Chapter 1 of 24
Norman Foster (Left) With Buckminster Fuller
I'd like to talk around a selection of projects which show the development of a number
of themes. These themes are concerned with the social implications of design, the
importance of site context, effects of change, and the effects of change on buildings
which offer the potential for choice, change, and growth over their life-span. The
means to realise such buildings are concerned with a shift away from traditional site-
based activities, and a move to factory-based activities, with implications of clean
and dry, clip-together, bolt-together, zip-together, for better quality-control and
speed of erection. Many of the systems and components which have been developed in
this approach - systems concerned with structure, servicing, enclosure, or the
interior systems - are specially designed for the buildings,and use newer technologies,
techniques which have been derived from ship-building, automobile and aero-space
industries, particularly the latter, rather than traditional building industry. This
is in the spirit of seeking higher-performance solutions, and also in the spirit of
doing more with less. These concerns and interests relate to a search also for
appropriate spaces, both inside and outside the building. And the changing qualities
of natural light are a vital ingredient in such an approach, the qualities of top
light, reflected light, direct, indirect, translucency and transparency.