Foster & Partners is facing criticism for defending the aviation industry as it announced its withdrawal from Architects Declare, the environmental commitment signed by more than 6,000 practices worldwide.

The Architects Climate Action Network (ACAN) accused the practice of making a “bizarre, outdated statement”, while Architects Declare (AD) itself said it was disappointed by the decision.

Fosters announced yesterday that it was pulling out of the declaration because of a difference of opinion over whether designing airports can ever be justified.

In a statement (see box below), founder Norman Foster sharply criticised AD for using protest rather than innovation to tackle the issues and called for a “sense of proportion and serious consideration of the facts”.

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