Norman Foster is unarguably one of the greatest architects of the last half century. We're delighted that he joins Country Life magazine for a very special episode of the podcast.
Speaking to Country Life's Carla Passino, Lord Foster describes how he left school in Manchester at 16 before eventually working his way through university in order to forge a career as an architect, a role in which he has reshaped countless cities — not least London.
He shares his view on what makes London the city that it is, how it is a city that 'is essentially organic', and how its informality, copious green spaces and thriving neighbourhoods model can help popularise the concept of the 15-minute city across the world, and what he has to say to those who criticise how he, and his imitators, have reshaped the skyline of the British capital.
The architect also talks about his other key passion in life: flying. The 89-year-old has flown 75 different types of aircraft, including helicopters and jets.
Lord Foster also talks about the work of the Norman Foster Foundation, which officially opened in Madrid on January 22nd, and how he is trying to help tomorrow's architects to plan and create cities which are as sustainable as they are vibrant and liveable.
You can listen to the episode on this page, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Apple Podcasts
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Spotify
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Google Podcasts
- Listen to Country Life podcast on Audible
Episode Credits
- Host: James Fisher
- Interviewer: Carla Passino:
- Guest: Lord Foster
- Editor/Producer: Toby Keel
- Music: JuliusH
- Special thanks: Adam Wilbourn
Credit: Country Life Picture Library
'The best job in the world': Listen to Mark Hedges on The Country Life Podcast
Country Life has launched a podcast, and for the first episode we're pulling back the curtain on the making of
Naughty sheep, clever cows and a lifetime of farming: Rosamund Young on the Country Life Podcast
Listen to best-selling author Rosamund Young on the latest edition of the Country Life Podcast.
Norman Foster: 'London is essentially organic.'
Norman Foster on the Country Life podcast: 'The Green Belt is one of our greatest inventions'
Lord Norman Foster, one of Britain's great architects, joins the Country Life podcast.
Credit: Rosie Paterson
An insider's guide to travelling the world: Hot destinations, missing underwear and dodging volcanoes
Country Life's Travel Editor Rosie Paterson joins the podcast to share her wisdom, experience — and a disturbing number of blunders.
Tom Kerridge.
Tom Kerridge: 'Fish and chips on Brighton beach can be every bit as magical as a Michelin three-star restaurant'
Tom Kerridge, one of Britain's top chefs, is the guest on this week's Country Life podcast.
The Isle of Scarba, Patrick Galbraith's home for the week, as viewed from Luing.
My week surviving on an uninhabited Scottish island
Patrick Galbraith joins the Country Life podcast to talk about his week living on the uninhabited island of Scarba, off
Credit: Getty Images
How (not) to fix up a country house, by our interiors guru Giles Kime
Ignore your friends, take a long view and steer clear of anything that smacks of being fashionable: Giles Kime shares
Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire: one of John Goodall's five favourite castles.
My five favourite castles, by Country Life's Architectural Editor John Goodall
Listen to Dr John Goodall on the Country Life podcast as he names his five favourite castles in Britain — and
Nobody in Britain has seen more of the nation's great country houses than Penny Churchill.
Boom, bust and property lust: Penny Churchill on 30 years of Britain’s best houses
Nobody in Britain has seen more of the nation's great country houses than Penny Churchill.
-
Cocker spaniels: The indefatigable dog breed with medieval lineage that stole David Beckham’s heartOnce bred to flush out woodcock, now found in royal estates and Hollywood homes — the Cocker Spaniel’s charm knows no bounds.
-
20 breathtaking country homes for sale, as seen in Country LifeWe take a look at some of the finest houses to come to market via Country Life in the past week.
-
'Sir David Beckham came to see our cattle a couple of years ago. He was fascinated': The stockman at the Glympton EstateTrevor Kirk, a Scottish stockman who now tends the Aberdeen Angus herd on the Glympton Estate in Oxfordshire, is one of Sir David Beckham's rural heroes in the special guest-edited issue of the magazine. He spoke to Julie Harding.
-
Stefan Pitman: Making great country houses cost less to heat than a suburban semiThe trailblazing architect Stefan Pitman — founder of SPASE — joins the Country Life Podcast.
-
Dire Straits' bassist John Illsley reveals why he swapped the recording studio for the art studio — and his consuming passionsJohn Illsley rose to fame as the bassist of the Dire Straits, but nowadays you're more likely to find him in an art studio.
-
Five émigré artists who greatly enriched Britain's intellectual and creative scenesFrieze Masters kicks off this week and several contributing galleries are using it to shine a spotlight on the artistic contribution of émigrés past and present.
-
Sophia Money-Coutts: My family WhatsApp is already banging on about Christmas arrangements. Can I leave the group?Where are we spending Christmas? Who gets the best bedroom, and whose turn is it to cook?
-
The lives, wild parties and country houses of the Guinness family: Adrian Tinniswood on the Country Life PodcastThe writer and historian Adrian Tinniswood joins James Fisher on the Country Life Podcast.
-
‘One remembers not to give the Queen a thump of joyful friendliness’: Remembering Norman Parkinson — revolutionary fashion photographer and Cecil Beaton’s only homegrown rivalCecil Beaton might be the toast of London right now, with a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, but contemporary Norman Parkinson was always hot on his heels.
-
‘She was a sort of fairy godmother to Country Life’: Mark Hedges, Tom Parker Bowles, Sophia Money-Coutts and more on the genius of Jilly CooperJilly Cooper appeared in the pages of Country Life multiple times. Here, friends of the magazine reflect on time spent with her and what she meant to them.
