'Norman Foster - Architecture is About People'
October 25 to December 30, 2001
Museum of Applied Arts, Cologne
Following recent exhibitions of Foster and Partners' work at the British Museum in London and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen (until December 9), the Museum fur Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Arts) in Cologne presents a major retrospective survey entitled 'Norman Foster - Architecture is About People'.Beginning with early projects such as 'The Retreat' (1963) and the 'Waterfront Housing' in Cornwall (1964) the exhibition surveys Foster's entire body of work including current unbuilt projects. Rather than assessing the practice's work chronologically, the exhibition is arranged thematically, dealing with subjects such as mobility, communication, public space, ecology, technology and sociology. Norman's Foster's important friendship and professional relationship with Richard Buckminster Fuller is a special focus of the exhibition.
Social Ends - Technical Means
The social organisation of buildings - designed in response to a radical questioning of how people want to live and work - has led to the technological innovations of Foster's buildings.
Mobility and Communication
Norman Foster's fascination with flying is used as a metaphor to explore projects relating to travel, communications and infrastructure.
Connecting People - Public Spaces
The projects in this section illustrate themes of urban planning, high population density, mixed-use and the balance between public space and the private realm.
The Art of Making
This section is a combination of study room and workshop. Original early drawings are juxtaposed with five current projects, which illustrate the entire design and construction process.The recently opened Gerling Complex on the Friesenplatz acts as an annexe to the exhibition, allowing visitors to experience a real Foster building. The Gerling Insurance Group is the exhibition's main sponsor. Other corporate sponsors include Hochtief and ABB.
A catalogue accompanies the exhibition with essays by Dr. Susanne Anna, Graw Bckler, Tony Fitzpatrick, Oliver Hamm, Prof. Dr. Joachim Krausse, Jeremy Millar, Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Jochen Siegemund and Dr. Volker M. Welter.
