This week on Dezeen, independent United Nations Human Rights Council experts urged Saudi authorities not to carry out planned executions of three people for reportedly opposing the Neom mega project.

The three men were sentenced to death after being "forcibly evicted and displaced to make way for the Neom megaproject", according to Saudi Arabia and London-based ALQST.

The UN experts believe this contravenes international law. In a statement, they said: "Under international law, states that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the 'most serious crimes', involving intentional killing."

"We do not believe the actions in question meet this threshold," they continued.

Italian sportscar brand Maserati unveiled its first fully electric car, the GranTurismo Folgore during Milan design week.

Talking about the car, Maserati CEO Davide Grassi told Dezeen that electric cars do not need to be boring.

"It's about driving experience, who says they have to be dull?" he said. "If the majority of the electric cars are dull – I'm not saying that, but it's what I'm hearing from you – then this is an opportunity for us."

In architecture news, Chinese studio MAD revealed visuals of its first-ever project in South America, a twisting tower that will be built in Quito.

Called Qondesa, the skyscraper will feature planted balconies and is set to be the city's tallest building. Its twisted facade was informed by the nature surrounding the building, while its colour references neighbouring houses constructed from volcanic rocks.

Architecture studio Grimshaw unveiled a new material, Sugarcrete, which it developed with the University of East London and sugar brand Tate & Lyle.

It is hoped the material, which is made from the sugarcane byproduct bagasse, could "replace the traditional brick industry entirely, offering a potential saving of 1.08 billion tonnes of CO2, three per cent of the global CO2 production."

In design news, Japanese studio Nendo revealed its design for a beer can with two tabs – an invention it claims will "create an ideal foam" by allowing the user to regulate the level of pressure inside the can.

The studio also collaborated with US artist Daniel Arsham during Milan design week, creating objects with no specific functionality for Arsham to break and turn into new pieces.

Popular projects on Dezeen this week include a Victorian terrace house that was given a timber-clad extension, Renzo Piano's design for the Istanbul Modern museum and a grass-topped home in the Czech Republic.

Our latest lookbooks featured pared-back Scandinavian-style kitchens and brutalist Mexican concrete interiors.

This week on Dezeen

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything.