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...

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...

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 ...

Writingplace Journal for Architecture and Literature is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal focusing on architecture and literature.

This journal is a vehicle for the Writingplace platform to continue its exploration of the relationship between architecture and literature, which has already resulted in the publication of Writingplace: Investigations in Architecture and Literature in 2016.

Each issue of the journal will focus on themes central to the fruitful relationship betw...

What physical and morphological conditions need to be in place within an urban environment in order for Complex Adaptive Systems dynamics arise - such that the physical components (or ‘building blocks') of the urban environment have an enhanced capacity to discover functional configurations in space and time as a response to unfolding contextual conditions?

This thesis looks at how cities operate as Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS). It focuses on how certain characteristics of urban form can ...