Football and the royals are two subjects which have always attracted very outspoken fans. Now, aged 90, Lord Norman Foster is attempting to please both.
One of the one of the world’s most important living architects, he is known for being the vision behind some of the world’s most iconic designs – including London’s “Gherkin” building, the Millennium Bridge and the British Museum’s spectacular Great Court.
Arguably, however, two of his most talked about designs are yet to be built.
In June, his firm Foster + Partners was announced as having won the commission to build a national memorial in honour of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Before that, in March, his firm’s vision for a new 100,000-seater stadium at Old Trafford was revealed, which he describes as “the project of a lifetime”.
‘A galvanising project’
“The fan base is incredible,” Lord Foster said of his excitement at being commissioned to work on the new ground.
For the renowned architect it is a homecoming of sorts, given Lord Foster’s working-class roots, having grown-up in Manchester.
Was he excited to be involved?
“You bet,” he exclaims.
“It’s a galvanising project… and so many things can naturally ride on the back of that sporting, emblematic kind of team.”
Set to cost around £2bn – with its three tall masts acting as a vast umbrella over Old Trafford – the design is part of a larger regeneration project which Lord Foster claims could be completed in five years.
It is described as a “master plan that will create streets, squares, neighbourhoods and connect with the heart of Manchester.”
Asked whether it will feel unlike any other British stadium, he said: “Manchester United is different and therefore its stadium’s going to be different… and better, of course.”
And what of the QEII memorial?
He says his design to remember the late monarch in London’s St James’ Park will be “more of all the good things”.
His plans include a statue of Queen Elizabeth II standing next to her husband Prince Philip, and a semi-glass bridge which is a nod to her wedding tiara.
As for those who’ve questioned whether maintaining its sparkle might prove to be problematic, Lord Foster insists it’ll be “less maintenance, more joy”.
He says his hope is “to address the many millions who traverse that [park], the daily commuters and many tourists, and to make that more human, to make it a better experience and a reminder of the legacy of the most extraordinary long-serving monarch”.
After collecting the London Design Festival’s prestigious lifetime achievement medal earlier this week, with six decades of experience under his belt, Lord Foster says he finds Britain’s inability to invest in infrastructure frustrating.
“I lamented, like so many, the cancellation of HS2,” he says. The long-delayed rail route’s northern leg to Manchester was scrapped by Rishi Sunak in 2023.
“That was about levelling-up. It wasn’t about getting from one place in lightning speed, it was taking the burden off the regional network so it would serve local communities better.”
He says “connectivity is the answer to many of the social issues that we talk about”.
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The tendency of politicians, he says, to prioritise short-term issues doesn’t help when it comes to seeing the bigger picture.
“There is not the awareness of the importance of design and planning… you do need a political awareness,” he says.
“The city is not static, it’s dynamic. It’s always changing, evolving, adapting to change, and it can do that well, or it can do it badly. But it needs planning, it needs anticipation.”
