Zaha Hadid's concrete university building in Beirut, an apartment with a rooftop swimming pool, and Dezeen columnist Kieran Long's reaction to the Venice Architecture Biennale feature in this week's Dezeen Mail newsletter. Read on for the latest news, jobs and reader comments from Dezeen.
Read Dezeen Mail issue 206 | Subscribe to Dezeen Mail
More about Dezeen Mail #206
Opinion: by excluding architects and focusing on research for this year's Venice Architecture Biennale, Rem Koolhaas has given the world an insight into what he thinks about architecture. The result is less than encouraging, says Kieran Long. More about "Elements makes you unutterably sad for Koolhaas and what he thinks architecture is"
News: Finnish furniture brand Artek has appointed former Design Miami director Marianne Goebl as its new managing director. More about Artek appoints Marianne Goebl as managing director
Visitors can stroll through free-standing wooden frames in this pavilion that IPT Architects has installed outside the V&A Museum of Childhood in east London. More about IPT Architects creates rib cage-like pavilion using wooden frames
Venice Architecture Biennale 2014: the late English architect Cedric Price is "one of the most important figures in all disciplines in the 20th century" and comparable to Marcel Duchamp in terms of his influence, according to curator Hans Ulrich Obrist (+ interview + slideshow). More about Cedric Price is "like Marcel Duchamp" says Hans Ulrich Obrist
The two barn-like wings of this house by Nash Baker Architects, in the English town of Tonbridge, feature blackened timber cladding and glazed walls shielded by wooden louvres (+ slideshow). More about Nash Baker's Bourne Lane house takes cues from old English barns
Venice Architecture Biennale 2014: a monumental installation of interconnected bicycle frames by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been installed in the riverside courtyard of Palazzo Franchetti in Venice. More about Ai Weiwei's Forever Bicycles installed at Palazzo Franchetti in Venice
UK design brand Very Good & Proper has added material options for the legs of its MT Club Chair, originally designed for a London restaurant. More about Very Good & Proper designs new legs for MT Club Chair
A wall of windows fronts this angular concrete house by VAUMM, which is sunken into the landscape of a sloping site in the suburbs of Gipuzkoa, Spain (+ slideshow). More about Concrete walls sink into the ground at VAUMM's MNGB House in Spain
Fights over the armrest in an airline cabin or auditorium could be eradicated with this two-tiered support by Hong Kong designer James Lee (+ slideshow). More about James Lee designs Paperclip Armrest to end elbow grapples on the plane
Venice Architecture Biennale 2014: the Russian Pavilion at the biennale is dressed up as a trade fair, where 20 fictional companies present examples of modern Russian architecture as products and concepts for sale (+ slideshow). More about Strelka transforms Russian Pavilion into a trade fair of architectural ideas
News: British sculptor Antony Gormley has added a crouched figure containing a guest suite to the facade of a London hotel. More about Antony Gormley creates a giant metal sculpture you can sleep in
News: engineering firm Arup has produced prototype 3D-printed steel construction joints that could be used to create more efficient structures. More about Arup unveils its first 3D-printed structural steel building components
News: US technology firm Honeywell has released a minimal smart thermostat that learns household routines, a rival to Nest's similar connected home product. More about Honeywell joins connected-home market with Lyric smart thermostat
Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with UK studio Chisel & Mouse to give readers the chance to win a miniature architectural sculpture from their collection. More about Competition: five architectural sculptures by Chisel & Mouse to be won
Dutch studio MVRDV has transformed a neoclassical chapel into the main entrance for a museum of modern art in Schiedam, the Netherlands, adding bright red shelves between the listed building's existing features (+ slideshow). More about MVRDV converts a chapel into an entrance for the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: London designer Keiichi Matsuda explains how augmented reality could transform the way we navigate the city in the first of our video interviews with designers participating in our Dezeen and MINI Frontiers exhibition. More about Augmented reality road markings and signage "could be applied as a digital layer"
Venice Architecture Biennale 2014: Chile's Silver Lion-winning pavilion at the biennale centres around a prefabricated concrete wall that is closely tied to both the country's political history and its 20th century housing stock (+ slideshow). More about Chilean Pavilion in Venice centres around a politically charged concrete wall
Austrian studio chmara.rosinke created this Japanese-influenced daybed with rotating textile screens as a place to retreat and think, for a design competition run by fashion house Hermès (+ slideshow). More about Timber daybed by chmara.rosinke features built-in privacy screens
Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten sourced locally produced bricks for the walls of this house in the Dutch countryside, but also installed a large glazed wall to offer views of the picturesque landscape (+ slideshow). More about Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten uses red brick for Dutch countryside house