Photos © Pablo Gómez-Ogando / Norman Foster Institute

Since the launch of the Norman Foster Foundation in 2017, its mission has been to promote interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations to anticipate the future. In order to respond to the growing importance of urbanisation and its challenges, we embark upon a new initiative, the Norman Foster Institute.

The Norman Foster Institute, in a time of climate change, is addressed to those who wish, through practice or education, to improve the quality of life in cities worldwide. In that spirit, its first academic Programme on Sustainable Cities, a 36-week course that consists of three stages—Foundations, Transformations and Interventions—will prepare potential civic leaders for the future.

With time divided between classrooms, cities and studios, the programme will combine practical on-site experience with academic input from the foundation’s network of international experts. These range from university professors to property developers.

Each year, scholars will visit and work in three pilot cities to engage directly with their planners and managers. They will use the most up-to-date digital tools in the quest to improve a sustainable quality of life. Towards the end of the year, the scholars will present their findings to the city administration with an emphasis on advocacy and presentation skills. On the basis that historically cities learn from each other, scholars will explore the relevance of their conclusions in the wider context of global cities.

The Norman Foster Institute has assembled an integrative team of professionals from different continents to provide a global vision and a broad spectrum of expertise for those seeking a holistic approach to the future design and management of cities. Norman Foster, President of the Norman Foster Foundation, and Kent Larson, Head of the City Science group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, Co-Directors of the Programme On Sustainable Cities, will lead a body of distinguished global experts drawn from diverse backgrounds and disciplines.

The program will start in Madrid in January 2024 and you can already enroll by applying at this link.

Letter from Norman Foster

Launch of the Norman Foster Institute to improve the quality of life in cities worldwide