This week on Dezeen, The American Institute of Architects awarded James Stewart Polshek its highest accolade of the year, while RIBA picked seven students to receive the 2017 President's Medals. 

A virtual reality version of a gated community in Las Vegas and a modular solution to London's housing crisis were among the seven winning student projects chosen for this year's RIBA President's Medals, which marked the first year that students from the University of Nottingham and The Cooper Union were awarded the prize.

RIBA President Ben Derbyshire praised the student's "focus on the important role that architecture plays in social betterment" at an awards ceremony in London.

Ennead Architects co-founder James Stewart Polshek, known for designing the Clinton Presidential Center in Arkansas and his renovation of New York's Carnegie Hall, was awarded the 2018 AIA Gold Medal this week.

Discussing the reasons for his selection, the AIA pointed to Polshek's "sensitivity as an architect" and work to "restore the promise that architecture can be an uplifting force in the world".

UK heritage body Twentieth Century Society claimed the conversion of London's former Commonwealth Institute into the new Design Museum had ruined the listed building, lamenting the loss of a "magnificent post-war masterpiece".

The Restaurant and Bar Design Awards also came under fire this week, as it was pointed out on social media that the organisation had picked 41 men and four women for its jury, with one person describing the situation as "another white sausage fest".

In architecture news, Dutch firm MVRDV announced its plans to create a neighbourhood of seven mixed-use towers in Abu Dhabi featuring pixellated corners, which will surround a public square designed by Bjarke Ingels' firm, BIG.

BIG also revealed designs for a sports and music stadium in Austin, Texas, covered with a chequerboard-like roof, that will also be used for Texas rodeo.

Graphic designer Ivan Chermayeff, who created iconic logos for New York's MoMA, television network NBC, and airline Pan Am passed away this week aged 85.

Popular projects on Dezeen this week included a sugar mill converted into a resort hotel in China, an architecture-referencing sex manual inspired by the Karma Sutra and a contemporary office in Montreal filled with custom-made furniture and plants.