sqm
6. DESCRIPTION
The Renault Centre has been described as the practices most playful structure.
The centre was commissioned as the French car manufacturers main UK distribution
facility.
In addition to warehousing it includes a showroom, training school, workshops, offices
and staff restaurants.
Supportive local planners increased their size development from 50% to 67% allowing
the footprint area to be 25,000sqm.
• This is housed within a single enclosure supported by a brightly coloured
tubular mass and arched steel beams that contrasts the green landscape.
• This expansive horizontal span is combined with an internal clear span of
7.5m.
• Enveloped by a continuous PVC membrane roof, pierced by glass panels
at each mast, the building is also stepped at one end, narrowing to a
single open bay that forms a porte-cochere alongside a double height
gallery.
10. CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE
• Steel was used as the main part of the structure.
• The structure has smoke vent on the top.
• There is glass glazing to the roof for natural lighting.
• There is a cladding of interchangeable glass panels.
