In 1995 Bob Atwal joined the London based, world renowned practice of Foster + Partners
Bob grew up in United Kingdom from a very young age, where he studied and trained as an architect. Following university, he joined the offices of Troughton McAslan (now John McAslan and Partners – London), where, within a small team of highly talented architects, he gained fast-paced and rigorous experience, with direct responsibility for designing and supervising small but architecturally demanding projects on site.
There was also an opportunity to manage one of the first commercial buildings—FC-3—within the Canary Wharf development in East London.
Subsequently, he joined the international offices of Lord Richard Rogers, the London-based global practice, working on major projects such as the new Terminal 5 building at Heathrow Airport and the Potsdamer Platz complex in Berlin.
Bob Atwal first met Lord Norman Foster
as a student in 1983 while carrying out his degree thesis on the design philosophy of Foster and Foster Associates. From that point onward, Foster became a mentor and a defining influence in shaping his career in architecture.
In 1995 Bob Atwal joined the London based worldwide renown practice of Foster and Partners. His first project there being the Imperial College University building in London.
In parallel to this, design work commenced on the Index building, a formidable tour de force eighty storey tower within the DIFC district of Dubai.
But then fast beginning his international experience on the unique design for the Daewoo Electronics Headquarters in Seoul, South Korea and the competition entry for Guangzhou and Pudong airports. This was followed by being Project Architect on the World Port Centre tower in Rotterdam.
After successful completion of the WPC, Foster + Partners were selected to work on the iconic design of the award winning Hearst Headquarters building in upper Manhattan, New York.
Hearst is the Headquarters for the Randolph Hearst empire. It sits on the corner of 8th Avenue with 33rd street in upper Manhattan close to Central Park. The building sits on top of a grade 1 heritage building which had to be fully maintained.
The new 42 storey tower rises above this old building establishing a creative dialogue between old and new. The base of the tower has a skirt of glazing that encourages an impression of the tower floating weightlessly above the solid base.
Access to the building is through the old facade into a raised podium lobby that occupies t he entire base of the old building creating an open space almost six storeys food lit with natural light. This dramatic space creates a clear visual relationship with the tower above through the vast skylights all around.
Subsequent to this there was an opportunity to work on a private residence for a Japanese industrialist in Tokyo.
With almost 40 years of experience spanning complex corporate ventures to large scale commercial developments, Bob Atwal brings a depth of insight few can match
In parallel to this, design work commenced on the Index building—a formidable tour de force tower within the DIFC district of eighty-storey Dubai. Bob Atwal was based on-site to supervise the successful completion of this mixed-use office and residential project.
The building was awarded "Best Tall Building in the Middle East and Africa" and received the prestigious Golden HOSPCA Award.
Following the Index, Bob Atwal decided
not to return to the United Kingdom and instead established Atwal Associates in India, where he has served as an Associate Partner for over 14 years. During this time, he has developed a broad range of experience working on various mixed-use and complex high-rise tower projects.
Leveraging his proven expertise, Bob Atwal has recently expanded from India to Dubai, where he previously played a pivotal role in the architectural design of
the iconic Index Tower, a landmark that continues to define the city’s skyline.
With more than 36 years of experience, ranging from complex corporate projects to large-scale developments of commercial, mixed-use towers and hospitality ventures worldwide, including key international landmark projects—Bob Atwal has gained invaluable expertise, particularly in the coordination and delivery of large-scale projects from early concept to successful completion.