Now, he's arguably responsible for more of the world's instantly recognizable buildings than any other architect. 這位建築師有許多世界上一眼就能認出的著名建築，可說比起其他建築師都還多。
Certainly here in London and around Europe, 至少在倫敦和歐洲確實如此，
but what drives the designs of Norman Foster and what does he make[s] of today's age of architecture is part of this month's "Spirit of Architecture" program. 而本月的《建築精神》節目，就要介紹諾曼‧福斯特建築設計背後的動力，還有他對當今這個時代建築的看法。
Becky Anderson sits down with the master designer. 貝琪‧安德森訪問了這位設計大師。
He may be based in London, but his appeal and attitude is truly international. 他的事務所雖然位於倫敦，但他的吸引力和態度卻超越了國界。
I caught up with Lord Norman Foster in Barcelona and began by asking him what the purpose of architecture is. 我在巴塞隆納與諾曼‧福斯特男爵見面，第一個問題就是：建築的目的是什麼？
Since man came out of the cave, [he] needed to be protected from the elements, 人類不再居住在洞穴之後，就需要有其他東西遮蔽風雨。
and then it becomes apparent that the quality of that environment affects the quality of your life, so the other dimension. 接著，我們發現自己居住的環境會影響生活的品質，其他層面也是一樣。
In that sense, it's about society; it's about civilization; it's about a social agenda. 就這方面來說，建築關乎社會，關乎文明，關乎社會進程。
It also is about symbolism. It's about the things that you can't measure. 建築也關乎象徵，關乎你無法衡量的東西。
How do you measure the quality of the light, a view, sunshine? 你要怎麼衡量光線、景色、日光的品質？
When you look at a building, what makes you feel happy and what makes you feel angry? 你看到一座建築的時候，哪些東西會讓你感到高興，哪些東西又會讓你感到氣憤？
What makes me feel good is when the environment, if I use it in the broadest sense, 最讓我感到愉快的，就是當那個環境--我所謂的環境，是以最廣泛的定義而言--
has been taken seriously by everybody involved, and they've insisted on quality. 受到參與其中的所有人認真看待，而且堅持品質。
And quality is not about money; it's about attitude; it's about the quality of the thinking. 至於品質，也不是花錢多少的問題，而是態度，是指思考的品質。
You go to Rockefeller Center -- you know, that's a public space; there's a place there. 你到洛克斐勒中心去，那是個公共空間，是個大家都可以去的地點。
You go to Central Park; it's an extraordinary thing. 你到中央公園，那是個讓人嘆為觀止的地方。
You can't think of New York without Central Park. It's part of the infrastructure. 想到紐約，就一定會想到中央公園。中央公園是紐約市容的一部分。
Of course, there are iconic buildings -- overused word -- 當然，還有許多「代表性建築」──這是陳腔濫調的字眼了──
but buildings which over time still command our respect and attention, and, you know, they roll off the tongue. 這些歷時許久的建築，仍然深受我們的仰慕和注意，
There's the Seagram Building, you know? There's the Chrysler Building, the Empire State and so on. 大家經常掛在嘴邊，例如希格蘭大樓、克萊斯勒大廈、帝國大廈等等。
Does every building that you're involved with have to be memorable and / or unique? 你參與過的建築物是不是都一定要讓人難忘或是充滿獨特性？
I don't think it has to be memorable. 我不認為我設計的建築必須讓人難忘。
If you come to our studio, you'll see schools, and we can talk about the way those schools have changed the lives of the children in terms of their academic standard. 你到我們事務所可以看到我們設計的學校，而我們也會和你談論這些學校對學生的學業成就有什麼影響。
You can measure that. 這是可以衡量的東西。
You can measure it from the school they were in before. It's not just the architecture. It's also about the teaching. 你可以和他們原本就讀的學校比較。重點不只在於建築，也在於對教學的影響。
How would you describe or characterize the age of architecture that we're in at the moment? 你會如何描述當前這個建築時代，或認為它有什麼特色？
It's an age of rapid change. It's an age of rapid urbanization. It's an age of extraordinary opportunity. 這是個快速變化的時代，也是快速都市化的時代，同時也是充滿機會的時代。
And over time, I'm sure that, you know, future generations will sit back and say, "Well, they did that well. They did that, you know, not-so-well." 以後，我相信我們的後代子孫會閒坐聊著：「當初那東西做得不錯，但這個呢，就不怎麼樣了。」
It's a time of dynamic change, and many approaches, but also extraordinary opportunities through competition systems which didn't exist in the past. 這是個變動頻繁的時代，需要各式各樣的不同做法，但前所未有的競爭體系也提供了許多非常傑出的機會。