HIS career was launched by designing one of Ipswich's most striking buildings – now architect Norman Foster is in line to redevelop the most notorious wastelands in the world.

HIS career was launched by designing one of Ipswich's most striking buildings – now architect Norman Foster is in line to redevelop the most notorious wastelands in the world.

Foster and Partners, the London-based firm of architects responsible for landmarks across the world – as well as the town centre Willis building – has been named in the shortlist to redevelop the Ground Zero site in New York.

The twin towers of the World Trade Centre were laid waste by the terrorist attacks on September 11 last year.

A team of architects from Lord Foster's firm has been put on a shortlist of six, which were selected from 400 designs submitted by architects from 34 countries.

Construction on the chosen design is expected to begin by September next year.

The selection has not been without controversy. Some relatives of the victims of the September 11 attacks have said that they want Ground Zero to be marked only with a simple memorial to the people killed in the atrocity.

The black glass Willis building in Ipswich was designed when Foster was an up and coming 35-year-old architect.

It became an instant landmark in the heart Ipswich when it was opened in 1975.

Foster went on to create a host of other prestigious commissions, including the American Air Museum at Duxford, near Cambridge, which was re-dedicated by Prince Charles and former American president George Bush on Friday.