An exhibition on the work of the internationally renowned integrated design firm Foster + Partners opens at the UQAM Centre de Design on February 8. Fostering Society: Foster + Partners, one of the Centre’s most ambitious exhibitions to date, will focus on the achievements of the London-based global firm, as well as its advances in sustainable development long before the term became a regular part of the architectural vocabulary.
Running until April 15, the exhibition will cover the history of a firm founded in 1967 by Lord Norman Foster — who still heads the office today. Foster + Partners works on every aspect of design, from concept to realization and from architecture to industrial and urban design. For the past 50 years, Foster + Partners has consistently demonstrated a commitment to making the ‘human element’ central to its projects.
Foster + Partners has been a pioneer in sustainable development and environmental responsibility in both the design and the realization of its projects. Lord Foster strongly believes that environmental quality affects the users’ quality of life. The firm was demonstrably ahead of its time, installing a green roof at the Willis Faber and Dumas Headquarters, Ipswich, in 1975, and creating the world’s first environmentally friendly high-rise for Commerzbank, Frankfurt in 1997.
Research and innovation have always been paramount to achieving this standard of sustainable and human development. Another feature of the firm is its collective approach to the work, involving professionals from each discipline (architects, engineers, etc.) from the beginning of the design process.
The exhibition will kick off with a lecture on February 8. Delivered by Senior Executive Partner and Head of Studio Nigel Dancey, The New International Airport of Mexico City address will draw on the firm’s history while looking to the future through the lends of one of the largest construction projects in Latin America.
The exhibit will be held at UQAM’s Centre de Design, at 1440 Sanguinet in central Montreal. The Centre de Design is open Wednesday to Sunday, noon to 6 pm. Admission is free.