Norman Foster Foundation launches sustainable cities course in Madrid

The Norman Foster Foundation has launched the Norman Foster Institute on Sustainable Cities, a one-year training program based in Madrid starting January 2024. The course aims to equip a cohort of about thirty young professionals from around the world with the skills to design and manage future cities. Directed by Norman Foster and Kent Larson of the MIT Media Lab, the program combines academic study with practical workshops, emphasizing leadership and communication. Faculty includes Hans Ulrich Obrist, director of the Serpentine Gallery, and Estrella De Diego, art history professor at Complutense University. The first edition will focus on three 'champion cities'—Athens, Bilbao, and San Marino—where students will develop local intervention proposals and a universal masterplan. Athens struggles with traffic and CO2 emissions (5 tonnes per capita annually); Bilbao faces an aging population; San Marino has high car dependency (75% of traffic) and 8.2 tonnes CO2 per capita. Foster stressed the urgency of sustainable urban design, noting that by 2025, 17 cities the size of Madrid will be built in Asia and Africa. The foundation has been headquartered in Madrid since 2017, and Foster is also working on the renovation of the Salón de Reinos for the Museo del Prado.