Feature: visitors to the first Chicago Architecture Biennial, which opens later this week, will discover a raft of architectural treasures that are often overshadowed by the skyscrapers and institutions the city is famous for (+ slideshow). More about 10 of Chicago's lesser-known architectural gems
This Tokyo house and office for a funeral director has been split into three sections so that two can be removed later, in case a planned road gets built through the site (+ slideshow). More about Shingle-clad home by Starpilots can be split up to make way for a road expansion
Hong Kong studio Rural Urban Framework covered this new primary school toilet block in mirrored tiles so that it reflects its surroundings, helping to camouflage the building (+ slideshow). More about Rural Urban Framework uses mirrored tiles to camouflage toilets at Mulan Primary School
Beijing architect Cao Pu has created a compact hostel in a traditional hutong courtyard that gets even smaller when its front wall is rolled back to provide extra external space (+ slideshow). More about Archicao's tiny Humble Hostel expands and contracts with a rolling facade
Zaha Hadid has created a seven-storey office block in Moscow for the city's growing IT and creative sectors, with off-set floor plates and a dramatic black-and-white atrium (+ slideshow). More about Zaha Hadid completes Moscow office block with jutting floors and monochromatic atrium
The Vancouver Art Gallery has unveiled a conceptual design for its new building by Herzog & de Meuron, featuring a series of stacked volumes clad in wood (+ slideshow). More about Herzog & de Meuron designs art museum made of stacked wooden boxes in Vancouver
NASA – the US space agency that announced the discovery of flowing water on Mars this week – has chosen a winner in its contest to design proposals for 3D-printed housing on the red planet (+ slideshow). More about 3D-printed Ice House by Clouds AO and SEArch wins NASA Mars Habitat contest
Opinion: charisma can't be learned, but it is often the architect's last line of defence against demanding clients and unsavoury economic realties, says Reinier de Graaf. More about "Charisma allows the architect to speak with authority, even when he has no clue"
Images have emerged of Damien Hirst's Newport Street Gallery – designed by London architecture studio Caruso St John in a row of converted and extended theatre warehouses. More about First official images of Damien Hirst's south London gallery released
London office Delvendahl Martin Architects has merged and extended a pair of Victorian semi-detached houses in Oxford to create a new double-fronted home for one family (+ slideshow). More about Delvendahl Martin Architects knocks through a pair of Victorian properties in Oxford
Architecture firm AZPML has completed its £750 million overhaul of Birmingham New Street railway station in the UK – but co-founder Alejandro Zaera-Polo says the result "could have been much better". More about Alejandro Zaera-Polo updates Birmingham's New Street station
New York-based Rafael Viñoly Architects has conceived a pair of residential towers for Chicago's growing South Loop neighbourhood, on a site overlooking a park. More about Rafael Viñoly unveils designs for pair of Chicago skyscrapers
An award-winning visitor centre completed last year by Oto Arquitectos on the Cape Verde island of Fogo has been destroyed by a volcano (+ slideshow). More about Award-winning building destroyed by volcano seven months after completion
Feature: with the first Chicago Architecture Biennial kicking off later this week, Dezeen picks 10 of the projects – past and present – that have helped shape the city that gave birth to contemporary high-rise architecture. More about The 10 projects that sum up Chicago's architectural history
Grimshaw Architects, the London firm behind bubble-shaped ecological park the Eden Project, has signed a £100 million deal to design a similar scheme named China Eden in Qingdao. More about Grimshaw Architects to design £100 million Eden Project in China
Vietnamese studio Vo Trong Nghia Architects has unveiled plans for a trio of housing towers in Ho Chi Minh City linked by aerial bridges and shielded from the harsh tropical sunlight by swathes of bamboo (+ slideshow). More about Vo Trong Nghia plans trio of towers covered in bamboo plants and linked by bridges
Surrounded by pine trees on the outskirts of Madrid, this concrete structure by Spanish architecture firm FRPO provides shelter and cooking facilities beside a swimming pool (+ slideshow). More about San Lucas Pavilion by FRPO is a concrete pool house amongst pine trees
South Korean studio Z_Lab has renovated a 100-year-old farmhouse on Jeju island, and renamed it Blind Whale in reference to the curves of its two smooth grey roofs (+ slideshow). More about Century-old farmhouse on Jeju Island gets a whale-inspired makeover by Z_Lab
Zaha Hadid's mountain museum at the top of Alpine peak Mount Kronplatz is captured in these new images by British photography duo Hufton + Crow (+ slideshow). More about Zaha Hadid's Messner Mountain Museum photographed by Hufton + Crow
Bulgarian architect Hristina Hristova has designed a tiny holiday home for herself and her husband that can be towed on a trailer so they can avoid the crowds along the country's built-up coast (+ slideshow). More about Mobile holiday home by Hristina Hristova offers an antidote to Bulgaria's seaside resorts