HOSPITALITY DESIGN INSIGHTS

The Victorian glasshouse, from orangeries and the Wardian case to Chatsworth, Kew's Palm House and Temperate House, and Singapore's cooled conservatories.

The Japanese tea house, or chashitsu, from Murata Juko's four-and-a-half-mat room to Sen no Rikyu's two-mat Taian, its nijiriguchi and roji path.

The Aesthetic Movement explained: Gautier and Pater, the Grosvenor Gallery, Godwin's furniture, Liberty & Co, blue-and-white china and Wilde's 1882 tour.

How the Tuscan farmhouse, or casa colonica, worked under mezzadria sharecropping, from the Val d'Orcia landscape to ribollita and Chianti.

Limewash and whitewash history, from Andalusia's white towns and lime kilns to conservation advice on painting old brick and New York's 1904 subway tile.

The Roman Theatre of Amman, built in 2nd-century Philadelphia under Antoninus Pius, read through Vitruvius and compared with Jerash and Bosra.

Japanese glass fishing floats, or ukidama, from Norway's 1840s invention to Otaru's Asahara Glass and the floats that still wash up on Pacific beaches.

The history of neon signs, from the 1898 discovery of neon and Georges Claude's 1910 Paris tube to glass bending, Las Vegas and Hong Kong.

A history of cast iron architecture, from the 1779 Iron Bridge and Ditherington Flax Mill to Paddington, Leadenhall Market and SoHo in New York.

Brass in interior design, from Roman aurichalcum and Dinant dinanderie to Bristol's zinc works, tarnish, lacquer and antimicrobial brass surfaces.

Carrara marble explained: how the Apuan Alps stone formed, how Rome and Michelangelo used it, how it is quarried, and its grades from Statuario to Calacatta.

Peranakan tiles explained: the English, Belgian and Japanese majolica tiles on Straits shophouses, how they were made and where to see them in Singapore.

A history of the tasting menu, from service à la russe, Escoffier and kaiseki to nouvelle cuisine, elBulli's 47 courses and Alchemist's 50.

The history of London's gentlemen's clubs, from White's chocolate house of 1693 to the Pall Mall clubhouses of Charles Barry and Decimus Burton.

Adaptive reuse explained: how office buildings become hotels, from floor plates, risers and fire safety to Hotel Burnham, The Beekman, The Ned and The OWO.

A history of the hotel lobby, from coaching inn yards and Boston's 1829 Tremont House to Bombay's grand hotels, Portman's atriums and the Ace Hotel.

What is a brasserie? The history of the French brasserie in Paris, from Bofinger's beer on tap in 1870 to Lipp, Julien and La Coupole's listed interiors.

The history of the folding fan, from Heian Japan's cypress hiogi to Ming China's painted fans, the European fan trade and Mandarin Oriental's emblem.

Marina Bay history: how Singapore reclaimed land from 1971, dammed the bay with the Marina Barrage and built the Esplanade, Helix Bridge and Marina Bay Sands.

Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi opened in 2005: WATG's design, 114 domes, 22-carat gold leaf, its conference role and the move from Kempinski to Mandarin Oriental.

Sheikh Zayed Road history, from the 1979 Dubai World Trade Centre and 1990s rebuild to Emirates Towers, the Metro Red Line and the Museum of the Future.

How Muscat grew from Old Muscat's walled harbour and 1580s forts along the coast to Mutrah, the Qurum mangroves, the Grand Mosque and Shatti Al-Qurum.

Cotai, the reclaimed land joining Macau's Taipa and Coloane: the 1968 causeway, the Lotus Bridge, the Cotai Strip resorts, the LRT and island heritage.

The Huangpu River from the drainage works of the Lake Tai plain to the Bund's banks, Lujiazui's towers, the Expo 2010 site and Shanghai's riverside paths.