Opinion: Kieran Long argues that while it's fun to be cynical about pop cultural artefacts like Katy Perry Lashes, a recent expose on the conditions in which they're made proves that it's vital for design criticism to move beyond semiotics. More about "We must examine the human cost of objects, not just their semiotic resonances"
News: in this movie interview filmed for a documentary about Rem Koolhaas, rapper Kanye West talks about working with the architect's firm OMA on a seven-screen cinema to show his first film and reveals that he's working on a second movie. More about Kanye West announces second film in interview about working with Rem Koolhaas
Dezeen promotion: the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam is accepting applications to study on its Master of Interior Architecture & Retail Design (MIARD) course. More about Apply now to study at the Piet Zwart Institute
Design Miami 2013: architect Norman Foster plans to add a row of stone pavilions to the Norton Museum of Art in Florida as part of a major overhaul that will double the building's gallery space, and he unveiled the designs yesterday during the opening of the Art Basel Miami Beach and Design Miami fairs. More about Foster unveils extension plans for Florida's Norton Museum of Art
A bridge over a stream connects the two sides of this concrete house in India by Mumbai firm Architecture Brio (+ slideshow). More about Concrete house by Architecture Brio that straddles a stream in India
Eindhoven designer Erez Nevi Pana has developed a dough made from soil and fungus that can be baked in an oven to create stools and chairs strong enough to sit on. More about Furniture made from soil then baked like bread by Erez Nevi Pana
Behind our fifth advent calendar window is Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, who was awarded the 2011 Pritzker Prize and designed the red concrete museum dedicated to artist Paula Rego (pictured) in his home country.
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More about Dezeen's A-Zdvent calendar: Eduardo Souto de Moura
News: students from the Bartlett School of Architecture have cleaned up at the RIBA President's Medals Student Awards this evening, with winning projects including a floating community centre for the Helsinki archipelago and a proposal to rebuild 250 Russian churches. More about RIBA President's Medals Student Awards 2013 all go to one London school
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Matthias Borowski has created a range of furniture that resembles oversized confectionary (+ slideshow). More about Furniture that looks like giant sweets by Matthias Borowski
Design Miami 2013: giant mound of sand appears to support an aluminium roof at New York studio Formlessfinder's Tent Pile installation outside this year's Design Miami fair, which opens to the public today (+ slideshow). More about A pile of sand marks the entrance to Design Miami
News: Dubai has won the bid to host the World Expo 2020 with a masterplan by architects HOK, beating Zaha Hadid's rival proposal for a lagoon-side park in the Turkish city of Izmir (+ slideshow). More about HOK masterplan leads Dubai to Expo 2020 victory
Young German designer Hanna Emelie Ernsting is producing her latest furniture collection herself following a "really tough" experience with a major brand, and has warned fellow designers to "watch out" for unfair contracts (+ interview). More about Change to the furniture industry "will have to come from designers"
News: architecture firm Foster + Partners and designer Thomas Heatherwick have unveiled images of a finance centre they are collaborating on, which is currently under construction in Shanghai. More about Foster and Heatherwick team up on Shanghai finance centre
This narrow house in Tokyo by local studio Another Apartment has no windows or doors on its front to prevent neighbours from seeing inside. More about Long Window House by Another Apartment has no windows or doors on its front
French office Topos Architecture used timber cladding and a pitched roof to give this kindergarten in Mayenne, France, a domestic appearance that the architects thought would be more welcoming to children (+ slideshow). More about Timber-clad kindergarten with "the silhouette of a house" by Topos Architecture
British architect David Chipperfield is the fourth in our A-Zdvent calendar of architects. He was last year's director of the Venice Biennale and is best known for designing museums and galleries, inlcuding the Hepworth Wakefield in the UK (pictured).
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More about Dezeen's A-Zdvent calendar: David Chipperfield
Design Miami 2013: here's a preview of the nearly completed Pérez Art Museum Miami by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, which opens tomorrow to coincide with the Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach collectors' fairs, and which suggests a new "kind of vernacular" for the city according to Jacques Herzog (+ slideshow + photography is by Iwan Baan). More about Herzog & de Meuron's Pérez Art Museum creates new "vernacular" for Miami
One half of this energy-efficient house in the Netherlands by Paul de Ruiter Architects is raised above the landscape in a glazed box, while the other half is buried underneath a pool of water (+ slideshow). More about Ecological house in a glass box raised above the landscape by Paul de Ruiter Architects
Classic sports cars appear to be frozen as they explode in this series of images by Swiss artist Fabien Oefner (+ slideshow). More about Detailed photos capture exploded sports cars
Portuguese studio Tiago do Vale Arquitectos has renovated a townhouse in Braga that was built as a servants' house in the late nineteenth century and modelled on the style of an Alpine chalet (+ slideshow). More about Portuguese townhouse meets Alpine chalet in this renovation by Tiago do Vale Arquitectos