The way we work

To undertake consistently, in a decade, some of the biggest projects in the world, needs depth of resources. In that sense, ‘size matters’. The practice is 1200 strong, with offices in twenty-two countries and a highly talented team drawn from more than fifty nations. However, creativity and personal service are best nurtured by the compact group where ‘small is beautiful’. The resolution of these apparently conflicting ideals is mirrored in the practice’s structure.

The strategic direction of the practice is guided by the executive board. Members of this board are: Norman Foster, Mouzhan Majidi as chief executive, Spencer de Grey and David Nelson as joint heads of design, Graham Phillips as chief operating officer, Matthew Streets as chief financial officer, with Grant Brooker and Nigel Dancey as senior executives.

The practice is organised into six design groups, each with a senior partner as leader. All of these individuals have been chosen for their proven track record over many years in the practice, combining creativity and attention to detail with delivery and management skills. The group leaders are: Grant Brooker (Group 1), Brandon Haw (Group 2), Mouzhan Majidi (Group 3), Stefan Behling (Group 4), Gerard Evenden (Group 5) and Nigel Dancey (Group 6). Allied with this core group is a younger generation of partners who are central to the continuing evolution of the practice.

The groups are not shaped by specialisation of building type or geographical location. Each group has a rich cross-section of projects – large and small – around the world, which may range from an office building in London to a sustainable community in the desert. This diversity is good for creativity, innovation and motivation. The tight-knit nature of the groups also ensures personal service and close contact between the design team and the client, from the first meetings to the hand-over of the finished building. As part of this process, key members of the design team will move with the project to the building site, wherever that is in the world, and will maintain a local office until the project is complete.

The design of each new project is reviewed regularly, both formally and informally. This process takes place under the direction of the design board, which has been created in the spirit of ‘challenging and being challenged’. The board balances the greater spread of responsibility in the groups with a broader overview of shared values, coupled to a process that can initiate design as well as review it. This board is led by Spencer de Grey and David Nelson as joint heads of design, and its permanent members include Norman Foster, Mouzhan Majidi, Graham Phillips as the board’s secretary, Stefan Behling, Nigel Dancey and Narinder Sagoo.

Until recently, Mouzhan Majidi, as leader of Group 3, was focused on his own projects, both in the London studio and on sites around the world. Now, as chief executive, he combines a strategic involvement in design through his own team and the design board with his primary responsibilities for the management of the practice. Similarly, Graham Phillips, Spencer de Grey and David Nelson, who have each led many of the practice’s most important projects, are able to range much wider, engaging through the design board with every new project, as well as working creatively with the teams.

Stefan Behling, leader of Group 4, brings to bear his expertise in ecology and sustainability, combining his role in the practice with that of Professor of Architecture at Stuttgart University. Nigel Dancey, leader of Group 6, has a particular interest in the interface with clients and user groups and the social agenda. Narinder Sagoo offers another perspective. A younger architect, he is responsible for graphic visualisations across selected projects. The composition and leadership of the design board will develop and rotate over time, with the potential for mobility between groups and the board.

In developing and communicating the design concept, the six groups are complemented by a range of specialist disciplines, including materials and environmental research, product design, space planning, interior design, communications, graphics, visualisations, model making, and 3D computer modelling. In translating the design into built reality, the project teams are supported by a range of in-house disciplines. We have specialist teams with particular expertise in information technology, contract management and construction; these teams are led by Graham Young, Mark Sutcliffe and Paul Kalkhoven respectively, all of whom are senior partners.

The advent of digital technologies has allowed us to design and build structures with complex geometric forms that would not have been feasible as little as twenty years ago. The practice’s specialist modelling group has an advanced 3D computer modelling capability that allows architects to explore design solutions rapidly and to communicate data to consultants and contractors. While new technologies have transformed the way we work, traditional model making still plays a crucial role and our sophisticated model shop can produce everything from sketch models to full size mock-ups.

The practice also has an information centre with a comprehensive materials research centre that helps architects to select products and initiates the use of new materials, ensuring that we have the knowledge base to create inspirational as well as sustainable buildings. We have been at the forefront in investigating sustainable technologies since the 1970s – long before the term ‘green’ was familiar to most people. Our ambition today is to establish a sustainability profile for every project. This development tool allows each team to determine targets and methods at the beginning of each project. In doing so, our aim is to provide a system to monitor the sustainability agenda of individual projects and to promote a strong sustainable design ethic. Each design team is encouraged to record its sustainable design methods, regardless of the project’s size, location or type. This information is collated in a database that can be accessed throughout the practice to inform subsequent projects.

We recognise, however, that as architects we are only as powerful as our advocacy. We understand that not every project will be able to meet all the desired criteria. Equally, we believe that we have a responsibility to try to persuade clients to adopt sustainable strategies – even small steps in the right direction are better than none at all. Our sustainability forum was established to promote the use of sustainable technologies and methods throughout the practice. The forum is part of the research and development group, whose role is to ensure that the practice remains at the forefront of architectural innovation. It is an interdisciplinary working group, with representatives from the six design groups, the information centre, communications, training, and research departments. These representatives provide the crucial link between the forum’s resources and knowledge and the individual design teams.

This sustainability methodology is augmented by providing formal and informal training to the practice’s staff on a range of issues, including renewable energy sources, sustainability criteria and assessment, environmental analysis, and visualisation techniques. By maintaining a commitment to internal and external research, we are not only up-to-date with new knowledge and techniques, but are also able to evaluate their relevance and appropriateness for individual projects. These measures ensure that environmental awareness is an integral part of the practice’s culture as it evolves to meet the challenges of the next forty years.