Foster is the fourth architect to be given the honour, following in the footsteps of Lord Rogers, Lord Llewelyn-Davies and Lord Holford.
RIBA president David Rock said: “Norman Foster’s peerage is a sign of the improved status of the architect and is personally well-deserved.”
Bovis North director Dennis Bate’s work on the government’s New Deal was also recognised with a CBE.
Bate, who chairs Manchester City Pride Partnership’s Employer Group, will next week attend a major conference in Birmingham where the Employment Service plans to outline a two-year strategy to develop the initiative in the city.
Of the 6000 people who have already taken part in Manchester’s New Deal programme, an estimated 1500 have found jobs and 46% of the rest are in full-time education.
Bate said that about 150 were employed in construction, where Bovis played its part by treating subcontractors’ use of the New Deal as a key criterion in selection.
Bate wants more of the North-west’s New Dealers in construction, but he also intends to increase the take-up of the initiative in the retail sector. The new Trafford Centre and rebuilt Arndale Centre, as well as the new Marks & Spencer store, should all need New Dealers, Bate said.
Ex-Pilkington apprentice Bate is also keen to see shorter construction courses. This would allow New Dealers to get on site more quickly as general labourers, allowing them to subsequently learn more specialised construction skills.
Several other leading industry figures were recognised, with an OBE for Will Alsop, and an MBE awarded to architect and developer Tom Bloxham for his services to architecture and urban regeneration in Liverpool and Manchester.
Ken Jackson, leader of electricians’ union the AEEU, received a knighthood for his services to industrial relations. Over the past year, Jackson has battled to persuade wildcat strikers on the Jubilee Line Extension to behave responsibly on the project.
Millennium Dome site and structures director David Trench was awarded a CBE, as were landscape architect Professor Derek Lovejoy, Kent County Council director of strategic planning John Thompson, and Professor John Anderson for his services to building regulations.
Former Chartered Institute of Building president David Deas and Constructors Liaison Group chairman and Bachy director Peter Shiells were awarded OBEs.
Other recipients of the OBE included Quentin Hughes, for services to architecture and conservation in north-west England, and Ann Riches, for services to preservation of buildings.
