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Norman Foster, a giant in the world of architecture, has added a new honor to his list of awards: the Philip Hanson Hiss Award, presented by Saraso Awarded by Tower Architects in recognition of local principles including innovative and environmentally friendly design. Foster, who heads international firm Foster + Partners, is the second winner after last year’s winner, architect Toshiko Mori. The annual award is named for a local civic leader who reshaped Sarasota in the mid-20th century to emerging architects of the day such as Paul Rudolph and Tim Siebert platform.
Last month, Foster traveled to the coastal Florida city to receive the award in person, giving an hour-long speech to a packed ballroom at the Art Ovation Hotel one night and formally presenting the award at a dinner at the hotel the next night. The Revere Quality House, designed by one of his mentors, Rudolph, in collaboration with Ralph Twitchell. “It’s a pleasure to win an award on behalf of the team and to raise awareness of the importance of architecture, especially in Sarasota, where Paul Rudolph designed so many incredible buildings,” said Foster. gallery. “I went to Yale because of Rudolph and because of the work he did here. He was a rare combination of a good teacher and a brilliant architect.”
Rudolph designed a series of modernist homes in the area, including the Umbrella House and the Cocoon House, and became a pioneer in what would become known as the Sarasota School of Architecture. “His work is very much a response to Florida’s climate,” said Foster. His own work has been praised for its clever complementing of various environments.
For example, Foster’s Hearst Tower, completed in 2006, took advantage of its urban location in the middle of Manhattan by repurposing the existing cast limestone facade as the basis for a translucent skyscraper with distinctive diagrid Architectural pattern, the overall glass consumption is reduced by 20%. Meanwhile, Apple’s 64-acre corporate campus on the outskirts of Cupertino is so low-rise it’s been dubbed a “skyscraper” and features one of the world’s largest solar roofs, among many other eco-friendly elements.
Since founding the firm in 1967, Foster has played a leading role in the rise of cutting-edge sustainable architecture—even if it wasn’t called “green” at the time. “All the projects we did at the beginning were hugely influenced by this new awareness of the fragility of the planet,” he reflects. “The architecture I was promoting at the time was very much an architectural response. Not all of the projects were built, but the early projects were all about recycling, natural ventilation, turning waste into fertilizer, etc.”
Foster’s current projects around the world include the J.P. Morgan Chase headquarters at 270 Park Avenue, which at 1,388 feet will be New York’s tallest building powered entirely by hydroelectric power. “I think the way the building lands and the way the structure fans out allows the building to accommodate four times the population of the original building that was demolished,” he said. “But it creates 2.5 times more public space than at ground level.” Even in the company’s 60th year, Foster remains determined to make more money with less.
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