Opinion: earlier this month Vitra's Tony Ash argued that copyists are "eating away at the very creativity of our industry". In response, Chris Diemer of replica furniture company Voga argues that firms like his are making good design affordable for the masses. More about "To tar all replica furniture companies with the same brush is neither fair nor accurate"
Cologne 2015: Milan studio Skrivo has collaborated with Danish brand Soft Line to design a chair with a backrest that is inserted into the seat like a wafer in an ice cream. More about Skrivo's Halo chair comprises two parts that slot together
A house that stretches down to a nearby reservoir (pictured), Foster + Partners' cycle-friendly tower and a residence with transparent walls feature in Dezeen Mail issue 238. Click through for all the latest news, jobs and reader comments from Dezeen.
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Within the intricately moulded interiors of this Parisian office block, architect Estelle Vincent has inserted a trio of boxy timber meeting spaces – one of which is can be exited down a pale blue slide (+ slideshow). More about Wooden meeting rooms by Estelle Vincent include seating, lockers and a slide
The arches of the Great Hall inside Washington DC's National Building Museum currently host 60 models of conceptual and completed buildings, for BIG's first ever exhibition in North America (+ slideshow). More about BIG's Hot to Cold exhibition opens at the National Building Museum
The expressive landscapes of Vincent van Gogh provided the visual cues for giant 3D flowers and enormous straw hats in Dutch fashion house Viktor & Rolf's Spring Summer 2015 haute-couture collection (+ slideshow). More about Viktor & Rolf turns Van Gogh artworks into sculptural haute-couture garments
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Penny Webb has developed a lamp, a mirror and a textile that fluctuate in hue when subjected to different stimuli, even if they occur many miles away (+ movies). More about Penny Webb's homeware changes colour in response to breath, touch or movement
As the Belgian town of Mons starts its year as European Capital of Culture, architect Daniel Libeskind has completed a convention centre with a golden metal exterior and a sharply pointed prow (+ slideshow). More about Congress centre by Daniel Libeskind opens in Europe's 2015 Capital of Culture
Stockholm 2015: Stockholm-based Note Design Studio has reduced the dimensions of a typical lounge chair so that this seat for Swedish brand Fogia will fit into increasingly smaller homes and offices. More about Sling chair by Note Design Studio is sized for compact spaces
The base of this sports university building in Portugal by architect Pedro Reis is a concrete plinth set into a hillside, while a long white box above contains classrooms (+ slideshow). More about University building by Pedro Reis combines a white box with a rough concrete base
Brooklyn studio SO-IL has stretched a thin layer of white film over the facade of the Storefront gallery in New York, giving the building a vacuum-packed appearance (+ slideshow). More about SO-IL wraps white plastic around New York's Storefront gallery
News: NASA is testing an unmanned aerial vehicle that would scope out the terrain of the red planet to decide the best routes for rover vehicles to explore (+ movie). More about NASA plans to use drones for exploring Mars
Maison&Objet 2015: hand-cut patterns cast shadows from within these blown-glass lampshades by London designer Benjamin Hubert (+ slideshow). More about Benjamin Hubert experiments with glass blowing to create Beacon lamps
Lego bricks could be used to transfer design models into real-time digital files with this prototype system by London studio Gravity (+ movie). More about Lego X turns toy building blocks into a digital modelling kit for designers
Business news: designer Marcel Wanders and entrepreneur Casper Vissers have regained complete control of Dutch design brand Moooi, buying the remaining 25 per cent of the company they co-founded in 2001. More about Moooi co-founders buy remaining stake from B&B Italia
This weathered steel-clad artist's studio by architect Christian Tonkin has an angled body that follows the slope of the hill, but one end projects out to frame views out over the rooftops of nearby Bregenz (+ slideshow). More about Tick-shaped art studio by Christian Tonko follows the slope of an Austrian hillside
News: the cost to build a new outpost of the V&A museum in Dundee, Scotland, has almost doubled to the sum of £80 million – a figure that architect Kengo Kuma has claimed is "surprisingly high" (+ movie). More about Kengo Kuma "surprised" after V&A Dundee costs rise to £80 million
Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa has created a new version of his simple smartphone for telecommunications company KDDI. More about Naoto Fukasawa designs streamlined Infobar A03 smartphone for KDDI
A tapered column of cast concrete supports the underside of a dark oak staircase inside one of the residences that occupies this converted London garage by Patalab Architecture (+ slideshow). More about Single concrete leg props a staircase inside converted Primrose Hill garage by Patalab
Harp strings fixed across the facade turn this hotel chapel on a lakeside site in Shiga Prefecture, Japan, into a huge musical instrument when the wind blows (+ slideshow). More about Lakeside hotel by Ryuichi Ashizawa adjoins a wedding chapel with a musical facade