This week on Dezeen
We've been reporting from Milan all this week, where highlights included Lasvit's sculptural glass lamps and Studio Job's illustrated wallpaper. Philippe Starck named this year's "only acceptable" trend as "choice" and Marcel Wanders complained about how computer-rendered concepts are making products "look extremely boring". Read on for more news, plus our Dezeen Music Project featured track.
Empyreal is a glitchy, synthesizer-based track by Newport producer 800xL.
Listen to more Dezeen Music Project tracks »
Architect Daniel Libeskind was in Milan for the design week, where he compared his own work to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and claimed that he doesn't try to be liked. Jamie Hayon also courted controversy when he suggested that listening to what consumers want ultimately leads to "crap" design.
Popular products presented in Milan included a furniture collection made from concrete blocks and MDF by British artist Sarah Lucas, multi-coloured rugs by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, and Afteroom's three-legged chair and stackable table.
Other highlights were United Visual Artists' dramatic laser installation for MINI and a geometric interior by Nendo that frames a collection of monochrome shirts.
In architecture news, David Chipperfield was named winner in a competition to design the Nobel Prize's new home in Stockholm, controversial plans were unveiled for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station by Frank Gehry and Foster + Partners, and Herzog & de Meuron won a competition to design a hospital in a Danish forest.
The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and architect Raymond Moriyama launched a $100,000 award to rival the Pritzker Prize, which will be awarded every two years through an open competition.
Technology stories included a series of prototype high-tech "holdable" devices designed as "a satirical comment on the wearable tech frenzy", and a 3D-printed eyeglass that monitors breathing and pupil size to measure what people find interesting online.
Popular architecture projects on Dezeen this week included a community library in China featuring a roof that turns into a playground and a Brazilian house that combines raw concrete with slatted timber.
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