During a recent visit to the renowned architecture firm ‘Foster + Partners’ in London (of ‘Gherkin’ building fame), I was struck by how interdisciplinary their team was. And it was a reflection of how interdisciplinary their projects – in 70+ countries – had needed to become, marrying the built environment with concerns around mobility, sustainability, and society. It was not just about architects designing a building anymore, but it was now also about – what place did that building have in the city and community that it was located in?; what was its place in the local economy?; how would it interact with people and how would people interact with it in return?; what was the building role in recognizing and solving the environmental challenges that a place is faced with?… All complex questions that clearly require interdisciplinary answers and solutions. So, the Foster + Partners team of nearly 1,400 staff is now comprised of a ecclectic mix of behavioral psychologists, urban planners, acousticians, design thinkers, data scientists, environmental engineers, sustainability modelers, anthropologists, workplace strategists, etc. In particular, thinking of environmental sustainability throughout their projects seemed to be a key focus, and something that one of their senior team said to us was quite poignant – “There is 3 times as many people on the planet as when our practice began and that drives what we do”.

Interdisciplinary teams work at the Thames-riverside offices of Foster + Partners, in the London Borough of Wandsworth.