In an interview with Dezeen, Foster + Partners Founder Norman Foster says there are many myths that surround certain materials, with the celebrated architect indicating it is down to how a material is utilised, as opposed to the contents of the material itself.

An inherently sustainable practice, Foster + Partners’ Australian portfolio includes the new Salesforce Tower at Sydney Place and the future Pitt Street Metro Station, based in the harbour city CBD. Foster believes the constant criticism of concrete, touted as being responsible for the bulk of the construction industry’s emissions, is unfounded.

"I think that there are a lot of dangerous myths about materials, recycling and sustainability. We had a very intense debate on this in the jury of the Stirling prize. It wasn't about the material, it was about how you use that material,” he says.

"Not to underestimate the energy embodied in that process, but if you took the Apple (HQ, located in California) building – the concrete structure is reinforced, so it's working structurally – obviously, nothing new. You're running small bore pipes through it, so you can channel hot or chilled water so it's eliminating all the traditional ductwork.

"So you're shrinking the height of that building. But you're maintaining the generous floor-to-ceiling height for the occupants, you're reducing the external envelope and the concrete is the finish – so you're not lining."

Foster + Partners is renowned worldwide for its sustainable approach, that favours a focus on in-use performance as opposed to embodied carbon. Foster believes finding the right balance between wellbeing and sustainability is the key to future developments and references Hong Kong’s HSBC Tower and London’s Bloomberg HQ.

"The prevailing view is, 'oh my god, we're all going to suffer because we have to create buildings which are better for the planet – poor us we're going to suffer as a consequence,” he says.

"It should be the reverse. It should be: buildings which are good for the planet are going to be closer to nature. They're going to be buildings which are not sealed boxes recirculating refrigerated air, which is not the healthiest."

From an Australian point of view, the buildings that are most sustainable are typically those that have wellbeing front of mind. Sustainability Awards Editor’s Choice Winner, Bay Pavilions Arts + Aquatic Centre, has been inspired by the stunning natural landscape and features an organic design language that makes extensive use of sustainably sourced timber.

Breathe’s ANZ HQ project features a biophilic, carbon neutral fitout, with reusable elements utilised throughout. The Glenroy Community Hub, DesignInc’s Public Building winner, features concrete itself, with breeze blocks and structural columns aiding the building’s passive house certification.

Foster believes that he nurtured the green movement in his former practice, Team 4, in the 1960s before it was even termed the green movement.

"The reality is that a group of us had a utopian vision of what buildings might be. They were essentially craft-based, but they were anti-sprawl. They were compact, they conserve nature. They were developed on some timeless themes like the row house, which is not exactly a kind of modern movement invention."

"I'd like to think that what we did as a fledgling practice was to try to mirror with architecture what the emerging expression of the age was in the 1960s. It was, in a way, creating an architecture that was rooted in an ecological movement, which was not called green – that hadn't been invented.”

To read the interview in full, click here.

Architecture & Design Team

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