For the architecture buffs among us, the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich is pretty iconic. This was the first ever public building designed by Norman Foster, and one of the key architecture landmarks of the second half of the 20th century that heralded the era of the ‘High Tech’ movement. A new wave of British architects experimenting with new technologies, materials, forms and structures soon followed.
Marking its 40th anniversary, the Centre is now launching its celebratory show SUPERSTRUCTURES: The New Architecture 1960-90, raising the glass to the genre and exploring ‘architecture’s fascination with technology in the post-war decades’. The exhibition will showcase the architects who challenged conventions with their experimentation and interest in engineering and industrial production.
Visitors can browse through drawings, sketches, furniture, film, photography and models of relevant buildings, such as the Reliance Controls Factory by Team 4 (Norman Foster, Wendy Cheesman, Georgie Wolton and Richard Rogers), the Pompidou Centre by Rogers and Renzo Piano, Rogers’ Lloyd’s of London Building, Waterloo International Rail Station by Nicholas Grimshaw and the Hopkins House by Michael and Patty Hopkins. These sit side-by-side with a brand new three-metre-long model of the Sainsbury Centre itself, to be explored and admired.
Theory and unbuilt experimentation surrounding the era is not ignored. ‘The exhibition will explore the seminal influence of figures such as Buckminster Fuller, Jean Prouvé, Charles and Ray Eames and Cedric Price’, explain the organisers, adding that the show also delves into how techniques were adapted from the automotive, nautical, aerospace and information industries and introduced into the world of building and architecture.
The exhibition is accompanied by a specially published book, which is available on site.
The Sainsbury Centre's Crescent Wing by Foster + Partners.
The Century Tower in Japan
30 Architectural Model Of The International Terminal Waterloo Grimshaw
The Sainsbury Centre in construction, 1975-1978.
The Sainsbury Centre For Visual Arts in Norwich
'East Mast with Gridline Beam and Outriggers' by Ben Johnson,1986.
INFORMATION
’SUPERSTRUCTURES: The New Architecture 1960-90’ is on show until the 2 September 2018. For more information visit the Sainsbury Centre website
-
LEVC’s L380 is a truly magnificent minivanThe London Electric Vehicle Company’s L380, is a magnificent minivan designed for upscale long-distance travel, as the maker of the London Taxi branches out into all-purpose EVs
-
Enjoy ocean and jungle bliss at Bespoke Tulum’s residences in MexicoBespoke Tulum is an exclusive hospitality complex designed by Muro Rojo Arquitectura on Mexico’s Caribbean coastline
-
In Van Cleef & Arpels’ high jewellery, the archival meets the au courantVan Cleef & Arpels pays tribute to its rich heritage with a captivating high jewellery collection
-
'Cities are not static': the Norman Foster Institute launchesThe Norman Foster Institute launches in Madrid, celebrating cities as our 'greatest invention', and working to help fix them
-
Richard Rogers exhibition delves into the architect’s ideas at Chateau La CosteA new Richard Rogers exhibition created by Ab Rogers opens at the late architect’s final design, the Drawing Gallery at Chateau La Coste in France
-
Apple store at Battersea Power Station prioritises sustainability and ‘universal design’We get a first peek inside Foster + Partner’s Apple store at Battersea Power Station in London, a space pioneering sustainability and ‘universal design’ principles
-
Discover Battersea Roof Gardens, Battersea Power Station’s latest residential developmentBattersea Roof Gardens opens at Battersea Power Station, offering additions such as Sky Lounge and vast gym
-
Essential Homes Research Project launches first shelter for displaced communitiesThe Norman Foster Foundation and Swiss building materials giant Holcim launch the Essential Homes Research Project’s first design – a concrete cabin shelter. Nick Compton met with Norman Foster to find out more
-
Ultimate Norman Foster: into the mind of the architect at Centre PompidouNorman Foster exhibition opens at Centre Pompidou in Paris, celebrating the renowned British architect's ground breaking and extensive body of work, while looking into the future
-
RSHP: a new name for a new era of collaborative designRogers Stirk Harbour + Partners rebrands as RSHP, heralding a new era of collaborative design for the architecture practice, following Richard Roger's passing in 2021
-
Airport jetty by RSHP provides a polychromatic welcome to SwitzerlandThe Aile Est, or East Wing, at Geneva Airport, a dramatic, polychromatic jetty, is the newest project by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in Switzerland
