Foster + Partners is the London-based architecture firm founded in 1967 by the British architect Lord Norman Foster — Pritzker Prize laureate 1999, AIA Gold Medal 1994, two-time Stirling Prize winner, life peer of the House of Lords. One of the most prolific and consequential contemporary international architectural practices, the firm has substantive New York work including the Hearst Tower (2006), 100 East 53rd Street (2018), and 50 Hudson Yards (2022). The practice operates globally with approximately 1,500 staff and continues under Lord Foster's design leadership.
The London-based architecture firm founded in 1967 by the British architect Lord Norman Foster — Pritzker Prize laureate 1999, AIA Gold Medal 1994, two-time Stirling Prize winner, life peer of the House of Lords. One of the most prolific and consequential contemporary international architectural practices, with substantive New York work including the Hearst Tower (2006), 100 East 53rd Street (2018), and 50 Hudson Yards (2022).
At a glance
| Founded | 1967 (originally as Foster Associates) |
| Founder | Lord Norman Foster (Baron Foster of Thames Bank; b. 1935, Stockport, England) |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Staff | Approximately 1,500 globally |
| Pritzker Architecture Prize | 1999 (Norman Foster) |
| AIA Gold Medal | 1994 |
| RIBA Royal Gold Medal | 1983 |
| Stirling Prize | 1998 (American Air Museum, Duxford); 2004 (30 St Mary Axe / "The Gherkin"); 2018 (Bloomberg London) |
| Praemium Imperiale | 2002 |
| Major NYC work | Hearst Tower (2006); 100 East 53rd Street (2018); 50 Hudson Yards (2022) |
Why Foster + Partners matters
Foster + Partners is, by substantive consensus across the contemporary architectural profession and the broader public discourse, among the two or three most consequential international architectural practices of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Founded in 1967 in London by Norman Foster (now Lord Foster of Thames Bank, life peer of the House of Lords following his 1999 appointment), the firm has developed across approximately sixty years of Foster's continuing personal leadership into one of the largest and most-prolific architectural practices in the world, with substantial completed work across the cultural, civic, commercial, residential, transportation, and infrastructure building categories on every populated continent.
Foster's distinction within the contemporary architectural profession is structural. His career — anchored by the early-career collaboration with Richard Rogers and other principals of the British high-tech architectural movement, the substantial subsequent international commission pool, and the global recognition that the Pritzker Prize (1999), the AIA Gold Medal (1994), the RIBA Royal Gold Medal (1983), the two Stirling Prizes (1998, 2004), and the substantial subsequent honors including life peerage (1999) and Praemium Imperiale (2002) have anchored — places him among the small handful of architects whose individual practices have fundamentally shaped the global architectural register across the past several decades. The firm's architectural philosophy — articulated by Foster across his continuing practice — has consistently emphasized the substantive integration of architectural design with environmental performance, structural engineering innovation, the substantial use of computational and digital design methodology, and the substantive engagement with the building's role within the broader infrastructure-and-urban-design context.
For Manhattan residential buyers evaluating the firm's New York residential commission — 100 East 53rd Street — the architectural attribution is a substantive part of the building's structural premium. The firm's international architectural reputation, the substantive New York portfolio across the commercial, residential, and broader categories, and the specific architectural character of the firm's NYC residential commission together constitute a residential context that distinguishes the building from the broader contemporary inventory.
Founding and architectural philosophy
Norman Foster was born in Stockport, England, on June 1, 1935. He studied architecture at the University of Manchester School of Architecture, completing his undergraduate training in 1961, and continued at Yale University as a Master's student where he met Richard Rogers — the architectural collaboration with whom would substantively shape both architects' early careers. Following their Yale studies, Foster and Rogers (along with their respective spouses Wendy Cheesman and Su Brumwell) founded Team 4 in London in 1963 — the first architectural practice that anchored both architects' professional independence.
Team 4 dissolved in 1967, with Rogers and Foster establishing separate practices that have continued in parallel across the subsequent decades. Foster established Foster Associates in London in 1967 (subsequently renamed Sir Norman Foster and Partners, and now Foster + Partners), and developed across approximately sixty years into one of the largest architectural practices in the world.
