By Theresa Konova & Tobias Arends   Figure 1: An urban green space comprising smart, fair and healthy urban greening strategies, Parc de Bruxelles. Photo: João Cortesão, 2024. In: Reporting the Delta. NAI010 Publishers.   TOPOS was invited to the publication event of ‘Reporting the Delta’ by nai010 publishers. Following the event, we’ve asked Agnès Patuano, WUR teacher and researcher about the article she wrote together with João Cortesão – a former WUR colleague and urbanist

Column by Geert Walinga This winter in January, the weather gods blessed us with a week of snow fall. It is a phenomenon that many recognize and remember as delightful and nostalgic: a time to be like a child again, of spontaneous snowball fights, of gathering inside with red blazing hands for a hot drink. Like a soft blanket over the harsh reality, sealing imperfections underneath a white sheet. A magical world for a short while, silent and peaceful. I have been thinking for

Article by Sjoerd Brandsma Congratulations! In 2025, the 10,000,000th car was registered in the Netherlands (AutoWeek, 2025). Everything that receives attention grows, but in this case that often comes at the expense of Quality-of-Life goals: space for greenery, freedom, health, livable streets, clean air, silence, justice, playing children, and hedgehogs. And yes, I also own a car myself, but I do not automatically need all the privileges that come with it. So why do I get t

Mooi! by Theresa Konova Whenever we go to a park, it is often the case to dive into the setting, and any observer can confirm that parks are made in a way to satisfy the recreational wishes of the human’s body and aesthetic pleasures to the human’s eye. Although composed of a variety of carefully selected nature species (in environmentally-conscious design often also combined in a way to create a small ecosystem) people that are not in the field of landscape architecture woul

Book review by Tobias Arends Figure 1: The Mutehekau Shipu (or Magpie River) in Canada. (Peter Holcombe, 2019) 'Life' is a broad concept. Its meaning is pondered throughout life, by every generation. Does its significance change over time? Or is its meaning different to each person? Perhaps there is truth in both. These questions are always asked within the context of an anthropomorphic worldview. It forms the backdrop for all thoughts about the meaning of 'our' existence. As

Article by Ian Witte Imagine this: you recently finished your MSc thesis in landscape architecture, and suddenly you find your design in the fall edition of the Blauwe Kamer  – the leading Dutch magazine in our sector. This happened to 30 fresh graduates from all kinds of landscape architecture and urbanism study programmes across The Netherlands. All these designers were invited to join the big Kuipercompagnons Graduation Award  event, this year hosted in Wageningen. A selec

Artikel door Shanna Koppejan MSc Landschapsarchitectuur In a time of alienation and polarisation, it is increasingly important to maintain an open dialogue with your neighbours, friends, family and other community members. It fosters empathy and opens up spaces to listen and challenge our ways of thinking. But why limit that to our human community? In the Netherlands, we have forced our views on the landscape for a long time. Specifically our rivers, we have canalised, contro

Article by Roos te Velde Urban designer at PosadMaxwan Figure 1: The IJssel Bridge in Zwolle after heavy rainfall. (Source: Roos te Velde, 2023) The landscape is gaining ground in urban planning and reclaiming its space. Almost three-quarters of a century after Cornelis van Eesteren's inaugural speech on 'the relationship between the general urban plan and the development of architecture' (Bergeijk, 2017), I dare say that a new hierarchy is emerging between architecture, urba

Graduation work by Rachelle Pruim  Landscape designer Figure 1: Dancing with the Waterwolf, imagining a new Dutch water narrative. (Source: Rachelle, 2025) For centuries, the Dutch delta has been shaped by a complex water management system that has enabled people to live safely below sea level. We pump away water with ease, constructing dikes, dams and sluices. Even the river was not spared: we managed to put her in a corset, confined her within dikes and groynes. Indeed, her

Column by Pim Buijs Public space is the living room of the city. What is special about this living room is that it contains a large collection of functions for very diverse users who all make use of the same public space. How we design and manage public space depends on how we as a society use it. At the same time, there is socially desirable and undesirable use of public space, which means that the government, as the owner of public space, tries to steer certain desired beha

Dear readers, How a place is used, and by whom, are subjects that urban designers have always been concerned with. Of course, it is important to distinguish between past, present, and future situations. Public space has been used in various ways for as long as there has been interest in it. Technological developments lead to different street scenes, such as the rise of the car, but also the disappearance of old professions like that of the town crier, who woke up factory work

Interview by Theresa Konova A liminal site or liminal space in architecture is in its core an experiential space that resides on the threshold of public and private domains, capable of temporarily shifting between these states through user engagement (Bratoeva, C., 2024). The term ‘limen’ originates from the Latin word for ‘threshold’, referring to a point of transition or entry (Zimmerman, P., 2008). Drawing from the study of cultural rites of passage, liminal space provides

Column by Jol Abels The apartment we slept in was right in the city center, and when I looked out from the kitchen window over the courtyard, I recognized it immediately. The peeling walls barely three meters away, the poorly maintained window frames, and instead of seeing the ground, I saw the roofs of the lower floors. It felt as if I were looking out again from my old student room further down the road in Antwerp, where I had stared at the bare walls outside for an entire

Article by Erica Chladová and Robert van der Pol liminal office [for architecture and landscape] We were approached by TOPOS to chime in on the series “Liminal Spaces”. The writing of this article has given us the opportunity to reflect further on the meaning of liminal (or liminality) and what it means for us in our architecture and landscape design practice. Liminal office, shortened to LMNL, was founded in Rotterdam in 2017 and since moved to Oisterwijk, North Brabant in 2

Article by Pepijn Hoffard Edited by Jorunn Schaftenaar I have found myself on an interesting island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  This country, with steep peaks crashing into the oceans, never-ending plains, colourful mountains, massive glaciers, lava fields and geysers spewing constantly, leaves quite the impression. Yet, aside from its beauty, there is something odd about many of its landscapes. It makes me wonder, why does Iceland feel so liminal? Figure 1: A campi

Article by Jens den Boer Mooi! is the permanent rubric that is published once for every theme. Each time, a different member from the...

TOPOS on the Road  by Ian Witte Figure 1: Underpass near downtown Baton Rouge. (Source: Ian Witte, 2025) Perhaps you’ve heard of the...

Article by Machiel Oosse and Tobias Arends In the middle of a busy few weeks at the studio, we boarded the plane to Bucharest, carrying...

Book review by Yixin Han  A few months ago, I found myself captivated by the emergence of liminal spaces as an internet aesthetic. On...

Column by Pim Buijs Figure 1: The Moreelsebrug (Source: Jannes Linders in Cepezed, n.d.) When I work at the city office in Utrecht, I...