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Abstract

The work of Norman Foster, often labelled as 'high-tech,' is renowned for its structural expressionism and technological rationalism. However, it is grounded in the conception of a unified whole in which science, technology, and the humanities are inseparable facets that shape both human beings and the spaces they design and inhabit. This article analyses the correlations between the new paradigms established by neuroscience and the design principles of Foster's architecture: the integral conception of reality, optimisation, and energy balance (homeostasis) as survival factors guiding decisions, and the role of perception, emotions, and feelings in the creation and evaluation of architectural and interior design solutions that lift the quality of our lives. This interdisciplinary approach rediscovers Foster's architecture and interior design within a visionary underlying framework of belief and subjectivity, driven by collective narratives and material practices that, through design, intimately connect energy transformations with human happiness. In this convergence are science, technology, sustainability, art, ethics, aesthetics, and happiness, understood as a non-separable unified whole. From this research, an interpretative framework is proposed that repositions technologically advanced architecture within studies of interiority and subjectivity, highlighting its transformative impact.

Publication Date

1-30-2026

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Submitted Date

2025-03-20

Accepted Date

2025-11-24

First Page

115

Last Page

138

Authors' Bio

Francisco Javier Lahuerta Ferris
francisco.lahuertaferris@uchceu.es
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5196-2648 

Francisco Javier Lahuerta Ferris, PhD, is an architect and Professor at the Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU and is currently a lecturer on Research, Architectural Projects, and Construction. His 2017 doctoral research explored Emotion in Norman Foster's Construction Language. Prior to academia, he spent nine years at Foster + Partners, contributing to projects such as Apple Flagship Stores, the Bloomberg HQ, and the Mexico City Airport, and seven years leading his private practice focused on residential design. His current research includes neuro-architecture, semiotics, and construction technical design.

Bartolomé Serra Soriano
bartolome.serra@uchceu.es
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3491-5615

Bartolomé Serra Soriano (Valencia, 1982) graduated in Architecture (2007) and completed his PhD in Architecture from Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU (2015). He is a Professor of Architectural Construction in the Department of Projects, Theory, and Technique of Design and Architecture at the School of Technical Education at the Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU. He is accredited as an Assistant Professor (ANECA) and an Associate Professor (AQU). He has completed two Research Evaluation Periods (2010–2015 and 2016–2021, CNEAI). His articles have been published in Energy & Buildings, Informes de la Construcción, PPA, VLC Arquitectura, Rita redfundamentos, En Blanco, and Springer. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Architectural Theory and Technique Research Group at UCH-CEU.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Author(s) retain the copyright of articles published in this journal, with first publication rights granted to Interiority.

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