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
-
‘I wanted to create a sanctuary’ – discover a nature-conscious take on Balinese architectureUmah Tsuki by Colvin Haven is an idyllic Balinese family home rooted in the island's crafts culture
-
‘Concrete Dreams’: rethinking Newcastle’s brutalist pastA new project and exhibition at the Farrell Centre in Newcastle revisits the radical urban ideas that changed Tyneside in the 1960s and 1970s
-
Mexican designers show their metal at Gallery Collectional, Dubai‘Unearthing’ at Dubai’s Gallery Collectional sees Ewe Studio designers Manu Bañó and Héctor Esrawe celebrate Mexican craftsmanship with contemporary forms
-
East London's disused gasholders are being reinventedRegent's View by RSHP reinvents a pair of disused gasholders in east London as contemporary residential space and a publically accessible park
-
Transamerica Pyramid: a San Francisco icon, remasteredThe Transamerica Pyramid, a landmark in the San Francisco cityscape, has been redesigned to 21st-century standards by Foster + Partners
-
Inside Apple’s first flagship store in MalaysiaApple opens its first store in Malaysia, designed by Foster + Partners, and offers the brand’s distinct interior style adapted to a warmer climate
-
'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
-
Step inside No. 33 Park Row’s Penthouse 3 by RSHP in New YorkWe offer a sneak peek inside Penthouse 3 at No. 33 Park Row by RSHP in New York
-
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
