Foster + Partners showcases models of 14 skyscrapers that "challenge convention"

British studio Foster + Partners has showcased large-scale models of 14 built, or in-progress, skyscrapers at an exhibition in the lobby of the recently renovated Transamerica Pyramid.

The exhibition has highly detailed models of architectural projects carried out by the studio arranged on podiums in a small glass annexe behind the lobby of the Transamerica Pyramid.

According to studio founder Norman Foster, the skyscraper models – which span from designs drafted by Foster during the 1960s to the present day – demonstrate Foster + Partner's continued questioning of the "traditional tower".

"Our own design history of towers is one of challenging convention," said Foster.

"We were the first to question the traditional tower, with its central core of mechanical plant, circulation and structure, and instead to create open, stacked spaces, flexible for change and with see-through views."

The earliest of the skyscrapers, Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters, demonstrates this early approach with multiple envelopes and voids on the facade.

The models on show range in detail and scale, though most show the skyscrapers as they looked upon completion.

The tallest of all the models are two different versions of the in-progress 1,388-foot-tall (423 meter) 270 Park Avenue skyscraper, set to be the headquarters for bank JP Morgan in New York.

One of the models shows the structural elements of the skyscraper rendered in white, while the other shows the skyscraper, which Foster + Partners said will run on all electric energy, as it will appear on completion.

Foster said that the movement of mechanical systems out from the centre of the building allowed for further evolutions of the skyscraper form.

"This led to a further evolution with the first-ever series of 'breathing' towers," he said.

"In the quest to reduce energy consumption and create a healthier and more desirable lifestyle, we showed that a system of natural ventilation, moving large volumes of fresh, filtered air, could be part of a controlled internal climate."

Other pieces that demonstrate the studio's work include models of Deutsche Bank Place in Sydney, the Millenium and Century skyscrapers in Tokyo, and 30 St Mary Axe in London, known as The Gherkin.

The selected projects show the breadth of works designed by Foster and his studio as they changed over the years and the international scope.

Models of the National Bank of Kuwait, Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt, and the Hearst Tower in New York were also included.

The exhibition was launched to celebrate the recent renovation of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, of which there is also a model.

Other showcases of architectural models include an exhibition showing the work of Chinese studio Neri&Hu in Berlin and a thematic exhibition that showed models by Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao in Denmark.

The photography is by Nigel Young. 

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