SIR NORMSN FOSTER - A LEGEND

After some research on the web, I came across a birthday wish.... Sir Norman Foster has turned 75 today. Here is a recap for those whom don't know or remember him - He was born on the 1st of June 1935.
In 1963 he and three partners started an architectural firm and named it TEAM 4, however the firm did not last long and it was dissolved with each of them heading their separate ways. Foster and Wendy Cheesman (a former partner of TEAM 4) teamed up and founded Foster and Associates, this later became the FOSTER + PARTNERS.

Here are just a few amazing works by which I'm sure you would have come across:

GLA Building, London, UK


Chep Lap Kok Airport, Hong Kong.

The Gherkin, London, UK.

Hearst Tower, New York, USA

SKY CITY - Tokyo, Japan

I recently watched a documentary on Tokyo's new proposal to develop a new housing scheme.

The reason: there is simply no more land to build on...so instead of building across (horizontally) they have had to propose building upwards (vertically).

Architects and town planners have planned a radical new move that would change the lives of people 10 to even 100 years from now. This new proposed mega structure will top the worlds highest building twice. Its is estimated to stand 2/3rd's of a mile high nearly 1 km in height!

The tower (Sky City) will comprise of 14 intermediate levels each with 10 floors.

Basically a self contained city where there is no need to set foot on mother earth. There will be condos, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels etc... with a green space in the centre, all connected to a state of the art new transportation system.

There are a few major underlying problems that will need to be addressed, ie: Tokyo has a very soft soil and to reach a hard surface, they would have to excavate nearly 800 metres - this obviously is no solution so they would rather use thousands of friction piles to create a steadfast foundation. Another factor 'earthquakes'... these can cause immense damage. The image below is an artists impression -

The designers estimate the tower to house 135 000 people, with the tower weighing in at 6 000 000 tons... The base of the structure (foot print) will be approximately 30 acres in size. Japan consider tress to be sacred, hence the incorporation of the central parks through out the design - the green space doubles up as a fire barrier in case of a disaster.

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NEW LOCALLY AVAILABLE PRODUCTS

As students we generally keep our specifications constant through our years at the university. Most of the time we specify products that are not locally available, and in the industry this could result in your client carrying the HIGH costs.

I did some research and consulted with a local company SPECIFYING DYNAMICS to find out more on local products. Their sole purpose to promote their clients products and where possible they aid architectural firms with the necessary specifications.

As students we are quick to jump onto the world wide web (www) or Auto Spec for that matter to specify products...right? OK but ill repeat - LOCAL. How and where can we get information on local products - myself and the university are currently organising a school lecture for next semester where SPECIFYING DYNAMICS will be addressing us on their clients products and a display board will be on show for two weeks at a time and a catalogue will be made available to the students in boardroom on the mezzanine level.

When it comes to roofing, we would generally specify Brownbuilt for example, but i was made aware of a new company stretching their market from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. They offer a wide range of colours etc... but what caught my attention was the way in which their new sheeting profile is fixed to a structure. The system is perfectly suited for the windy conditions we face in PE. Click on the ARONA link and browse their site, its a definite competitor in the market : http://www.aronaroofing.co.za