British studio Foster + Partners has showcased large-scale models of 14 built, or in-progress, skyscrapers at an exhibition in the lobby of the recently renovated Transamerica Pyramid.
The exhibition has highly detailed models of architectural projects carried out by the studio arranged on podiums in a small glass annexe behind the lobby of the Transamerica Pyramid.
According to studio founder Norman Foster, the skyscraper models ? which span from designs drafted by Foster during the 1960s to the present day ? demonstrate Foster + Partner's continued questioning of the "traditional tower".
Foster + Partners has showcased models of its skyscrapers in San Francisco
"Our own design history of towers is one of challenging convention," said Foster. "We were the first to question the traditional tower, with its central core of mechanical plant, circulation and structure, and instead to create open, stacked spaces, flexible for change and with see-through views."
The earliest of the skyscrapers, Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters, demonstrates this early approach with multiple envelopes and voids on the facade.
It showcases skyscrapers from throughout Norman Foster's career
The models on show range in detail and scale, though most show the skyscrapers as they looked upon completion.
The tallest of all the models are two different versions of the in-progress 1,388-foot-tall (423 meter) 270 Park Avenue skyscraper, set to be the headquarters for ban...