Norman Foster and green design

by | Aug 12, 2008

Northampton is preparing for the Notre Dame design studio planned for this September by the Northampton Design Forum, and is also looking at rewriting its zoning code. Much could be gained, and much could be lost, or we could simply cycle back to the status quo.

Recent proposals in the city to build a new hotel and to redevelop the Three County Fairgrounds fail to include "green" concepts. They were cited as too expensive. This is not unusual-how many people have installed solar panels on their homes or purchased a hybrid car? (They’re on our to-do list…) But can we as a society afford to forego green designs for too much longer? Perhaps not. Does Northampton possess the political will to require green design in all new developments. Probably not. Are all of our problems the result of state and federal policies alone? No. Yet Village Hill will have some LEED certified buildings and the city’s new senior center uses a green cooling system too so there is evidence of some progress. Norman Foster shares his thoughts on what could be.

"From Ted Talks: Architect Norman Foster discusses his own work to show how computers can help architects design buildings that are green, beautiful and "basically pollution-free." From the 2007 DLD Conference, Munich; www.dld-conference.com.

Sir Norman Foster, winner of the 1999 Pritzker Prize, is perhaps the leading urban stylist of our age. His elegant, efficient buildings grace cities around the globe. From museums and banks to airports and bridges, from apartment buildings to the Reichstag, in the past 35 years Norman Foster’s beautiful and efficient designs have dramatically changed the character of cities (think of the London Gherkin) and landscapes (the Viaduc de Millau) around the world.

A common philosophy connects all of them, starting with social responsiveness and the use of natural resources (ventilation, light). Some of Foster’s work has sparked controversy (such as his pyramid in Astana, Kazakhstan), but he has never ignored a chance to rewrite the rules of architecture, be it by tackling audaciously huge construction projects or by designing wind turbines and partly-solar-powered electric buses."