Foster + Partners wins AJ100 Clients’ Choice Award
Foster + Partners was presented with the 2016 AJ100 Clients’ Choice Award at the ceremony held last night. Based on a survey of a broad selection of clients, the award is given to the ‘practice they most enjoy working with’, reflecting the practice’s popularity with clients worldwide. In a tribute to Foster + Partners the AJ noted that clients felt the ‘practice was designing their specific building, to suit their particular needs’, and it is this ‘popularity with clients that fuels its growth.’
In addition, Foster + Partners topped the AJ100 for the fifth year in a row and, Norman Foster was also named as the architect – living or dead – whose work is deemed most inspirational to practices, in the AJ’s survey of peers.
AJ100 citation in full:
‘For this award, we ask a broad selection of clients to tell us which practices they enjoy working with, making it, perhaps, the most significant award of all. It is not surprising that Foster + Partners, the largest practice in the AJ 100, took the prize – after all, it is popularity with clients that fuels growth. The practice offers clients an unparalleled combination of design skills, buy-in to one of the strongest brands in architecture, and an efficient and tightly-run business that, despite its size, ensures that it gives clients a personalised and continuous service. As part of this, the presentation skills of Norman Foster himself are unparalleled. Despite the fact that the firm has a clearly recognisable style, he makes it abundantly clear to clients that his practice is designing their specific building, to suit their particular needs rather than, as some practices do, pursuing the next stage in the evolution of its design ideas. Even allowing for the practice’s efficiency, its position at number three in the table of fees earned per member of architectural staff demonstrates that it expects clients to pay for the privilege of getting such excellent service. This award shows that they are happy to do so.’
