A LEADING architect has turned to Levenshulme for inspiration on his latest project in New York.

Stockport-born Lord Norman Foster has been commissioned to undertake a £150m redesign of New York's public library.

And he is using pictures of Levenshulme Library on Cromwell Grove to inspire his work.

Lord Norman, 73, who was educated at Burnage Grammar School, has designed some of the world's most iconic buildings. His portfolio includes London's infamous 'Gherkin', the new Wembley stadium, the Berlin Reichstag and New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Lord Foster, who moved to Levenshulme as a child, said he was indebted to his local library.

He said: "The pictures are to remind myself of the debt I owe to the library.

"If it hadn't been for the library, I probably wouldn't have gone to university.

"I discovered a whole world of literature and also a world of architecture, like the original books of Corbusier."

Lord Foster did his national service in the RAF after leaving school. There he trained in electronics and aviation. He then went to work in the contracts department of Manchester architectural firm, John Bearshaw and Partners.

At the age of 21, he started studying architecture at Manchester University.

After graduating he won a Fellowship to Yale University, where he gained a Master's degree in architecture.

His recent work includes Beijing Airport, which is the largest single building on the planet, the Great Court at the British Museum in London, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington. In 1990 he was awarded a knighthood and in 1999 he was made a life peerage, becoming Lord Foster of Thames Bank.

New York's public library covers a massive 1.25m cubic feet. The renovation project is due to be complete by 2013.