The development of sustainability insights

A group of Loughborough University London students worked with Foster + Partners, a worldwide architecture and design company.

Foster+Partners are interested in developing thinking around The Internet of Things and how to apply the derived Big Data to influence design and architecture projects at a variety of scales. The students worked on a brief taking a multidisciplinary approach to developing sustainability insights to inform strategic design decisions. This required in-depth research into social, economic and environmental indicators to inform decision-making based on key information and metrics. This project had a strong emphasis on visual communication of data and outputs were required to be communicated in a visually compelling manner. 

The Collaborative Project was a really positive experience, the students were brimming full of good ideas and presented the material in a logical manner.

Chris Trott, Head of Sustainability, Foster + Partners

About Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners are a worldwide architecture and design company focused on developing thinking around the Internet of Things and how Big Data can be used to improve the quality of our daily life. Foster + Partners have over 1100 employees across 20 offices worldwide including New York, London, Beijing and Buenos Aires, with over 45 different languages spoken. Many of their projects have taken place in famous cities and countries, for instance they designed and constructed the Westlake Apple Store in China.

Visit to the headquarters

The visit to the company provided the students the experience of a highly effective and motivated work environment in London. The chance to communicate directly with the clients (employees) in the company particularly enables the students to better understand and solve the problem they were working on. The feedback of such visit was very positive.

This is a challenging but enjoyable module for all involved.

Dr Sharon Prendeville, Lecturer in Design Innovation

What is Foster + Partners up to now?

Foster + Partners have a range of design and construction projects on the go all over the world at the moment. They recently unveiled design plans for Brooklyn, New York, and started construction in Stockholm, Sweden.