Madrid’s new Norman Foster Institute (NFI) is dedicated to celebrating and addressing urban challenges, offering a new one-year MA in Sustainable Cities for professionals across disciplines. Since 2015, Foster, who evolved into the non-profit Norman Foster Foundation in 2017, has been developing a remarkable physical archive and architectural research lab in the city.
Through workshops with its architects, the Foundation has initiated projects such as the Essential Homes Project for refugee housing, which will be presented at the Venice Biennale 2023. The NFI and its MA program continue this educational initiative. A collaboration between the Foundation and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, it has a star-studded faculty and aims to address urban issues through innovative research and education. The 30-member MA cohort is based at the NFI City Lab and Academic Hub, located in a renovated 1912 palace owned by the Foundation. Its distinguished teaching staff includes Kent Larson, Dava Newman, Alejandro Aravena, Deborah Berke, Shigeru Ban and François Keré. The course aims to explore how architecture, design, technology, planning and public policy can mitigate energy consumption, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the quality of life in cities, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. After completing the program, students will share their findings with the partnering cities.
All photography by PAOLO GÓMEZ-OGANDO
Courtesy of NORMAN FOSTER INSTITUTE
