Carrying the day over more modest buildings, such as the Tate Gallery in Cornwall, the Bushey Jewish Cemetery, and the Storey’s Field Community Center and Nursery in Cambridge, Norman Foster has for the third time landed the RIBA Stirling Prize through his Bloomberg headquarters in London (featured at length in Arquitectura Viva 208). Located in the heart of London’s City and having cost 1.3 billion pounds, it is skillfully inserted into a complicated triangular plot of land resting on Roman remains (which are now displayed in the building’s basement), thanks to the way it is faceted to minimize impact on the surrounding urban fabric, modularized with powerful bronze-clad louvers, and organized around an atrium meant to bring in daylight and orient users.

All of this has been positively assessed by the jury chaired by David Adjaye, who has also highlighted the ambitious enviromental strategies applied in the project (efficient lighting, natural ventilation, materials with good life cycles), thanks to which the new Bloomberg headquarters consumes 40% less energy and 70% less water than any conventional office building.