Dreams + Disillusions (Routledge, 2024) moves fluidly between concrete reality and multiple universes that exist in lucid prose, poetic visions and the extraordinary imaginations of history's (in)famous minds. Through six chapters, it unveils stories of urban lives, gender equality, spatial and social justice, exploring how dreams – whether shaped by circumstance, manipulation or planned perfection – can sometimes lead to disillusionment. Featuring 18 illustrated speculative case studies and more than 150 drawings, the book presents a rich collection of imaginative concepts, provocative ideas and satirical criticism.

The book is the 12th published by Lim and claimed the number one spot on Routledge's 2024 Annual Bestsellers List, marking his sixth title to achieve this accolade. The book has also received a glowing review from the world-renowned American art/architecture critic, academic and author Aaron Betsky in The Architect's Newspaper:

In an era of shape-shifting Elizabethans, many multiverses and contested realities, some of them hallucinated by AI, British architect and theorist C.J. Lim and his collaborator, Luke Angers, gives us Dreams + Disillusions, a delectable collection of visions of what cities all around the globe might have been, could become or, if you look at them through this designer's skewed perspectives, already are. Through a dozen 'case studies' and more analytic chapters that romp through everything from the aftermath of London's great fire to North Korea's Hermit Kingdom, Lim presents a universe of brightly coloured and gravity-defining architectures … [His] luscious visions are a welcome tapestry of imagining other worlds, an act of weaving that we need more of now, more than ever."

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  1. 'Dante's Trees'. Mass tree-planting initiatives are no atonement for decades of carbon sins, and ‘greenwashing’ companies or states with otherwise poor environmental records only fuels ignorance. Today’s green urban dream is too often about a controlled version of nature and, according to NASA, ‘we need to understand not only whether it’s possible to do such a thing, but whether we should do it.’
  2. 'Hometown Glory'. London wants to hear the singer Adele’s no-nonsense logic and relatable voice of empowerment. The reconceptualisation of cities must start from first principles, from a gender-based perspective of space and time and the recognition that cities are more equitable if more female voices are heard, especially in policymaking roles.
  3. 'Relocating Commonwealth'. There is widespread recognition that migrants have hugely enriched our lives economically. However, economic growth cannot take precedence over human conscience and change should be guided by progressive knowledge. It is best to avoid repeating mistakes by learning from them.
  4. 'Roosevelt Island'. In Madelon Vriesendorp’s iconic painting ‘Flagrant Delit’ (1975), the Empire State and Chrysler buildings make love. From their union, a reimagined UN is birthed as ‘Roosevelt’s Yellow Submarine’. It sets sail as an itinerant United Nations in its ark-like structure to spread the gospel of climatic end times throughout the globe.