Gizmodo: norman foster

Inside the Mind of Norman Foster

Jesus Diaz — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 15:30:01 EDT

I love architecture. And art too. That's why I like this gallery of sketches by Sir Norman Foster. It's fascinating to see his evolution, and how his art turns into formidable buildings, which seem to come from The Future.

[El País—Thanks Waleska]

Planned 49-Story Vegas Hotel Gets Kneecapped to 28 Floors Because of Construction Fail

Brian Lam — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 18:00:41 EST

A hotel designed by famous architect Lord Norman Foster will be cut down to little more than half of its intended design because of improperly installed rebar on 15 floors.

The hotel, called the Harmon, was just essentially "kneecapped." What did they do, take an X-acto knife across the blueprints? You have to wonder what Foster thinks of all this. [LasVegasSun via BLDGBLOG]

World's Biggest Building Coming To Moscow: Looks Like It Will Be Christmas Year-Round

Sean Fallon — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 18:00:07 EST

Christmas may be over, but if designer Sir Norman Foster has his way, everyone in Moscow will be staring at a 1500-ft-tall, 27 million square foot, $4 billion dollar Christmas tree every day of the year. The structure, dubbed "Crystal Island," is being described as a "city within a building" and will feature 900 apartments, 3000 hotel rooms, an international school for 500 students, cinemas, a theater, a sports complex and more.

And because the developers are obviously all about being economical and eco-friendly, the building will generate electricity using exterior solar panels and wind turbines. It will also save money on heating using dynamic enclosure panels that can be adjusted to allow sunlight to enter deep into the structure. I'm sure that will offset the rage that many locals would feel if this ridiculous behemoth actually made it from concept to reality—which could come as early as 2012-13 [Times via Inhabitat]