The Foster Studio - Exploring the City

Photo: Nigel Young/Foster and Partners
The British Museum

When the exhibition, Exploring the City, opens to the public on friday June 22 it will be the inaugural exhibition in the Wellcome Gallery and also the first major Museum exhibition in London devoted solely to the work of Foster and Partners.

The exhibition explores recurring themes that are interwoven throughout the urban work of the practice - past, present and future - their influence on the Great Court and a selection of current London projects. With a mixture of models, sketches, prototypes, interactive material and video, the exhibition promises to be a striking and dramatic insight into the work of the Studio.

Photo: Nigel Young/Foster and Partners
The Great Court - an upcoming arcspace feature

Four principle themes are explored: the use of daylight and lightweight roof structures through buildings such as the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and Stansted Airport; urban regeneration and the creation of public space at the Carré d'Art in Nîmes and the Music Centre at Gateshead; green issues pioneered by the studio are illustrated by the Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt and the Swiss Re Headquarters in the City of London; and finally, the revitalising of old buildings is explored through the Reichstag, the Sackler Galleries at the Royal Academy and the Great Court itself.

Photo: Kirsten Kiser
The Reichstag Berlin

A glimpse of some future civic building projects in London form the second part of the exhibition. These include the Headquarters for the Greater London Authority, Albion Wharf ? a major residential development, the new Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Bridge and the masterplan for the redesign of Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square and the surrounding areas.

Photo: Ken Kirkwood
The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

Photo: courtesy Foster and Partners
The Millennium Bridge

The exhibition is curated by Deyan Sudjic (editor of Domus and architecture correspondent for the Observer) and Patrick Uden (television producer).

Foster and Partners
The Foster studio has established an international reputation with buildings such as Stansted Airport, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, the Telecommunications Tower in Barcelona, the Bilbao Metro System and the Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt. The last few years have seen the completion of some of the Studio's most ambitious projects. The new international airport at Chek Lap Kok is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken and the rebuilding of the Reichstag in Berlin is politically and symbolically one of the most important architectural commissions of recent times. The year 2000 saw the opening of the Glasshouse at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and the Great Court at the British Museum.

The exhibition has been made possible by the generosity of Lady Sainsbury and the late Sir Robert Sainsbury. Bentley Systems has generously provided additional sponsorship for state-of-the-art CAD software. Sponsorship for lighting has been provided by ERCO and Nomos tables have been provided by Tecno Spa.

More: Foster





				Features
		Inaugural exhibition The Foster Studio Exploring the City The British Museum June 22 - October 7.
		Photo: Nigel Young/Foster and Partners The British Museum When the exhibition, Exploring the City, opens to the public on friday June 22 it will be the inaugural exhibition in the Wellcome Gallery and also the first major Museum exhibition in London devoted solely to the work of Foster and Partners. The exhibition explores recurring themes that are interwoven throughout the urban work of the practice - past, present and future - their influence on the Great Court and a selection of current London projects. With a mixture of models, sketches, prototypes, interactive material and video, the exhibition promises to be a striking and dramatic insight into the work of the Studio. Photo: Nigel Young/Foster and Partners The Great Court - an upcoming arcspace feature Four principle themes are explored: the use of daylight and lightweight roof structures through buildings such as the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts and Stansted Airport; urban regeneration and the creation of public space at the Carré d'Art in Nîmes and the Music Centre at Gateshead; green issues pioneered by the studio are illustrated by the Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt and the Swiss Re Headquarters in the City of London; and finally, the revitalising of old buildings is explored through the Reichstag, the Sackler Galleries at the Royal Academy and the Great Court itself. Photo: Kirsten Kiser The Reichstag Berlin A glimpse of some future civic building projects in London form the second part of the exhibition. These include the Headquarters for the Greater London Authority, Albion Wharf ? a major residential development, the new Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Bridge and the masterplan for the redesign of Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square and the surrounding areas. Photo: Ken Kirkwood The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts Photo: courtesy Foster and Partners The Millennium Bridge The exhibition is curated by Deyan Sudjic (editor of Domus and architecture correspondent for the Observer) and Patrick Uden (television producer). Foster and Partners The Foster studio has established an international reputation with buildings such as Stansted Airport, the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, the Telecommunications Tower in Barcelona, the Bilbao Metro System and the Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt. The last few years have seen the completion of some of the Studio's most ambitious projects. The new international airport at Chek Lap Kok is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken and the rebuilding of the Reichstag in Berlin is politically and symbolically one of the most important architectural commissions of recent times. The year 2000 saw the opening of the Glasshouse at the National Botanic Garden of Wales and the Great Court at the British Museum. The exhibition has been made possible by the generosity of Lady Sainsbury and the late Sir Robert Sainsbury. Bentley Systems has generously provided additional sponsorship for state-of-the-art CAD software. Sponsorship for lighting has been provided by ERCO and Nomos tables have been provided by Tecno Spa. More: Foster