Difficult problems do not always require far-fetched solutions, but in order to arrive at the solution a change of perspective may be in order. The City as a System advocates such a change of perspective in the study of the urban environment. It posits that designers who wish to truly improve the functioning of the city and solve tricky urban problems cannot afford to only focus on the spatial manifestation of the city, but should also conduct thorough research into the underlying system, int...

Now available in paperback, this is a cutting edge, detailed and comprehensive exploration of architectural theory. Its focus on interdisplinarity and cross-cultural ties ensures the discipline's relationship with the social sciences is fully explored.

This volume is a sequel to the work I published, several years ago, under the title, Byzantine Constantinople: the Walls of the City, and adjoining Historical Sites. In that work the city was viewed, mainly, as the citadel of the Roman Empire in the East, and the bulwark of civilization for more than a thousand years. But the city of Constantine was not only a mighty fortress.

It was, moreover, the centre of a great religious community, which elaborated dogmas, fostered forms of piety, and co...

Concrete like materials were already applied during the Roman Empire. After the decline of the Roman Empire, a wide scale application of concrete only reappeared in the 19th century. Here lies also the origin of modern (reinforced) concrete. Since then, both concrete application and composition have significantly changed. Today, concrete from the 19th and early 20th century is considered as historic concrete.

In this thesis, we study historic concrete in the Netherlands, that is to say the co...

2nd revised editionThe work of Herman Hertzberger is the subject of wide international esteem. 1991 first saw publication of Hertzberger’s Lessons for Students in Architecture, an elaborated version of lectures he had given since 1973 at Delft University of Technology. This immensely successful book has gone through many reprints and has also been published in Japanese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Taiwanese, Dutch, Greek, Polish, Iranian, Korean and Chinese. Space and the Architect is the s...

‘Beirut, Epi-Centre Ville’ recalls the aftershock of the explosion that hit Beirut in 2020. The disaster killed 218 people and injured thousands. The devastation was enormous, destroying many homes. Lebanon’s government subsequently fell, causing political instability. The ensuing economic and administrative crisis is still ongoing. Although the blast gradually disappeared from the news, it continued to feel extremely close for Hans Wilschut. This book is his attempt to make tangible th...

The East Railway Line in London is a fascinating subject of study. It is rich in history and forms a surreal and fragmented physical presence between the City and the East End. A literary analysis of the chaotically ordered composition of this part of the metropolis involves spaces, places, voids and objects within the realm of this place of experience and imagination, with its visible elements and its ethereal body of histories and myths. The process of naming spaces and elements becomes a n...