Foster + Partners Archives

Architecture

The Elegant New RH Paris Gallery by Foster + Partners

November 4, 2025 Architecture

Ah, Paris. It’s effortlessly refined, yet also feels so alive.

Take the new RH Paris Gallery. It feels less like a store and more like a statement about how design can shape experience.

Designed by Foster + Partners, it transforms a 1970s building on the iconic Champs-Élysées into a place where architecture, hospitality, and craftsmanship overlap.

Luxurious multi-level interior featuring ornate staircases, decorative railings, and sophisticated lighting.

The five-story space blends retail, dining, and exhibition into one cohesive environment.

Visitors enter through a hedge-lined courtyard before arriving at a glass-covered winter garden restaurant that glows with natural light.

Above, a stunning rooftop terrace offers open views across Paris, connecting the interior’s quiet precision to the city beyond. We were particularly awestruck by the seating with carefully planted hedges that surround and envelop the diners.

Outdoor dining setting on a rooftop terrace with green plants and dim lighting, featuring guests enjoying meals and drinks, with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background during twilight.

An elegant interior of a luxurious bar featuring crystal chandeliers, plush seating, and framed artworks on the walls.

Inside, the materials are opulent and refined: glass, steel, and stone arranged with a clear sense of rhythm and restraint.

The building’s centerpiece, a retractable glass elevator, disappears when not in use to preserve views of the Eiffel Tower. Every gesture is deliberate and understated (as long as luxury is concerned)

Interior view of a stylish restaurant featuring elegant wooden furniture, marble walls, and ambient lighting, with a bar area displaying bottles in a well-lit backdrop.

What makes the RH Paris Gallery interesting is how fluid it feels. The restaurant could pass for a living room, the furniture displays for art installations.

Interior of a restaurant with elegant seating and tables set for dining, showcasing large glass arches and a view of a historic building with a flag.

It’s less about commerce and more about immersion, a place where the boundaries between design, food, and atmosphere disappear.

A modern glass structure surrounded by lush greenery, featuring a reception area with stylish lighting and decor, labeled 'RH INTERIOR DESIGN.'

In a city filled with grand statements, this project fits in, in the most romantic sense. It’s elegant, purposeful, and calm, a reminder that true luxury often comes from simplicity and space to breathe.

A nighttime view from a rooftop terrace in Paris, featuring lush greenery, a glass structure, and the Eiffel Tower illuminated with a spotlight in the background against a cloudy sky.

Elegant interior of a restaurant featuring a modern design, with guests dining at tables, soft lighting, and a bar serving drinks in the background.

Architecture

Foster + Partners Release Design For Large-Scale Moon Solar Tower

March 30, 2025 Architecture

Famed architecture firm Foster + Partners has a new project for a 50-meter-tall solar tower that unfolds from a sophisticated 3D printed scaffolding.

Oh, and one small note – it’s designed for the surface of the moon.

The design for this massive 50-meter solar array is like a signpost, with a large solar array that folds out from either side.

Designed for a future moon outpost, the solar arrays are designed to rise up from a spiral, 3D-printed tower, and extend sail-like solar panels.

Partnering with NASA and 3D printing studio Branch Technology, Foster + Partners previewed this design to showcase how critical future power and communication networks will be on the moon’s surface.

Below is a video showing the unfurling of the impressive tower, dramatically set to Blue Danube.

We expect more infrastructure explorations like this as moon bases become more of a reality.

Architecture

Billion Dollar Towers Joined by Dramatic Skypool

February 10, 2025 Architecture

Ever want to take a dip in a pool in the sky?

Dubai’s skyline just got even more surreal. The Regent Dubai, an 82-story luxury tower, is making waves with a glass-bottomed penthouse pool that appears to float in the clouds.

Perched at the very top, this gravity-defying infinity pool offers a swim like no other—suspended over the city with breathtaking, unobstructed views. Beneath your feet? Just sky.

