ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY VOLUME II: CITIES IN CLIMATE CRISIS

The second instalment of the Architecture and Technology series brings together a diverse collection of fifty-five lectures given at the Norman Foster Foundation between 2021 and 2023 by leading voices in the fields of sustainability, architecture, urbanism, energy, art and mobility. With an introductory chapter by Amory B. Lovins, Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Rocky Mountain Institute, authors include experts such as Vishaan Chakrabarti, Founder and Creative Director of Practice for Architecture and Urbanism; Dava J. Newman, Director of the MIT Media Lab and Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics at MIT;  Maya Lin, Director of Maya Lin Studio; and Shigeru Ban, Founder and Principal of Shigeru Ban Architects.

Biomaterials, sustainable construction practices, the greening of cities, policy changes or spatial energy sourcing—these are some of the many topics explored by the authors of this publication. The underlying theme in all lectures is the preoccupation with the current climate crisis—undoubtedly the most pressing global issue—but more so, an impulse to take action and come up with feasible solutions to remediate it.

As in the previous volume, Future of Cities, the contents are drawn from the Foundation’s educational programme of workshops and are organised thematically, divided into nine chapters on carbon negativity, shelters and settlements, biomaterial futures, art and ecology, materials and methods for better buildings, circular economy, social equity, green cities and new paradigms in energy. The result is a comprehensive manual for students and professionals alike which invites readers to explore the future of cities through the ongoing climate crisis.