Dezeen Wire: architectural researchers Arch-Vision have published a report demonstrating that demand for sustainable building materials across Europe is increasing. More »

A grid of timber louvres screens the end facades of this Japanese house by architects AE5 Partners. More »

A solo show of work by artists Studio Job opened at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands this week. More »

Dezeen Wire: a tower on the site of the United Nations‘ campus in New York by Pritzker Prize winning architect Fumihiko Maki that has been on hold since 2004 has been given the green light to continue development - The New York Observer

Maki’s proposal for a long, narrow 35-storey tower on the same site as buildings by Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier was stalled by political arguments between the U.N. and the City of New York. The design will now need to undergo alterations ahead of a planning application and is due to break ground in 2013.

Dezeen Wire: architecture critic Jay Merrick lauds the forthcoming exhibition Building the Revolution: Soviet Art and Architecture 1915-35 at the Royal Academy in London and explains how the bold, fragmented imagery of this period has influenced contemporary architects from Zaha Hadid to Rem Koolhaas - The Independent

Merrick delves into the historical circumstances that informed the revolutionary approach to creativity of artists and architects such as El Lissitzky, Alexandr Rodchenko and Vladimir Tatlin, stating that “in a world awash with ‘iconic’ architecture, nothing comes even close to radiating the raw potency of this truly revolutionary form.”

Dezeen Screen: in this interview filmed at Mint Gallery in London, Japanese designer Oki Sato of Nendo talks about Growing Vases, an installation of hand-blown glass lights with the blower’s pipe still attached. Watch the movie »

This Barcelona cafe looks more like a warehouse, with everything from sofas to fridges housed within tall shelving units. More »

Guest artists will be invited to live and work inside this shard-like timber hut. More »

Following our recent feature about projects that intentionally look as though the builders haven’t left yet, here’s a restaurant in Mexico City with lumps of plaster and holes on its ceiling. More »

Check out the latest issue of Dezeen Mail for all the best stories and comments from Dezeen, including two unusual transport options: float around at random on an inflatable cloud or jet off from the world’s first space tourism port. There’s also an update from Dezeen Wire, the latest movies on Dezeen Screen and all our new competitions and jobs. Take a look at it here.

Dezeen Mail is sent out every couple of weeks and you can subscribe here.

Dezeen Wire: architects including Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Foster + Partners and Snøhetta have submitted plans to a controversial competition that proposes the transformation of a Victorian public gardens in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Models of the six shortlisted entries were unveiled at a public exhibition yesterday but Andrew MacGregor, secretary of the protest group Friends of Union Terrace Gardens, condemned the designs as an “absolute abomination” and said there would be rolling public protests by supporters who want to keep the gardens as they are - The Scotsman

London designers Studiolav have declared the pencil redundant and redesigned it for life in a pencil-pot graveyard. More »

Dezeen Wire: the Design Museum has announced that the building at Butler’s Wharf in London, which has been its home since 1989, is up for sale. More »

Dezeen Screen: British designer Tom Price talks about his Meltdown series of furniture while he melts a big ball of nylon rope into a chair in this movie from the Tales of the Hunt interview series made by Brussels gallerist Victor Hunt. Watch the movie »