Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has developed a concept to introduce natural ecosystems into cities with designs for "farmscrapers" made from piles of giant glass pebbles for a site in Shenzhen, China (+ slideshow). More about Asian Cairns by Vincent Callebaut
Milan 2013: British designer Ross Lovegrove will unveil a concept car he has designed for French car manufacturer Renault in Milan next month (+ movie). More about Concept car by Ross Lovegrove for Renault
The latest issue of Dezeen Mail leads with Pritzker-winner Toyo Ito - whose Dome in Odate (above) features in our slideshow of his key projects - along with Hella Jongerius for KLM, Coop Himmelb(l)au in China and all the latest news, jobs, competitions and reader comments from Dezeen.
Read Dezeen Mail issue 144 | Subscribe to Dezeen Mail
More about Dezeen Mail #144
Dutch office MVRDV and French architects de Alzua+ have won a competition to re-masterplan the French town of Villeneuve d'Ascq and are proposing a building that cantilevers over a motorway. More about The Beam by MVRDV and de Alzua+
Opinion: in this week's column, Sam Jacob argues that great architecture can't be evaluated in terms of money or cultural entertainment, but must "speak directly to ideology and love". More about "There’s no column in the spreadsheet for ideology"
Design Indaba 2013: glow-in-the-dark roads and responsive street lamps were among the concepts to make highways safer while saving money and energy presented by Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town earlier this month. More about Smart Highway by Studio Roosegaarde
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has completed a temporary pavilion made from cardboard tubes at the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid. More about IE Paper Pavilion by Shigeru Ban
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: earlier this month we kicked off our Dezeen and MINI World Tour at the Design Indaba conference in Cape Town. Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs rounds up the highlights of the week. More about Dezeen and MINI World Tour at Design Indaba
News: concrete made with unprocessed sea sand has been found in at least 15 buildings under construction in Shenzhen – including what will be China's tallest building when completed – putting them at risk of collapse. More about Corrosive concrete halts construction of China's tallest building
Shimmering steel panels chequer the facade of this office building at an aluminium plant outside Buenos Aires by Argentinean architects Adamo-Faiden and Estudio Silberfaden. More about Industrial Pavilion Hydro Aluminium by Adamo-Faiden and Estudio Silberfaden
Dezeen promotion: the founders of lighting consultancy Light Collective are inviting readers to attend an online seminar about how lighting designers find their inspiration on 26 March. More about Inspired by Light online seminar call for participants