Installation view of "Future Positive: Norman Foster, Foster + Partners" at the Seoul Museum of Art / Courtesy of SeMA

From Apple's behemoth "Spaceship" headquarters in Silicon Valley, California, to a Mars habitat that can be 3D printed with the Red Planet's own rocky soil, English architect Norman Foster's visionary ideas have taken shape in every place imaginable in one way or another.

At the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), the Pritzker Prize-winning architect and his studio, Foster + Partners, have brought together 50 gems from their portfolio of more than 500 projects realized over the last six decades around the world.

Titled "Future Positive," the largest exhibition of Foster in Asia and the first-ever in Korea pays particular attention to the architect's creations of public spaces for culture and the arts. Equally in the spotlight is how the philosophy of regeneration and sustainability, long before it became a buzzword in the industry, has permeated the 89-year-old's designs of stainless steel and glass structures.

Apple Park in Silicon Valley, California / Courtesy of Steve Proehl

Pritzker Prize-winning English architect Norman Foster / Courtesy of Frederic Aranda

In 1971, just four years after he founded Foster + Partners, Foster and American futurist architect Richard Buckminster Fuller envisioned the Climatroffice — a massive glass dome where office space and nature intermingled. This concept, groundbreaking at the time, foreshadowed his studio's future projects, which came to marry high-tech experimental architecture with practical environmental considerations.

In the show, there is a miniature model of Masdar City on the outskirts of the United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi — a "net-zero carbon, zero-waste" town housing residential complexes, office buildings and a university. It's the first of its kind to run entirely on renewable solar energy. The narrow streets are designed to self-shade and channel strong breezes in the desert climate, while the vernacular accommodations are naturally ventilated.

The Zayed National Museum, currently under construction on Abu Dhabi's Al Saadiyat Island, incorporates a similar philosophy. Its distinct falcon wing-shaped towers utilize solar thermal energy and facilitate natural airflow to maintain interior temperatures. Once completed, the museum will become a major cultural landmark on the island, joining the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Maritime Museum by Tadao Ando.

Masdar Institute inside Masdar City, the first "net-zero carbon, zero-waste" town on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates / Courtesy of Nigel Young and Foster + Partners

A digital rendering of the Zayed National Museum, currently under construction on Abu Dhabi's Al Saadiyat Island / Courtesy of Foster + Partners

In the studio's other projects, the idea of sustainability extends to architectural interventions that breathe new life into abandoned or neglected spaces with a patina of history.

One of Foster's most iconic "retrofit" designs is the Reichstag in Berlin, where a striking glass cupola now crowns the German parliament building once destroyed by arson and ravaged by World War II.

Going beyond simply reusing existing structures, his team has revitalized such "outdated" edifices with history as new kinds of enduring public places. The ongoing renovation of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum in Spain, originally erected at the start of the 20th century, typifies this practice.

As a tribute to its heritage, the original 1945 entrance has been restored, reorienting the museum's facade to face the city once again and reconnect the institution with the people.

A digital rendering of Foster + Partner's 2015 Mars Habitat Project / Courtesy of Foster + Partners

The show concludes with Foster's vision unfolding as far as into space.

The 2012 Lunar Habitation Project and the 2015 Mars Habitat Project — collaborations with the European Space Agency and NASA, respectively — demonstrate how the studio's architectural language can be attuned to the galactic environment.

To address the inefficiencies of transporting construction materials from Earth, the team proposed techniques that employ robots to 3D print essential structures from loose moon dust and Martian soil, known as regolith.

"I was impressed by my first visit to Seoul nearly 30 years ago. On our last visit last year, much had changed, but we were deeply impressed by the city and its cultural life," the architect said in a video message. "We were honored by the invitation to present a show of our work at SeMA."

In Korea, Foster + Partners has built Hankook Technodome in Daejeon, Hankook Technoplex in Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province and Apple Myeongdong in central Seoul.

"Future Positive," co-organized by the SeMA and Foster + Partners, runs through July 21.

Installation view of "Future Positive: Norman Foster, Foster + Partners" at the Seoul Museum of Art / Courtesy of SeMA