The penthouse itself is pure indulgence, wrapped in glass with sprawling interiors and panoramic sights of the Burj Khalifa and Arabian Gulf. It’s high living, taken literally. Designed by Foster + Partners, the towers have a unique

Dubai never stops dreaming big, and this latest architectural marvel proves that when it comes to luxury, the sky is not the limit—it’s just the beginning.

Architecture

Striking Changfeng Development in Shanghai Features Dramatic Glass Tubing

August 5, 2024 Architecture

With a striking flower petal form, tubular glass and stainless steel backing, this new mixed-use development for Shanghai’s Putuo District is sure to be embraced when it’s completed.

Foster + Partners is responsible for the design and layout of the development, which works to create a scaled-down neighborhood that is truly work, life, and play friendly.

With a similarly striking exterior as Zaha Hadid’s 520 W 28th on the Highline, the buildings have a signature form to them that feel decidedly futuristic, while also referencing art deco.

We also appreciate the warm glow they give off at night, feeling golden and welcoming. The development’s offices, homes, and public spaces also feature a lot of greenery and plant life.

Not bad for a site that was formerly industrial and polluted.

“The project transforms an industrial area into a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood in the heart of Shanghai. The human-scale development is designed to improve connectivity across the site, bringing people together and improving wellbeing through art, greenery and outstanding new public spaces.”

-Gerard Evenden, Head of Studio, Foster + Partners

Transportation

Foster + Partners Designs Vertiport Terminal for Dubai, Showcases the Future of VTOL Transport

May 15, 2023 Transportation

In recent years, the concept of urban air mobility has gained traction, and with it, the development of vertiports, which are essentially small airports designed specifically for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOLs). Vertiports are set to revolutionize urban transportation, and could become the next big transportation hub for several reasons.

Famed architecture firm Foster + Partners has recently unveiled their vision for a Vertiport, a version of an airport terminal, where passengers would wait for and board the aircraft. Located adjacent to the DXB airport in Dubai, the design shows a curving and undulating design, with large windows showing the VTOLs landing and taking off.

In terms of infrastructure, Vertiports are being designed to be more compact and efficient than traditional airports, making them ideal for densely populated urban areas. VTOLs require much less space for takeoff and landing than fixed-wing aircraft, which means that vertiports can be located closer to urban centers, reducing travel time for passengers. The smaller size of vertiports also means that they can be built on top of existing buildings, such as parking garages or shopping centers, further reducing the need for additional space.

The growth of urban air mobility is being driven by advances in technology, such as electric and hybrid-electric propulsion, which are making VTOLs more efficient and environmentally friendly. This makes them an attractive option for city dwellers who are looking for more sustainable modes of transportation. In addition, the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of VTOLs means that they can bypass traffic congestion, providing a faster and more convenient way to travel in cities.

In urban environments, vertiports could provide a solution to the “last mile” problem, which refers to the challenge of getting people from traditional transportation hubs, such as airports and train stations, to their final destinations. By providing a network of vertiports throughout urban areas, passengers could easily travel from one vertiport to another, allowing them to reach their destination more quickly and efficiently.

The design for the DXB Vertiport in Dubai is still preliminary, but flights of such aircraft are expected to start in 2026, which is just around the corner.

“We are delighted to have developed a vertiport concept for the emerging AAM industry, which will transform the way people travel in Dubai”

-Foster + Partners

Dogs

Foster + Partners Designs Geodesic Dog Kennel, the Dome Home

May 27, 2022 Dogs

Part of Goodwoof’s Barkitecture Competition, this Dome Home is the work of famed architecture group Foster + Partners.

Hand-built by English furniture maker Benchmark, the cherry wood exterior is refined and pleasing, with a padded fabric lining. Pooches will feel safe and secure in the designer kennel, and heck, we’d even take a nap in the Dome Home if we fit. Via Dezeen:

Architecture

London’s 900 Foot Tall Tulip Gets Approval

October 19, 2021 Architecture

Though the mayor of London tried to cancel this project, The Tulip refuses to die, and looks set to bloom over the British capitol before long.

the UK Housing Secretary is set to approve the project, overruling the mayor, and ushering in what may be London’s next big attraction.