The firm's architectural philosophy, articulated by Foster across his continuing practice, has emphasized several recurring themes that have distinguished the firm's work across its long history. The first is a substantive engagement with environmental performance — the firm's work, particularly across the past three decades, has consistently emphasized the substantive integration of environmental concerns (energy efficiency, natural ventilation, daylighting, the substantive engagement with the building's environmental context) into the building's design rather than as ancillary considerations addressed after the architectural form has been settled. The second is a substantive engagement with structural engineering innovation — the firm's work has consistently pushed the boundaries of structural-engineering practice, with substantial collaborations with leading structural engineers (Cecil Balmond, Arup, others) that have anchored the firm's substantive contributions to contemporary structural-architectural practice. The third is a substantive engagement with the building's role within broader infrastructure systems — the firm's airport projects, transportation infrastructure projects, and substantial master-planning commissions have routinely integrated the architectural design with the broader infrastructure systems that the building serves.
The combination of these themes has produced a body of work that has been substantially praised across the architectural press for its substantive engineering achievement and the consistent quality of the firm's substantial completed portfolio, and that has been substantially criticized in some quarters for the substantive size and commercial scale of the firm's practice — a criticism that the firm has continued to engage with as it has developed its substantial international commission pool.
Major works: international portfolio
The firm's international practice across approximately sixty years includes a substantial portfolio of completed work. The works listed below represent the firm's most-recognized commissions; the full body of work substantially exceeds this list.
Commercial and office
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Headquarters (Hong Kong, 1985). The firm's substantial early commercial commission — the headquarters tower for HSBC in central Hong Kong, with substantial structural expression on the building's exterior, was at completion among the most expensive buildings ever constructed and substantively anchored the firm's international architectural reputation.
Commerzbank Tower (Frankfurt, 1997). The firm's substantial Frankfurt commercial commission — at completion, the tallest building in Europe — with substantial sky-garden program integrated into the building's residential office tower form.
30 St Mary Axe / "The Gherkin" (London, 2003). The firm's substantial London commercial commission — the substantial cigar-form office tower that became the most-recognized contemporary London skyscraper. The building won the 2004 Stirling Prize.
Hearst Tower (New York, 2006). The firm's substantial New York commercial commission — the addition of a substantial 46-story office tower atop the historic 1928 Hearst Magazine Building at Eighth Avenue and 57th Street. The substantial diagrid structural exterior and the substantial retention of the historic building base anchored the building's contemporary New York architectural position.
Apple Park Campus (Cupertino, California, 2017). The firm's substantial commission for Apple's headquarters campus — the substantial circular "spaceship" building and the broader campus master plan. Steve Jobs's substantial personal engagement with the building's design (Jobs died in October 2011, six years before the building's completion) and the substantial subsequent completion under Tim Cook's leadership produced one of the most-discussed corporate-campus commissions of the contemporary period.
Bloomberg London (London, 2017). The firm's substantial London commercial commission for Bloomberg LP's European headquarters. The building won the 2018 Stirling Prize.
50 Hudson Yards (New York, 2022). The firm's substantial Hudson Yards commercial commission — the 58-story office tower at the southeastern edge of the Hudson Yards platform, anchoring BlackRock's headquarters and the broader Hudson Yards commercial program.
Cultural and civic
Reichstag Building Restoration (Berlin, 1999). The firm's substantial restoration of the German Parliament building, including the substantial new glass dome that has anchored Berlin's contemporary parliamentary identity.
Carré d'Art (Nîmes, France, 1993). The firm's substantial cultural commission in Nîmes — adjacent to the Roman Maison Carrée — with substantial galleries and educational program.
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (Norwich, 1978). One of the firm's early major institutional commissions.
British Museum Great Court (London, 2000). The firm's substantial covered courtyard at the British Museum, with a substantial geometrically-complex glass-and-steel roof structure.
