The editors of this themed issue of SPOOL place the discussion on the possibilities and impossibilities of criticism within the field of the design disciplines at centre stage. We are especially interested in how criticism can make an active contribution to taking a position vis-à-vis what we have called, in earlier issues of SPOOL, the contemporary condition of 'the landscape metropolis'. Criticism is an important means of reflection on the creative processes and interventions that are part...

Anne Lacaton has been a visiting professor at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment during the Fall Semester 2016-2017, hosted by the Chair of Heritage & Design. In the professional field of Heritage & Design the starting point for design is not just a functional brief and a blank sheet of paper but the challenge of an existing spatial setting and cultural-historical context. It is a dynamic and innovative field in architecture that deals with the architectural re-int...

Boutique hotels and B&Bs have become exceptionally popular among tourists and travellers in recent decades. B&Bs originated in the United Kingdom, but have spread across Europe and beyond. Fantastic Escapes: Architecture and Design for Stylish Stays features somewhere in the region of 200 boutique hotels and B&B projects from around the world, including Argentina, Canada, Chile, China, Europe, India, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Scandinavia, South Africa, South Kore...

In this PhD research, the major environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change, sustainable energy transition and scarcity of resources, are approached from a spatial, landscape-architectural perspective. The goal is to accelerate the transition to liveable, low carbon cities. The focus of the research is at the local scale and attempts to turn challenges into opportunities for a better quality of life and living environment.

This research contributes to sustainable urban develo...

This research sought to understand how the trajectory of urban development, which is shaped by the colonial legacy, has produced the contemporary geography of contention in Malaysia. Given that public space is shaped by the colonial legacy, how does it

facilitate or hinder street protests as a function of democracy, which is also a vestige of colonialism? To do this, rather than going into a long discussion about notions of public sphere and public space, much of which originated from Western...

Everyone loves The Dude, the shaggy, laid-back burnout from The Big Lebowski, so memorably brought to life by Jeff Bridges. But what if this hapless figure somehow found his way into a completely different film, perhaps from another era?Spot our hero as he ambles his way through the sets of 12 iconic movies, from Titanic to Apocalypse Now, The Wizard of Oz to Rocky. Once you've successfully located him, find a host of other iconic movie characters and references in every scene.

In 2012 Luster published Belgium's Best Buildings, an elegant and easy-to-use pocket guide for architecture fans and for everyone who is curious about architecture in Belgium. That same year, the book was nominated as 'One of the most inspiring architecture books of 2012' by Architectura.be and The Word Magazine presented it as one of the 'Six of Belgium's Best Travel Guides'. The concept of the book hasn't changed for this new updated and expanded edition: starting from the top ten lists of ...