Dezeen Magazine

This week, the Garden Bridge was scrapped and controversial cladding passed fire safety tests

This week on Dezeen, the trust behind London's Garden Bridge announced its closure, while new fire safety test results of aluminium cladding blamed for the Grenfell Tower blaze were released.

The final nail in the coffin of the Thomas Heatherwick-designed Garden Bridge came with the closure of the Garden Bridge Trust, which cited a lack of support from London mayor Sadiq Khan. A financial inquiry into the scheme had found that although the project originally came with a £60 million price tag, it would cost British taxpayers an estimated £200 million.

Cladding passes fire safety test ordered following Grenfell Tower blaze

The UK government entered architecture news again this week after the results of a safety test carried out on one of the variations of aluminium composite cladding blamed for the Grenfell Tower fire showed that the material complied with existing building regulations.

Other UK news included Historic England's addition of five new buildings for the 70th anniversary of "The List", and a legal dispute between Poundland and Mondelez that will test the strength of Toblerone's trade mark following a controversial redesign.

IKEA Jesper and lock technology
Kanye West and IKEA among Designs of the Year nominees

2017's Beazley Designs of the Year awards nominations were announced, with Kanye West, OMA and IKEA among the 62 names to get a nod across the six categories of architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport.

IKEA was also in the headlines after it released instructions showing how to turn its rugs into the capes worn in Game of Thrones, following the disclosure that the show's costume designers use them to dress actors.

Zaha Hadid Architects reveals progress on Beijing skyscraper with "world's highest atrium"

Zaha Hadid Architects distributed new black and white images showing the future world's highest atrium, which is under construction inside a 207-metre skyscraper the firm has designed for Beijing.

A new rendering of the 1,550-foot Central Park Tower was also unveiled. It will be the tallest residential building on earth following its planned completion in 2019.

Pantone releases purple shade in memory of Prince

In other design news, Pantone Color Institute unveiled a new shade in honour of the late pop icon Prince, inspired by the musician's purple Yamaha piano.

And the Vantablack saga continued as Massachusetts manufacturer NanoLab emerged as the latest contender to take on Anish Kapoor's exclusive hold on the world's blackest black, with their new version called Singularity Black.

Huge porthole windows bathe Melbourne apartments with natural light

Popular projects this week included a staggered block of Melbourne apartments featuring large porthole windows, the pared-back grey interior of the first Arket store in Copenhagen and streetwear brand Supreme's update of Alvar Aalto's classic 400 Tank armchair.