These four concrete apartment blocks by Spanish architects TASH were only completed last year, but they already look strangely abandoned in these photographs. More about Protected Collective Houses in Toledo by TASH
Dezeen Wire: Elle Decoration editor Michelle Ogundehin has declared British furniture brand Habitat "as good as dead" in an article on the magazine's blog, stating "I give it two years max" – read the blog post
Ogundehin says that the retailer, which closed all but three of its UK stores earlier this year, failed to react to competition within the market and "increasingly misunderstood 'Lifestyle'," its key selling point. She claims that Habitat has lost its original focus on innovation and simplicity, and rubbishes plans by current owners the Home Retail Group to sell Habitat products at Argos and Homebase outlets, adding that their one remaining interest is to "flog stuff."
See our previous story on Habitat going into administration.
More about Habitat is "as good as dead" - Elle Decoration editor
A team of illustrators and graphic artists camped out for a week in this Rococo-style dome hidden under a carpark in Soho, London, covering every surface and arch with a sinister, sprawling illustration for new restaurant and bar Meat Liquor. More about Meat Liquor by Shed and I Love Dust
Sebastian Wrong, design director for British brand Established & Sons, gives a tour of their exhibition inside the former fire station at Berlin Tempelhof airport in this movie Dezeen filmed at new Berlin design fair Qubique 2011 last month. More about Sebastian Wrong at Qubique 2011
No more searching around for a pencil sharpener in the bottoms of pen pots or backs of drawers: this waste-paper bin by Korean designer Giha Woo has a sharpener in the lid so it's waiting right where you need to use it. More about Circle or Dot by Giha Woo
A series of circular apertures puncture the rectangular concrete buttresses of a nursery in Valencia by Spanish architects Rstudio. More about Pio Baroja Nursery by Rstudio
Continuing our fifth birthday celebrations this week, here is the Dezeen team's list of the five best parties we've hosted since we launched in 2006:
Glass screens slide back and forth across a timber grid that divides this apartment in Japan. More about House in Hiyoshi by Camp Design Inc.
We're finalising plans for our Christmas shop, The Temporium, with many more designers and brands signed up - including Swedish outfit Bookman, who are supplying special red and white versions of their cult Bookman cycle lights (above) to decorate the Christmas tree.
We also have Japanese snacks, knotted collars, limited-edition prints, paper eyelashes, bird cushions and much more... More about More designers and brands at The Temporium
Dezeen Wire: the U.N. World Intellectual Property Agency has reported a rise in the amount paid as royalties and licensing fees from $2.8 billion to $180 billion in the last 40 years, representing a 60-fold increase – The Washington Post
The report shows that high income countries such as France, Germany, Japan, Britain and the United States continue to lead the way in research and development but that China's share in the global market has risen from 2.2 percent in 1993 to 12.8 per cent in 2009.
Last week we reported on measures being taken by the UK government to improve intellectual property laws, designer James Dyson also raised the issue when he accused a Chinese manufacturer of copying one of his brand's vacuum designs and Elle Decoration editor Michelle Ogundehin has criticised companies who reproduce classic products.
More about $180 billion spent on royalty fees annually - Washington Post
Dezeen Wire: British architect Richard Rogers has warned that plans by the UK government to simplify planning regulations could lead to unmoderated urban sprawl, "with rust belts and towns joining each other" – Daily Mail
He added: "If the framework is not improved it will lead to the breakdown and fragmentation of cities and neighbourhoods as well as the erosion of the countryside." Rogers' concerns about the government's new National Planning Policy Framework are shared by environmental campaigners who say they don't offer a clear enough definition of sustainable development.
Richard Rogers was involved in a planning battle in 2009 over his proposed redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks in London – see reports on Dezeen Wire
More about "Britain could become enormous Los Angeles-style ghetto" - Richard Rogers
Dezeen Wire: England footballer Wayne Rooney has hired architects Pulmann Associates to design a shed in the garden of his £4 million home – The Sun
A bevelled cantilever contains the living room of this house in Nagoya, Japan, by architects Studio SKLIM. More about Hansha Reflection House by Studio SKLIM
Dezeen Wire: architecture critic Rowan Moore claims that corporate facilities integrated into the plans for the controversial London River Park would turn it into a "gigantic hospitality suite with a fairly nice walkway threaded through it" – The Observer
Moore describes architects Gensler's proposal as "the latest example of a widespread type of the 21st century, the pseudo-public space." He criticises the design for the walkway and rentable pods, describing them as "offensively indifferent" to their historical surroundings and says the project organisers should learn from New York's High Line park in order to turn a good idea into a popular public space.
See our previous story on the 35-metre model of the London River Park.
More about "The London River Park: place for the people or a private playground?"- The Observer
Austrian designer Robert Stadler has created a new bistro chair for Thonet, a brand famed for their bentwood chairs synonymous with cafe culture that have hardly changed in a hundred years. More about Chair 107 by Robert Stadler for Thonet
The perforated brick walls of this triangular house in Barcelona overlap at the corners. More about House 712 by H Arquitectes
Dezeen Wire: in her latest article for The New York Times, design critic Alice Rawsthorn explains how Dutch designer Aldo Bakker's expressive process and relentless attention to detail make him "one of the new wave of designers who could be called design-auteurs" – The New York Times
Bakker's products and furniture perform simple functions in ways that Rawsthorn says demonstrate "a quiet confidence, as if every element has been resolved with nothing left to chance." Bakker says of his creative methods, which can lead to each product taking years to develop: “I love having the freedom to pay attention to every detail in my work, no matter how crazy."
See designs by Aldo Bakker on Dezeen and read more articles by Alice Rawsthorn here.
More about "Keyed to Detail, No Matter How Crazy" - The New York Times
Dezeen is five years old this week! In the first of a series of stories celebrating our anniversary, Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs selects his five most memorable stories of the past five years: More about Dezeen is five: our five most memorable stories
Dezeen Wire: the director of London's Design Museum Deyan Sudjic claims the museum's new home at the former Commonwealth Institute will offer a platform for future designers and that Britain can regain its reputation as creative power, "provided we go on investing in design" – The Guardian
Sudjic describes the Design Museum's original incarnation at the Victoria & Albert museum as "a little like an upmarket squatter in the V&A basement," but suggests that "contemporary design is now firmly on the cultural agenda." He claims that Britain must support design education in order to stay ahead of emerging economies, adding that "design is a way to create or safeguard jobs."
James Dyson also recently wrote an article on the importance of design to the British economy and we previously reported on the Design Museum's current building being up for sale.
More about Design Museum move will "help nurture a new generation of creative talent"- Deyan Sudjic
Dezeen Wire: designer and co-founder of British brand Established & Sons Sebastian Wrong has launched The Wrong Shop, his own retail venture focusing on limited edition products by leading designers. More about Sebastian Wrong launches new limited edition design platform