AllMovie

Norman Foster is one of the world's most celebrated architects, a designer whose buildings combine a striking visual style with a conscious desire to positively transform their communities and employ key principles of sustainability and ecological consciousness. Born to a working-class family in Manchester, England, Foster worked a variety of jobs before serving in the Royal Air Force. After returning to civilian life, he put himself through the Manchester School of Architecture and City Planning, and later won a scholarship to pursue a master's degree at Yale. At Yale, Foster became friends with designer Richard Rogers and in 1967, he founded Foster Associates (now Foster & Partners). Since then, Foster and his team have designed the Hearst Tower in New York, the Reichstag in Berlin, the Hong Kong International Airport, the Oxford University Library, and a bridge in Millau, France, that's the largest in the world. Filmmakers Norberto López Amado and Carlos Carcas chronicle the life, work, and philosophy of Norman Foster in the documentary How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster?, which allows us to eavesdrop on Foster's working methods while exploring his background, his work with R. Buckminster Fuller, and his ideals of how a building should be integrated with its surroundings, as well as including some spectacular footage of Foster's deigns. How Much Does Your Building Weigh, Mr. Foster? was an official selection at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.