Norman Foster has spoken of his concerns for the future of architecture in London and condemned the government’s decision to cancel the expansion of the High Speed 2 rail network to Manchester.

The Foster & Partners founder and three-time Stirling Prize winner said he feared the built appearance of the capital was at risk of becoming “repetitive” unless the quality of decision-making in relation to planning improved.

Foster’s comments came in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, coinciding with the launch of his Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities.

He was asked directly about 2020’s Living with Beauty report, by the government’s Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, which among other things accused modular urban development of resulting in “bland, clumsy and placeless” buildings.

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