London-based architecture firm Foster + Partners has been crowned the UK’s biggest and most profitable architectural practice. Founded by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman Foster in 1967, the practice employs 290 architects and is responsible for some of the most renowned and innovative designs around the world.
From the Hearst Tower in New York City to the Citic Bank HQ in China, the Supreme Court in Singapore to the Imperial War Museum in London – the firm’s avant-garde steel and glass signature designs can be spotted across the globe.
With a UK income upwards of £130 million per annum, Foster + Partners accounted for a staggering 41 percent of the fee income of the UK’s top ten architectural practices. And with mega-projects including Apple’s $5 billion HQ in Cupertino, California still on the horizon, the figure is only expected to rise.
Having just completed work on the world’s first commercial spaceport – Richard Branson’s ‘Virgin Galactic Gateway’, the firm has since shifted focus to exploring new and innovative technologies. After sportswear giant Nike, Foster + Partners is reportedly the second biggest user of 3D printing technology.
Known for continuously pushing boundaries, setting fresh trends and defining new parameters, it is perhaps no surprise the once-boutique architectural practice has now topped the list for a third consecutive year.