The folded concrete walls of this lakeside visitor centre in China's Anhui Province were designed by architects Archiplein to mimic the uneven surfaces of the surrounding mountains (+ slideshow). More about Tianzhoushan Tea House by Archiplein
Dutch Design Week 2013: Amsterdam designer Pieke Bergmans developed a technique similar to glass blowing to create these plastic lighting installations (+ slideshow). More about VAPOR blown-plastic lighting collection by Pieke Bergmans
Opinion: in his latest Opinion column, Sam Jacob argues that objects tell us more about ourselves than literature or imagery and sets out his manifesto for "a culture of design informed by archeology and anthropology". More about "The history of human culture is written not in text but in objects"
Vertical yellow and grey stripes decorate the exterior of this family house in Mexico by León firm tactic-a (+ slideshow). More about Huit House by tactic-a
Dezeen Mail issue 176 includes a phone made from modular Lego-like parts and all the latest news, jobs, competitions and reader comments from Dezeen.
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More about Dezeen Mail #176
Our second story today featuring products presented like model kits is Italian designer Fabio Novembre's window installation for Tommy Hilfiger at La Rinascente department stores. More about I Have a Lifestyle model-kit window installation by Fabio Novembre for Tommy Hilfiger
This furniture collection by designer Silva Lovasová is based on tiny toy products that have been 3D-scanned and enlarged to full scale. More about 1:1 scaled-up dolls' house furniture by Silva Lovasová
Industrial design firm Dyson has unveiled a cordless vacuum cleaner for hard floors that sucks up dirt and wipes the surface at the same time. More about Dyson Hard two-in-one vacuum cleaner by Dyson
Utrecht studio Today Designers has created a book of nautical tales that smells like the sea because it's printed with squid ink. More about Naar Inkt Vissen book printed with squid ink by Today Designers
Brains Unlimited is the name of this recently completed trio of buildings, which provides a neuroscience research facility for Maastricht University in the Netherlands (+ slideshow). More about Brains Unlimited neuroscience facility by Wiegerinck
These spoons shaped for eating specific snacks by Dutch designer Ineke Hans have to be popped out of a plastic frame before use. More about Special Spoons by Ineke Hans come like a model kit
Dezeen promotion: Thai tile brand COTTO has launched its latest range of faux marble and straited tiles first unveiled at the Cersaie ceramics show in Bologna, Italy, in September. More about COTTO unveils 2014 tile collection
These flat-packed schools have been designed for assembly in Southeast Asia by Californian architects Amadeo Bennetta and Dan LaRossa (+ slideshow). More about Moving school by Amadeo Bennetta and Dan LaRossa for Building Trust
News: New York architect Steven Holl has won a competition to design four museums in Qingdao, China, with a concept for a series of "art islands" linked by a looping route of galleries and pathways (+ movie). More about Steven Holl to design four museums for new complex in China
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in our second movie from Eindhoven, Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Dave Hakkens explains his concept for a modular mobile phone made of detachable blocks, an idea that looks set to become a reality now he has teamed up with Motorola. More about "With Phonebloks you only throw away components that are broken"
Opinion: journalist and critic Mimi Zeiger argues that trying to rewrite design history with all-female shows like MoMA's Designing Modern Women does nothing to "shake up the dominant masculine ethos" that still plagues the industry. More about "We need to place ideas, not gender, front and centre"
News: visitors to the museum at the Dessau campus of the Bauhaus can now spend the night in the dormitories of the former German Modernist design school (+ slideshow). More about Bauhaus opens its dorms to paying guests
Dutch Design Week 2013: design graduate Aagje Hoekstra has developed a plastic made of pressed insect shells. More about Coleoptera plastic made of beetles by Aagje Hoekstra
Movie: in this exclusive interview Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayón discusses the design of his first watch collection. More about "There is a little bit of playfulness in Orolog watches" - Jaime Hayón
Architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Lippmann Partnership have completed a 34-storey office tower in Sydney with criss-crossing red braces on its sides and an elevated terrace cutting through its middle. More about 8 Chifley by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Lippmann Partnership