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.