Dezeen Magazine

Bompass & Parr vegan hotel room inside Hilton London Bankside hotel

This week, vegan design was in the spotlight

This week on Dezeen, the "world's first" plant-based hotel suite was unveiled by Bompas & Parr, and plans for the debut Vegan Fashion Week in Los Angeles were announced.

In a bid to show that veganism is "no longer only a dining trend", food design studio Bompas & Parr designed a vegan guest suite for a hotel in London.

The suite is upholstered in a number of plant-based materials including Piñatex, a leather-alternative made from the cellulose fibres in pineapple leaves.

World's first Vegan Fashion Week to launch in Los Angeles

The news followed the announcement of the world's first Vegan Fashion Week, which will launch in Los Angeles in February 2019.

Over the course of four days, the topics of animal rights, social justice, technology and intersectionality will be highlighted through a series of runway shows, exhibitions and panel discussions.

Tower Fifth by Gensler
Tower Fifth supertall skyscraper proposed for Midtown Manhattan

In the US, WeWork's parent company opened a shop, cafe and workplace that can used by the public, in New York.

Also in the city Harry Macklowe and Gensler unveiled visuals of a 96-storey office tower in Midtown Manhattan. If built, the glassy, rectangular structure named Tower Fifth could become New York's tallest skyscraper by roof height.

Quarry hotel: Shimao Wonderland Intercontinental Hotel in China by Jade+QA
Jade + QA unveils "groundscraper" hotel in Chinese quarry

Two long-awaited projects in China were unveiled. Jade + QA revealed a hotel that descends 16 stories into an abandoned quarry near Near Shanghai.

It was joined by Bernard Tschumi Architects' Exploratorium museum in Tianjin, a 33,000-square-metre building that has large, chimney-shaped exhibition spaces protruding from its facade.

London Centre for Music by Diller Scofidio + Renfro
Diller Scofidio + Renfro unveils twisted pyramidal tower for Barbican concert hall

In London, the Tulip came into the spotlight again after mayor Sadiq Kahn stated that the 305-metre-tall viewing attraction designed by Foster + Partners breaches planning guidelines.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro revealed its design for the London Centre for Music at the Barbican, which it has dubbed "a concert hall for the 21st century".

Glasgow School of Art refutes claim removed mist system "would have saved" building

Glasgow School of Art hit the headlines again after it rebuffed The Times' claim that a mist system removed from the historic Mackintosh building, which was destroyed by a fire in 2018, could have saved it.

The 15 Clerkenwell Close saga also continued, when Islington Council found the "lost" planning documents submitted by architect Amin Taha for the controversial housing block in London.

The Chapel by Craftworks in south London, England
The Chapel named best house extension in Don’t Move, Improve! 2019 awards

Award news included a chapel conversion in south London receiving first prize for Don’t Move, Improve! 2019, an annual contest that celebrates the best new house extensions in the UK's capital.

Holly Hendry, Chris Hildrey, Lawrence Lek and Public Practice were also named on shortlisted for the first Experimental Architecture Award.

Kindergarten in Czech Republic encased in two layers of translucent fibreglass

Popular projects on Dezeen this week include a kindergarten wrapped in translucent fibreglass, a large wooden climbing frame in Vietnam and an Australian house with a Parisian apartment aesthetic.