We continue our high-tech architecture series by looking at Norman Foster, the architect of high-tech highlights for five decades including Reliance Controls in the 1960s, the Sainsbury Centre in the 1970s, HSBC in the 1980s, Stansted Airport in the 1990s and the Gherkin in the 2000s.
For all its radical concepts and early experiments, high-tech architecture's enduring legacy is as the sleek style of globalisation and rampant late capitalism ? of corporate headquarters, airports, conference centres and, more recently, that of spaceports.
One of the most important practices behind the spread of this type of architecture ? the creator of the originals that have spawned so many spin-offs ? has undoubtedly been that of British architect Foster, propelled to household-name status through a global expansion and lauding of awards and titles virtually unprecedented in UK architecture. Built in the 1980s, the HSBC Building in Hong Kong was the most expensive building in the world. Photo is by Ian Lambot
With this came the emergence of the contemporary starchitect or celebrity architect, and the idea of the lone, usually male genius, which while weakened still lingers today.
Foster's image was as finely-tuned as his buildings: global travel ? along with planes, skiing, marathon-running and turtle-neck jumpers ? are central to the mythos, built up over decades and packaged in the almost hagiographic 2010 documentary How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr Foster", but the beginning...