Hearst Tower, Foster + Partners

KEYNOTE: This book follows the evolution of the Hearst Tower in New York City from first sketches through to completion, as designed and executed by Foster + Partners. Hearst Tower revives a dream from the 1920s, when the publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst commissioned a six-storey Art Deco building on Eighth Avenue, anticipating that it would one day form the base for a tower. The challenge in designing such a tower was to establish a dialogue between old and new, and in the process create something fresh. The tower's distinctive facetted silhouette--unique on the Manhattan skyline--is complemented by a lobby conceived on the scale of a bustling town square. Occupying the entire floor plate of the old building, this space provides access to all parts of the tower and a social focus for the Hearst community. This is a monograph that will appeal to all those interested in architecture and design. AUTHOR: Norman Foster is the Founder and Chairman of Foater + Partners. He was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1999 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2002; and in 2009 he became the twenty-ninth laureate of the Prince of Austrias Award for Arts. Joseph Giovannini is an architectural designer, critic, and writer. ILLUSTRATIONS 90 illustrations