![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/files\/2020\/12\/gerald-adler.jpg\")
<\/a>Professor Gerald Adler<\/a> shares, “A few evenings curled up reading Witold Rybczynski\u2019s Home: A Short History of an Idea<\/em> will certainly get anyone fascinated in domestic space. The familiar is so often overlooked, and rejected as banal, but \u2018home truths\u2019 tell us so much about our human condition. Rybczynski writes with elegance and wit, and gets us into surprising depths.<\/p>\nIn a similar, but poetic, vein my favourite volume of Seamus Heaney, Seeing Things<\/em>, is the archetypal \u2018touchy-feely\u2019 accompaniment to the thinginess of our world. If you are tired of the overuse of the word \u2018materiality\u2019, then this slim volume is the perfect antidote. And finally, if you want to understand what is arguably England\u2019s greatest contribution to the visual arts, see or read Tom Stoppard\u2019s play Arcadia<\/em>. It will tell you in an amusing nutshell everything you need to know about the Picturesque, and about the historical decline from \u2018thinking to feeling\u2019 as his protagonist Hannah declares.<\/p>\n If you want a more academic take, then do read Nikolaus Pevsner\u2019s The Englishness of English Art. <\/em>Happy reading!”<\/p>\n Chip Sullivan\u2019s Garden and Climate<\/em> reminds us of the elements that make successful gardens, through a fascinating historical journey focusing on deign and microclimates.\u00a0 Shifting our attention indoors, Lisa Heschong\u2019s Thermal Delight in Architecture<\/em> highlights the role of the thermal perception along with its rich cultural associations.\u00a0 Architecture needs to move beyond visual aesthetics, using thermal qualities and enriching our experiences for successful building design.\u00a0 In the era of climate change, I would argue both of these books are more relevant than ever!”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We asked our Head of School, Professor Gerald Adler, and our Deputy Head of School, Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou for their recommendations on books or films … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40592,"featured_media":3775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[124,158264],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3772"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40592"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3772"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3782,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3772\/revisions\/3782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/ksa\/files\/2020\/12\/marialena-nikolopoulou-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>Professor Marialena Nikolopoulou<\/a> reflects, “With the year coming to a close, 2020 will be remembered for many reasons. Amongst these, it was the year that we learned to fully appreciate nature.\u00a0 Our daily walks during the national lockdown periods provided the highlight of the day. It was the year that awakened our senses and public gardens were celebrated.<\/p>\n