David Nelson

Senior Executive Partner, Head of Design

RCA (MA)

David Nelson is a Senior Executive Partner, Head of Design and a member of the Design Board, a position he has held since 2004. Throughout his long career with Foster + Partners, he has played a key role in shaping its creative and operational direction. He has been involved in some of the practice’s most recognisable buildings, from the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters to Apple Park in Cupertino, as well as high profile projects in China, Singapore and Korea. As a member of the Design Board, David has an overview of every project. Each one benefits from the collective knowledge and expertise of Foster + Partners’ architects and specialist teams. The Design Board is at the heart of the design process, guiding and supporting teams, questioning, maintaining quality and focusing the practice’s collective experience at all stages. His understanding of the studio’s evolution, his open, collaborative mindset and continued leadership role has made David a key figure in Foster + Partners’ evolution; he also brings a global perspective, gained from living in Hong Kong and travelling extensively to construction sites and projects across the world.

David Nelson

In this studio our Specialist Design Services enhance the well-established role of what an architectural team has to achieve. Combining evermore diverse skills into the development of projects enriches and adds grateful meaning to everything we do continual development of shared experience is crucial.

Reichstag, New German Parliament

1999

Carré d'Art

1992

McLaren Technology Centre

2004

Thames Hub

2011

The Troika

2011

Bilbao Metro

1995

Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building

2006

Apple Westlake, Hangzhou

2015

Supreme Court Singapore

2005

Nanshan Technology Finance City

2019

Masdar City

2014

Center for Clinical Science Research, Stanford University

2000

Budenberg Haus, Urban Splash

2005

EY Headquarters

2008

Addition to Joslyn Art Museum

1994

Elephant House, Copenhagen Zoo

2008

Yacht Club de Monaco

2014

Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

1978

California State University Channel Islands

2008

Canary Wharf Underground Station

1999

The Corniche

2019

Jameson House

2011

Masdar Institute

2015

Cathay Pacific Lounges, Hong Kong International Airport

2013

Deutsche Bank Place

2005

Red Dot Design Museum

1997

Buenos Aires Ciudad Casa de Gobierno

2015

Shanghai Jiushi Corporation

2001

50 United Nations Plaza

2015

ME London

2013