This thorough study on the work of the German-Jewish philosopher Walter Benjamin exposes - in Benjamin’s own metaphor - the ‘dwarf of theology’ hidden in the machinery of his work, his own form of ‘historical materialism’. In doing so it unearths and explains his language theory, his art theory, his most cryptic baroque book, his philosophy of history, and, last but not least, his famous labyrinthine unfinished opus magnum on Paris, The Arcades project (the first philosophical book ...

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Hoofddeksels en bedekkingen zijn misschien wel de krachtigste uitingen van culturele identiteit. Designer Daniela Dossi onderzoekt in Hybrid Heads de symbolische, politieke en sociale waarden van hedendaagse hoofddeksels, vertrekkend van een archief van persfoto’s van overal ter wereld.

Ze ontwikkelde een methode en open designsysteem om hoofddeksels te remixen en zo dynamische culturele identiteiten te creëren. Uit de combinaties van textielsamples met archief...

How can the public library fulfil its classic social mission in our individualized and sometimes fragmented society? And how does such a library fit into the urban public space, in which commerce and consumption seem to reign supreme? This requires innovative architecture, the strength of imagination and the willingness to think countercyclically.

In Imagination and Participation librarians Rob Bruijnzeels and Joyce Sternheim examine the most important transitions in public library work. They...

The Why Factory daagt Hongkong uit. Welke rol zal deze metropool in de toekomst spelen? Op welk specialisme moet ze zich richten in de krachtmeting met andere steden, zoals Shenzhen, Sjanghai en Singapore? Welke doelen moeten er gesteld worden? Wat zouden de juiste ingrediënten zijn? Kan Hongkong haar hoge kwaliteit inzetten om zich verder te ontwikkelen? En hoe?Deze publicatie schetst alternatieve trajecten, nieuwe visies en strategieën voor de stedelijke en architectonische toekomst van H...

Een prachtig aangelegd plein waar je wegwaait, een moderne stadswoning waarin je 's zomers door de hitte niet kan slapen. Iedereen kent voorbeelden van stedelijke architectuur waarvan het ontwerp onvoldoende rekening houdt met het stadsklimaat. In deze publicatie wordt op begrijpelijke en beeldende wijze uiteengezet hoe uitgekiend stadsontwerp het comfort in de stad kan verhogen.

De manier waarop wij het stadsklimaat beleven, is afhankelijk van fysieke en omgevingspsychologische factoren. Aa...

Ted Noten is one of today’s most original, radical designers. His transparent acrylic bags – containing objects ranging from animals, jewels and cocaine to pistols – have seduced collectors, confused the establishment, inspired fellow artists and challenged students all over the world. Beauty and violence, perfection and decay: these are themes that have never been absent from his oeuvre since he made his famous pendant featuring a mouse wearing a pearl necklace.

In his projects, Noten...

Urban Megaprojects – here referred to as Grands Projets – are increasing in number all over the world. They have become major drivers for urban intensification and oftentimes set out to take a city’s expansion to the next level. As such, Grands Projets can be read as manifestations of the larger economic and political agenda of their city and they offer a productive moment to investigate current urban trends in a globally connected form of concentrated urbanization.

The book looks into ...

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- English -

Narrative Architecture reveals a stream of remarkable architectural and urban visions in the twentieth century that culminated in the construction of one of the most powerful, misunderstood and underutilized weapons of architectural and urban critique, thinking and representation.

This historical genealogy in three parts weaves inseparable modern architecture and narrative critique through never before seen images of half a century of utopian, heroic, commerc...