A Norman Foster Retrospective Debuts at Centre Pompidou in Paris

Norman Foster Retrospective, the most significant exhibition of Foster’s work encompassing his whole career throughout the last six decades, debuted recently. The exhibition will be held in the Center Pompidou in Paris, witnessing the presence of Center Pompidou President Laurent Le Bon and French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak.

The roughly 2,200 square meter exhibition spans the architect’s career, showcasing key moments and landmarks like the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation headquarters (Hong Kong, 1979–1986), the Carré d’Art (Nîmes, 1984–1993), the Hong Kong International Airport (1992–1998), and the Apple Park (Cupertino, United States, 2009–2017). Norman Foster created the retrospective, which will run from May 10 to August 7, 2023. Foster + Partners and the Norman Foster Foundation will also work together to carry it out.

©Foster + Partners

Norman Foster Retrospective’s Themes

The Norman Foster retrospective at Centre Pompidou was planned by Frédéric Migayrou, the Deputy Director of the MNAM-CCI (Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre de Création Industrielle), and examines the architect’s work through a selection of seven themes: Nature and Urbanity; Skin and Bones; Vertical City; History and Tradition; Planning and Place; Networks and Mobility and Future.
As Norman Foster put it into words, “The concepts of future-thinking and long-term sustainability are explored here. The concept first emerged in the 1960s, around the same time people realized the world was in peril. The seeds of what would become known as “The Green Movement” were being planted at this time. Although these ideas are now commonplace, they were a breakthrough fifty years ago because they predicted the world as it is today. Over the years, we have worked to defy norms, create innovative types of buildings, and show how a naturalistic, airy, and joyful approach to construction is possible without sacrificing sustainability.”

©Foster + Partners

Visitors can explore 130 key projects through illustrations, sketches, original scale models, models, and several films. The Norman Foster retrospective opens with a drawing gallery including graphics, pictures, and other works never exhibited in France. Foster’s architecture is illustrated through an exhibition of pieces by artists such as Fernand Léger, Constantin Brancusi, Umberto Boccioni, and Ai Weiwei, as well as industrial products such as light aircraft and many historic automobiles.

©Foster + Partners

A 264-page brochure featuring 80 of the architect’s most notable works is available alongside the massive Norman Foster Retrospective at Centre Pompidou. In this documentation, Foster presents his earliest inspirations, ideas completed with Richard Buckminster Fuller, and additional sketches and designs throughout three portfolios. Designed and edited by the exhibition’s curator Frédéric Migayrou, this volume is available from Editions du Centre Pompidou.

©Foster + Partners

Finally, the Bloomberg Connects app would offer a free digital tour of the Norman Foster Retrospective. Visitors can get Norman Foster’s descriptions of each segment by scanning QR codes with their cellphones and tablets. They can explore many projects by accessing unseen films, sketches, and 360-degree virtual reality experiences.

©Foster + Partners

Exhibition Details:

Name: Norman Foster Retrospective
Location: Galerie 1, Niveau 6, Centre Pompidou, Paris
Curated by: Frédéric Migayrou
Date: May 10, 2023 – August 7, 2023
Support for this show has been provided by: Bloomberg, J.P. Morgan, JCDecaux, SHVO, Goppion, Empty, Hearst Corporation, Frontiers, Bodegas Faustino, ACCIONA, and Serzhan Zhumashov.
With the support of: G.A.I, POHL / New Hudson Façades, Waagner Biro, Linda Cheung, and Flossie Chang