German architects Kister Scheithauer Gross used Jewish symbol the Star of David to create patterned windows in the limestone walls of this synagogue in Ulm, Germany. More »

The latest house in our A-Zdvent calendar of residences named after letters cantilevers from the landscape in southern Germany and has 380 acrylic cylinders puncturing its facade. Read more about House R »

A Tube train will appear on the back of Britain's £2 coins next year, designed by British studio BarberOsgerby for the Royal Mint to celebrate the 150th anniversary of London Underground. More »

Product news: whether you fancy the Frenchman, the Millionaire, the Tennis Coach or the Fireman, the characters in this range of designer sex toys have been created in response to stereotypical female fantasies. More »

Slideshow feature: these images by French photographer Julien Lanoo document the opening week of the Louvre Lens, the Musée du Louvre's new sister gallery designed by Japanese architects SANAA and New York studio Imrey Culbert. More »

Danish studio BIG has unveiled plans for two twisted apartment blocks in Coconut Grove, Miami (+ slideshow). More »

Sloping meadows and woodland thickets are all that surrounds this boxy concrete house in the mountains of western Austria by local studio OLKRÜF (+ slideshow). More »

Wine bottles are displayed in rainbow-coloured cages in this wine shop in Stuttgart, Germany, by local studio Furch Gestaltung + Produktion (+ slideshow). More »

Built on a steep site in Spain, the seventeenth house in our A-Zdvent calendar consists of three intersecting volumes arranged around a central circulation space. Read more about Q-House »

A glazed reading room appears to float over the still waters of a shallow pool at this town library in Maranello, Italy, by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki and Italian architect Andrea Maffei (+ slideshow). More »

A secluded balcony surrounded by timber protrudes from the clean white facade of this house in Osaka, Japan, by architect Ido Kenji (+ slideshow). More »

Product news: these A-shaped stools by Japanese studio Torafu Architects slot together to make a bench. More »

Today's addition to our daily A-Zdvent calendar is a renovated summerhouse in Spain with a spiral staircase leading to the roof. Read more about PC House »

This mysterious dark gable facing the Piazzale Roma in Venice marks the entrance to a long narrow courthouse by Italian studio C+S Architects (+ slideshow). More »