Norman Robert Foster is a British architect whose company, Foster + Partners, maintains an international design practice famous for high-tech architecture. He is one of Britain's most prolific architects of his generation. In 1999 he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture. In 2009 Foster was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award in the Arts category. In 1994 he received the AIA Gold Medal. He was born on June 1, 1935 in Reddish, Stockport, United Kingdom. In 1975, Foster designed the administrative headquarters for an insurance company, Willis, Faber and Dumas in Ipswich, England. For that building, Foster used modern materials and advanced technology to save money and energy. The curving building follows the irregular street patterns in the old market town. The exterior of the building is all glass. This creates the illusion that the open-plan offices extend out into the street. The roof is covered with grass, serving as insulation and creating a hanging garden. This building established Foster's reputation as an architect and won him the RIBA Trustees Medal in 1990. That same year he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, giving him the title of Sir Norman Foster. He received the AIA Gold Medal in 1994.