Norman Foster

Skyscrapers and Starchitects Coming Soon to Downtown San Francisco

Take a tour of the changes coming the to the Transbay District in San Francisco.

January 31, 2016 - San Francisco Chronicle

Not 'The One' and Done—Toronto Amidst a Skyscraper Building Boom

Toronto has been the hottest scene In North America for skyscrapers in recent years, leading to comparisons to New York of the 1920s. Here's a look at a new wave of expected skyscrapers in Toronto.

March 17, 2015 - Urban Toronto

London's Airports - The Ultimate Transit Orientated Development?

London's mayor, Boris Johnson, has long favoured the creation of a new airport in the Thames Estuary over expanding Heathrow. New claims of boosting house building in west London have generated further criticism.

April 2, 2014 - BBC News online

Philadelphia Skyscraper Rewrites the Corporate Headquarters Script

Comcast recently released designs for a $1.2 billion skyscraper in Downtown Philadelphia. The building’s potential starkly contrasts the suburban model of commercial office parks.

January 20, 2014 - Philadelphia Inquirer

Renderings Released for Elevated Cycling Superhighway in London

Sir Norman Foster has put forth plans for a 135-mile network of elevated cycle pathways dubbed "SkyCycle". In addition to its enormous price tag, the scheme faces practical concerns from cycling advocates.

January 2, 2014 - Daily Mail

Will Designs Placate Critics of NY Public Library Reno Plans?

Much has been written, both in favor and against, ambitious renovations planned for New York's landmark Public Library building on Fifth Avenue. Until this week, those opinions were written without the benefit of the architect's design concepts.

December 20, 2012 - The New York Times

Even 'Starchitects' Need a Good Pitch to Win

'Starchitects' compete for prime real estate in New York City, and selling their stuff isn’t as easy as one might think. See four famous architects in action as they pitch designs for a new office tower on Park Avenue.

December 15, 2012 - The Guardian U.K.

Political Squabbling Trumps Demands for a New London Airport

Where are the projected 400 million air travelers coming to London supposed to land? Prime Minister David Cameron is caught between two politically difficult choices for how to manage the projected growth in passengers.

August 30, 2012 - The New York Times

The Burden of Frederick Law Olmsted

Mark Hough laments the chronic, debilitating inferiority complex afflicting Landscape Architects and the crutch that Frederick Law Olmsted provides.

February 8, 2012 - THE DIRT

Colossal Airport Master Plan "Transcends Appearance"

Foster + Partners reveal a utopian transit master plan so massive that it requires us to consider it "on a level that transcends appearance." The design seeks to streamline connections to the rest of the world through subterranean engineering.

November 15, 2011 - The Atlantic

Kowloon Cultural District Takes Shape in Hong Kong

Office of Metropolitan Architecture, Foster + Partners, and Rocco Design Architects have each submitted plans for Kowloon's new cultural district to be built on reclaimed land.

August 28, 2010 - ASLA The Dirt

Buildings Alone Do Not Constitute Regeneration

The "Bilbao Effect" is the apotheosis of the notion that a struggling post industrial city can be regenerated through set-piece art and design. But Frank Gehry, the architect of the Guggenheim, suspects the gallery was only part of a larger gestalt.

June 23, 2010 - Financial Times

Islamic Holy City Mecca May Get Starchitect Redesign

Big-name architects -- including Norman Foster and Zaha Hadid -- have reportedly been tapped to be part of a team of designers tasked with redesigning the Islamic holy city of Mecca and its mosque.

December 2, 2008 - The Architects' Journal

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.