Norman Foster

Topics Year 2/3
This unit is part of Meet the Artists Architects

Objectives

Art and Design

  • Develop techniques with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of design.
  • Improve drawing techniques.
  • Learn about great architects in history.

Geography

  • Locate the world’s countries, using maps, concentrating on key human characteristics, countries, and major cities.

Design and Technology

  • Design innovative, functional, appealing, fit for purpose products aimed at particular groups.
  • Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through discussion, annotated sketches, and cross-sectional diagrams.
  • Consider the views of others to improve their work.
  • Understand how key individuals in Design and Technology have helped shape the world.

Lesson Planning

Discover the incredible work of Foster and explore the wide ranging buildings he has designed around the world. Identify his style and influences and create your own architectural design for a corporate building using Foster’s style and technique as an influence.

Teaching Outcomes:

  • To learn about the life and work of Norman Foster.
  • To create an elevation drawing of an imagined building.
  • To find locate cities on a world map where specific Foster buildings are.
  • To design & draw an architectural drawing of a commercial building.

Children will:

  • Explore Foster’s building designs, identifying style and influences, and locate them on a world map.
  • Sketch an elevation drawing of an imagined corporate building.
  • Design a corporate building that reflects an everyday object and name it as such, using Foster’s style.

Provided Resources

  • Print outs of Foster buildings and of the Gherkin with elevations and plans
  • Norman Foster photo
  • Building briefs
  • Architectural drawings presentation

You Will Need

  • World map
  • Paper
  • Pencils
  • Ruler
  • Compass
  • Squared paper