"The ideal city is dense and compact", thinks Lord Norman Foster, recently awarded an honorary doctorate by the UAM

Lord Norman Foster was awarded an honorary doctorate - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid's highest academic distinction -  in a solemn ceremony that focused on humanism and the importance of building a better world through our actions.

Foster began his speech by expressing his appreciation and gratitude to the universities of Manchester and Yale, where he received the education that enabled him to reach the pinnacle of architecture:

It was a tortuous journey that lasted five years from the time I left school at sixteen, and I was the first in my family, in fact in my neighbourhood, to enter university. The effect of this was a greater awareness and gratitude for the privilege of learning, for the gift of knowledge and skills, a truly deep respect for those who teach and share their wisdom. (...) As an architect and urban planner, I can relate what I have done since then - and continue to do now - to my years at those universities."

The city of the future

Lord Foster also reflected on how we need to cope with population growth - another two billion people in the next 25 years.  For them, new cities should be created, and the existing ones, expanded: 

The ideal, sustainable city is likely to be dense and compact, with a historic core and nearby neighbourhoods that are safe and healthy because they are walkable, cycleable and well connected by public transport. Shops, schools, restaurants and workplaces would be within easy reach, as would parks and green spaces, he explained.

And one way to convey this message to policymakers is the fusion of academia and practice to create new types of university courses for the civic leaders of the future. It's what's happening now at UAM, through a collaboration with the Norman Foster Foundation Institute - a unique course on sustainable cities. Each year, a network of global experts in urban planning interacts with graduates who use the most advanced digital technology to work with three selected cities on pilot projects.

The Master's Degree in Sustainable Cities is a project that highlights UAM's commitment to the values of sustainable development and quality education, and the union between technological innovation and humanistic values.

His work, a lesson in humanity

Foster is the first architect and urban planner to be awarded this distinction at the UAM. Among the many reasons for awarding him an honorary doctorate, Rector Amaya Mendikoetxea pointed out that

his work exemplifies what lies at the very heart of humanism: the ability to imagine spaces that dignify life, to create places where beauty, light and harmony are at the service of people. He is a visionary who has transformed ingenuity and creativity into a legacy that inspires us all. In each of his projects we find an idea that also defines our university: that progress is meaningless unless it is directed towards expanding people's freedom, well-being and possibilities. That is why we are awarding him an honorary doctorate: because his work, beyond plans and structures, is a lesson in humanity", she said.

In his laudatio, professor Diego Barrado - sponsor of the new doctor - defined Lord Foster as "a professional who has taken architecture far beyond the technical, and who has been recognised many times as a humanist and for his contribution to culture in recent decades. The candidate is not only an architect, but also a designer of large infrastructures and an urban planner.", concluded Barrado.

Honorary doctorates are awarded to individuals of extraordinary academic, scientific, cultural, technical or humanistic merit, who are recognised nationally or internationally and who contribute significantly to the development and promotion of the values of the UAM or have close ties to this institution.

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