Mindfulness Mondays 40: Norman Foster From Here to There

March 1, 2010 by dr. lam

london-gherkin-building_2 I think most of my blog readers know how fond I am about art and architecture. If I were not a plastic surgeon, I would most likely have been an architect or an industrial designer. I spent half a day in the Nasher Museum that featured a retrospective on Norman Foster’s architectural work. I enjoyed seeing his creations as much as I did listening to the man speak on film during a documentary about his life and his philosophy.

He talked about his humble origins in a working-class district of Manchester where he said that people with soft hands were looked at as suspect. He said that the people in his neighborhood thought anyone who delved into the mysteries of books was not genuine like the working class folk that populated that industrial town. Nevertheless, he went on to study at the University of Manchester School of Architecture and City Planning and followed by the Yale University School of Architecture on a Henry fellowship. He is quoted as saying, “In Britain the idea one could go from blue-collar beginnings to the university was so far out, it was quite unthinkable.”

He has gone on to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize (the Nobel equivalent for architects) among many other notable accolades. His buildings are so profoundly creative that they defy easy classification. The pictured headquarters for Swiss Re in London, known as The Gherkin, showcases his unbridled creativity, among his prolific work. His projects are also known for their environmental sustainability and relying on local construction teams and materials as part of that strategy.

This week, think of what “humble origins” you come from, and be bold to think big. Express your creativity and be larger than life. There are no excuses for one’s life, and your past is no exception.

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