The Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein is hosting a major retrospective exhibition of work by late Finnish Modernist architect and designer Alvar Aalto, a year after Vitra's acquisition of Aalto's furniture company Artek (+ slideshow). More about Vitra Design Museum hosts Alvar Aalto retrospective
This lamp by Swiss design studio Big-Game couples a hammered metal shade with a modern aluminium stand. More about Big-Game's Hammer Lamp combines traditional and contemporary metalwork
Beijing architecture firm Remix Studio has literally outlined its plans for the renovation of an ancient hutong residence by marking proposed structures with illuminated white strings (+ slideshow). More about Remix Studio outlines hutong house renovation plans with UV installation
Prefabricated brick panels create decorative cladding that complements the existing 1970s buildings surrounding this new facility for the Danish Meat Research Institute designed by CF Møller for a campus near Copenhagen (+ slideshow). More about CF Møller completes red brick facility for the Danish Meat Research Institute
AIM Architecture has designed a lobby featuring a light tunnel and a white "gallery-style" shopping centre for a retail and office complex in Shanghai (+ slideshow). More about AIM Architecture designs "back to the future" interiors for Shanghai shopping centre
Porto studio OODA has renovated two 19th-century buildings in the city to create apartments that contain monolithic freestanding units housing the kitchens, beds, bathrooms and other furniture (+ slideshow). More about OODA's multifunctional modules combine bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms in one unit
A warren of interconnecting spaces moulded to resemble melting snow form an après-ski apartment in China's Hebei province by Vienna and Beijing-based studio Penda (+ slideshow). More about Penda creates snowdrift-inspired interiors for a Chinese ski retreat
Architect Jô Vasconcellos has connected blue boxes of different dimensions in a long line to form this museum dedicated to Brazil's most popular alcoholic spirit, cachaça, in the city of Salinas (+ slideshow). More about Cachaça Museum by Jô Vasconcellos has bright blue blocky facades
Described as an update of the "classic string shelf", this customisable shelving system by Berlin design firm Studio Hausen comprises a series of steel and ash wood modules. More about The Link Shelf offers an update on a classic modular shelving system
There are few designers who haven't relied on a caffeine fix to get them through a long night before a major deadline. So in honour of the under-celebrated International Coffee Day we've collected together 11 of the best coffee-related designs from the pages of Dezeen. More about 11 of the best designs for coffee-lovers
Dezeen Book of Interviews: in the third extract from our latest book, London-based architect David Adjaye discusses his longstanding fascination with Africa and the opportunities it holds for architects. More about David Adjaye: "Africa offers an extraordinary opportunity"
London Design Festival 2014: this angular steel chair by Georgian designer Sandro Lominashvili has a seat with four corners, but only three are attached to the frame. More about Chair 3/4 by Sandro Lominashvili looks like an optical illusion
Comments update: a prototype for a flying car was the focus of a debate on the future of transport this week, while a classic piece of Brutalist architecture divided readers over the merits of high-rise social housing. More about "As useful as a concrete cushion"
Architects Marina Stassinopoulos and Konstantios Daskalakis have slotted a house with three courtyards around existing oak trees on the Greek island of Kea (+ slideshow). More about House in Kea is a concrete residence built around oak trees on a Greek isle
London design studio PostlerFerguson has collaborated with Viennese jewellers A.E. Köchert to make a set of bespoke microphone accessories for DJ Ken Hayakawa, being presented for Vienna Design Week. More about PostlerFerguson partners with Viennese jewellers to design bespoke microphone accessories
Hong Kong studio Rural Urban Framework has completed a grey-brick hospital in the Chinese village of Angdong that is intended to set a benchmark for health facilities in rural areas (+ slideshow). More about Hospital for a rural Chinese community features a ramp that slopes up to the roof
American brand Proper Coffee has developed a machine that can take up to four hours to brew one pot of coffee – a process expected to improve the richness and reduce acidity. More about Proper Coffee's Imperial Drip machine brews drinks slowly to improve flavour
This gabled extension to a brick house in the Netherlands was designed by Studio Prototype to mimic the shape of the original property but is clad in an entirely different material. More about House W extension by Studio Prototype contrasts stripy cedar with original brickwork
Greek designer Marios Karystios has revamped the schoolroom of a maths teacher, adding brightly coloured furnishings and vintage accessories that aim to make learning more fun (+ slideshow). More about Marios Karystios redesigns a classroom for a maths teacher
Bratislava-based MEJD Studio has developed two new lights that look like objects sliced in half – the first features a pendant lamp and bowl that together resemble a water jug, while the second is a table lamp comprising two halves of a brass globe (+ slideshow). More about MEJD Studio slices traditional objects in half to create contemporary lighting