Certainly the slender, 300 meter tower will make an impact on the city’s skyline. Rising up to a massive glass observatory, the Tulip will also feature glass pods that move like a gondola, creating epic views of the city below. It promises a big economic return, from tourism, and also the creation of over 1,000 jobs.

Check out the impressive renderings and video below, and learn more at TheTulip.com.

“The Tulip is designed to draw visitors from London, the UK and around the world into the City’s Eastern Cluster and onto the Culture Mile. A multi-dimensional experience at 300 metres high, combining stunning design with breath-taking views.”

“The Tulip is in the spirit of London as a progressive forward-thinking city. The latest in a long tradition of London landmarks. And a statement of confidence in the future.”

Architecture

Southern Dunes Project Transforms a Desert Landscape Into an Oasis

March 17, 2021 Architecture

Foster + Partners is designing the Southern Dunes, an innovative luxury hotel as part of the massive Red Sea Project, a huge, multiyear endeavor which encompasses over 11,000 square miles, in Saudi Arabia.

Southern Dunes is designed to capture the magic of the desert’s environs, while providing protection from the intense sun. Each of the hotel’s 40 villas feature asymmetric vaulted roofs that mimic sails, while the central lodge and common outdoor areas have tree-like towers for shade.

The result is an oasis full of plant life, tastefully designed to take advantage of the beautiful sand dune views.

And if you believe the developer’s goals for the entire project, the building will have the following eco-benefits.

No waste-to-landfill
No discharges to the sea
No use of single use plastic
Achieving a 100% carbon neutrality

This luxury property is set to open in 2022.

Architecture

London’s Proposed ‘Tulip’ Tower Seems Set to Bloom

April 2, 2019 Architecture

London’s skyline has evolved rapidly over the last decade, becoming one of the more future-leaning cities in the Western Hemisphere.

Famed architectural firm Foster + Partners has had a significant impact on the skyline, and they plan to continue the trend with the ‘Tulip’, a 305-meter (1000 foot) tall glass observation tower, resembling a closed tulip flower.

The bulbous top of the tower would have orbiting glass gondolas, promising thrilling and epic views of the London skyline. The tower would also be home to an education center, and a gathering place for tourists from all over the world.

Though facing some opposition from London’s mayor and potential aviation concerns from the neighboring airports, the tower seems set to move ahead, with construction starting in 2020, culminating in a finished project by 2025. Via Dezeen:

Animation

Cargospeed Brings the Hyperloop to Life

May 7, 2018 Animation

The Hyperloop may still be a decade or so out before it whisks humans in pods at 700mph. But progress has been made on the technology to the point where the Virgin Hyperloop may soon carry cargo. Cargospeed is a collaboration between Virgin Hyperloop One, DP World, and Foster + Partners. It promises to make super fast transport possible, between Asia and Europe, starting in Dubai. It’s a highly ambitious project, and if fully realized, will help to push our future of transportation from dirty trucks and planes, to a more eco-friendly and harmonious transportation reality. Via DesignBoom:

Foster + Partners has created a video that describes a vision for the future of high-speed transportation. DP World Cargospeed, a collaboration of cargo giant DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One aims to create an infrastructural network that forms a fundamental part of a new ecosystem, in which urban centers, rural landscapes, people and nature are all interconnected. This is a unique project with far-reaching global implications that could have its first step based in Dubai.

We are pleased to be part of the team of DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One to pioneer this concept of a green and renewable system of transport. The movement of people and goods is part of the vital infrastructure that binds all our cities together – and cities are the future of our society. As Hyperloop looks to reinvent urban transport and logistics, the city of the future is closer than we think. It is important we develop an integrated sustainable vision of infrastructure that will enable us to evolve and adapt our existing cities, and design new ones that will be in harmony with nature and our precious planet.

Norman Foster, Founder and Executive Chairman