Norman Foster for Tecno

NORMAN FOSTER (UK, 1935) for TECNO.
Nomos" table.
Transparent tempered glass and steel.
With publisher's stamp.
Measurements: 70 x 160 x 92 cm.
Designed by Norman Foster for Techno in the 1980s, the "Nomos" table is an example of how the British architect explores the limits of technology in his work, often pushing the boundaries of architectural engineering to create novel structures in both his buildings and product design. "Nomos" is a multifunctional table designed to provide absolute flexibility, intended for both office spaces and domestic interiors. As with Foster's architectural designs, the aesthetic effect of the "Nomos" table is based on its technical structure, in this case the angled metal stretcher frame that has led to comparisons of this table to a moon landing unit. Foster also seems to have based his design on the slender-bodied figure and long, slender legs of the grasshopper. This anatomical analogy is also echoed in the table's "vertebrae," a spine-like conduit running through the table, allowing easy placement of the multiple cables ubiquitous in the modern office and home. Examples of this series are now preserved in collections such as the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Sir Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank and 2010 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, studied at Manchester and Yale Universities, and founded his own practice in 1965 with his wife, Richard Rogers and his wife. His initial projects are characterized by their technological emphasis, although later the lines of his buildings will be softened, largely disappearing that technical character taken to the extreme. Foster has received important architectural awards, such as the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Architecture, the Mies Van der Rohe Award for Contemporary Architecture and the Pritzker Prize, and as an industrial designer his creations are part of important collections around the world, including those of the Metropolitan and MoMA in New York.