Building Tomorrow: Urban Design

Every month, three different voices from the practice share their ideas about the future of the built environment. Covering a range of typologies – from healthcare to airports and the workplace – we are building a picture of tomorrow.

This month, we hear from members of the practice’s Urban Design + Landscape team: Alex Gault, Theo Malzieu, and Luisa Peixoto. Their responses highlight the importance of designing urban environments that successfully integrate ecological principles, the need for tensions and dialogues between different perspectives, and the role of mobility design in creating future-ready cities.

Alex Gault

“As an ecologist, working within the Urban Design + Landscape team, it’s my role to bring an additional layer of understanding about the natural world to our work. 

We begin every project with a full context analysis, which helps us to better understand the natural assets on site and how they connect with the wider landscape. It’s important that this happens early in the process so we can set parameters that will inform the design from the outset and have the most powerful impact. 

When designing, we follow a ‘mitigation hierarchy’ which prioritises the avoidance of detrimental impacts, protects important features, and enhances valuable habitats. Projects such as the Maratué masterplan, on the Puchuncaví coast in Chile, are an opportunity for habitat protection and restoration. Areas with high ecological value are carefully preserved and the location of any development carefully considered.  Opportunities for people to access nature are integrated into the design, with accessible pathways, wildlife observatories, and wetland parks. Other projects, such as the masterplan to transform Larnaca’s seafront, are about bringing nature back to the site. The city’s canals are rewilded and replanting is extensive to restore natural processes and create new habitats for wildlife.

In terms of worldwide urban development, our collective knowledge and resources provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to design urban environments that successfully integrate ecological design principles. More projects than ever are driven by these principles, as the benefits beyond biodiversity – such as improved health outcomes and climate resiliency – become more widely recognised. For example, we know that restoring the natural meander of rivers increases resiliency against flooding, improves water quality, and diversifies habitats for wildlife. Smart design leaves space for nature to flourish, with people being an integral part of that ecosystem.”

Alex is an ecologist who works within the Urban Design + Landscape team. Since joining the practice in 2022, she has worked on a range of projects from the Ellison Institute of Technology campus, an interdisciplinary research and development facility in Oxford, to the Yuhang District masterplan in Hangzhou. 

Theo Malzieu

“The first projects that I worked on at Foster + Partners were competitions for the West Kowloon Cultural District, in Hong Kong, and then Jeddah Metro a few years later. Our strategy for West Kowloon freed up space for a 23-hectare public park – creating a new destination for all in the heart of the city. Meanwhile, our proposal for Jeddah would transform the city through transit-oriented developments to reverse its reliance on cars and lay the foundations for a sustainable future. Two very different contexts, but both projects had a similar purpose of giving space back to people and making the cities friendlier and more resilient. 

In 2018, I moved to Sydney and worked on the city’s own metro project. Our vision defined the passenger experience and the integration of oversite developments, while outlining how each station would plug into the urban realm. It was a real privilege to work on a project that is now helping turn the tide on Sydney’s car dependency.  

As it affects so many people, urban planning is inherently political, and requires a balance of economic, ecological, and social considerations. To meet these needs, our team is interdisciplinary, and includes urban planners, economists, environmental psychologists, anthropologists, and social researchers, who work together to provide a holistic approach.

We are building on our experience of delivering transformative projects in cities around the world, and approach strategic planning with our own design lens. This gives us a unique edge to influence decision making for large-scale urban projects. We use the latest technologies, including our own suite of AI tools, however, I think the human aspect of planning, including the tension and dialogue between different perspectives, remains crucial for creating meaningful and sustainable urban environments.”

Theo leads planning and strategy within the practice’s Urban Design + Landscape team. Having studied human geography, he joined Foster + Partners in 2010 to focus on masterplans and city-scale projects. Theo works in the Sydney office and collaborates with a team of town planners, economists, social scientists, and urban researchers.  

Luisa Peixoto 

“Good mobility design is at the heart of every successful city – providing opportunities for people to access jobs, services, and social activities, enhancing their quality of life. It is essential for creating sustainable and healthy urban environments that are flexible and resilient.  

When it comes to designing urban mobility projects, we focus on creating developments that work at a macro level – but are also functional and engaging at a human scale. We also balance effective traditional modes of transportation, such as cycling, with the latest technologies, including autonomous pods and shared mobility solutions, to create efficient, future-ready cities. Contextual factors, such as the local culture, terrain, and existing infrastructure play a significant role in determining the appropriate transport options for a project.

Our vision masterplan for a 38-hectare site at the heart of Constanța in Romania, is a great example of future-facing mobility design that could have a transformative effect on people’s lives. The project relocates the train station to redistribute traffic and enhance the public realm. New green pathways and cycle lanes around the edges of the site enhance mobility and reconnect once disparate parts of the city.”

Luisa is a mobility specialist who joined the practice in 2022. She has worked on a range of urban design projects, from a masterplan for the Yuhang District in Hangzhou to Sudameris Plaza, a new state-of-the-art headquarters in Asunción. 

Artwork by the Design Communications team at Foster + Partners.