Transportation and infrastructure
Stansted Airport (England, 1991). The firm's substantial airport terminal project that established the contemporary terminal-design vocabulary, with substantial integration of natural light and passenger flow systems.
Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 (Beijing, 2008). The firm's substantial Beijing airport terminal — at the time of its opening, the largest single terminal building in the world.
Hong Kong International Airport (Hong Kong, 1998). The firm's substantial airport project in Hong Kong, with substantial integration of the airport's program into the surrounding island infrastructure.
Millau Viaduct (France, 2004). The firm's substantial bridge commission — the substantial cable-stayed road bridge that crosses the Tarn Valley, at the time of its opening the tallest bridge in the world.
Residential
100 East 53rd Street (New York, 2018). The firm's substantial New York residential commission — covered in detail in the dedicated building guide. The 63-story residential tower at the corner of 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue represents the firm's principal Manhattan residential project of the contemporary period.
The firm's broader international residential portfolio includes substantial work in London, Hong Kong, Dubai, and other major international markets, with the residential portfolio operating substantially smaller relative to the firm's substantial commercial, cultural, and infrastructure portfolios.
The firm's New York portfolio
Foster + Partners' New York City portfolio is substantively concentrated in three substantial completed commissions across approximately twenty years.
Hearst Tower (2006) — the firm's principal commercial New York commission at Eighth Avenue and 57th Street, anchoring the Hearst Magazine headquarters with the substantial diagrid-structure addition atop the historic 1928 base building.
100 East 53rd Street (2018) — the firm's principal residential New York commission at the corner of 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue. The 63-story residential tower represents Foster's principal Manhattan residential work and the firm's substantial application of its architectural register to the contemporary New York luxury residential market.
50 Hudson Yards (2022) — the firm's substantial Hudson Yards commercial commission, anchoring BlackRock's headquarters as the principal commercial building on the southeastern edge of the Hudson Yards platform.
The firm's New York office, established to support the firm's substantial American commission pipeline, continues to operate as one of the firm's principal international offices alongside the London headquarters.
Working with Foster + Partners
The firm continues to accept substantial commissions globally, with Lord Foster continuing to lead the firm's design direction across the substantial international portfolio. The firm's commissions span the full substantial range of building typologies at substantial scale; the firm's residential commissions are substantively smaller relative to the substantial commercial, cultural, and infrastructure portfolios, with the New York 100 East 53rd commission representing the firm's principal residential built work of the contemporary period.
For buyers evaluating the firm's existing NYC residential commission — 100 East 53rd Street — the firm's architectural significance, the substantial NYC portfolio, and the specific architectural character of the residential building together constitute substantive components of the building's structural premium.
Considering a Foster + Partners-designed building?
The Roebling Team at Compass works the Manhattan trophy-tier new-development inventory as a structural element of our luxury practice. We publish this architect profile because Manhattan residential buyers and sellers deserve substantive intelligence about the firms whose work has shaped the contemporary inventory.
If you're considering a purchase or sale at 100 East 53rd Street or any of the broader contemporary new-development inventory anchored in significant contemporary architectural practice, a 30-minute consultation is the right starting point.
Corey Cohen, Principal The Roebling Team at Compass
646.939.7375 · c.cohen@compass.com
Run the numbers
Related buildings
- 100 East 53rd Street — the firm's principal Manhattan residential commission
Related guides
- New Development in Manhattan: The 2016–2026 Research Guide — the broader context for the period's inventory
- Co-op vs Condo in Manhattan — the ownership-structure framing for new-development purchases
- Foreign-Buyer Guide — relevant for the international buyer demographic that the firm's residential commission has attracted
This page reflects publicly available information on Foster + Partners' practice, the architectural press coverage of Lord Foster's career and the firm's major commissions, the firm's published portfolio, and The Roebling Team transaction experience with the firm's NYC residential inventory. The Roebling Team at Compass does not represent Foster + Partners or the firm's institutional, commercial, or residential commissioning clients. Specific project attributions, completion years, and current operational details should be confirmed independently. © 2026 The Roebling Team at Compass.
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