SDMA | Foster + Partners: Architecture of Light and Space

October 19, 2024–April 27, 2025

“It is a quest for an architecture of light and lightness, inspired by nature which is about the quality of life as well as being eco-friendly.”

—Norman Foster

Norman Foster (British, b. 1935), is one of the most esteemed international architects of our time, with projects worldwide. Among innumerable accolades, he was awarded the prestigious Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1999.

This installation focuses on models and designs for a select few of his many celebrated projects, organized into three themes: Working with History; Embracing the Environment, and Community and Culture. All these subjects are underpinned by sustainability, and crucial to Foster + Partners’ vision for an upcoming renovation of The San Diego Museum of Art west wing.

Foster studied architecture in Manchester, England, before winning a fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture in 1961, where he met Richard Rogers, with whom he traveled throughout the United States for a year. The influence of architecture in California, especially the Case Study Houses (modern housing focused in Southern California, 1945–66), would be pivotal in the formation of Foster’s aesthetic—particularly in consideration of open plan, flexible, and multifunctional spaces. Foster, along with Rogers and the sisters Georgie and Wendy Cheesman, formed the innovative practice Team 4 in 1963, and they approached architectural design using environmentally and structurally sophisticated technologies that freed interior space to be socially focused, connected to the environment, and filled with light. A veteran of the Royal Air Force, and an avid pilot, Foster and his now global team of architects at Foster + Partners often incorporate open architectural plans with expansive natural lighting and optimal views integrating the surrounding sky and landscape.

In embracing change, both social and technological, Foster + Partners have challenged convention to reinvent the built environment, from the workspace and urban landscape, as well as merging modernity with a sensitive appreciation and renewal of historic structures. Theirs is a quest for an architecture of light, inspired by nature, and centered on community life while spearheading innovation in environmental sustainability. Today the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid leads work on clean sources of energy with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is collaborating with the United Nations for the reconstruction of the war-torn Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Referring to exhibitions not as retrospectives but as “futurspectives,” Foster explains his practice is “an ongoing exploration for works that are inspired by the past, rooted in the present but can adapt to the needs and desires of an optimistic future.”

The San Diego Museum of Art has announced the selection of Foster + Partners to renovate the Museum’s west wing to increase exhibition space, further enrich the public’s engagement with art and programming, improve accessibility, and better integrate the west wing with the Museum’s main structure, all while respecting the architectural style and historical significance of Balboa Park. The renovation project aims to create a new education center, a public pavilion connecting visitors to art and the outdoors, and a new rooftop space providing panoramic views of Balboa Park. Learn more about The San Diego Museum of Art’s west wing renovation.

This exhibition is made possible with the collaboration of the Norman Foster teams in London, Madrid, and Los Angeles, and coincides with the designation of the San Diego/Tijuana region as the 2024 World Design Capital.