Brooklyn studio Snarkitecture has transformed the grand hall of the National Building Museum in Washington DC into a "beach" featuring a sea of translucent balls and a shoreline dotted with lounge chairs and umbrellas (+ slideshow). More about Snarkitecture fills Washington DC museum with nearly one million plastic balls
Pods built from yellow chipboard and glass provide meeting spots inside this co-working office in Barcelona, created by local studio Nook Architects in the city's Poblenou district (+ slideshow). More about Nook Architects move into self-designed co-working space in Barcelona
Rio 2016: the 2016 Olympic torch by São Paulo studio Chelles & Hayashi has been revealed ahead of next year's games in Rio de Janeiro. More about Expanding torch for Rio 2016 Olympic Games unveiled
This beachside cafe and toilet block by French studio Link Architectes is built into a grassy bank by the Loire River near Saint-Étienne, France (+ slideshow). More about Beachfront facilities building by Link Architectes nestles into a slope near Saint-Étienne
A complicated assemblage of glass beakers and steel tubes emits scents into this outpost of skincare brand Aesop, designed by Paris studio Ciguë above a record store in Nottingham, UK (+ slideshow). More about Distillation apparatus forms centrepiece in Ciguë's Aesop Nottingham store
Diamond-patterned brickwork helps this trio of apartment blocks in east London blend in with the historic 19th-century church that it surrounds (+ slideshow). More about Matthew Lloyd builds decorative brick homes around a 19th-century London church
Graduate shows 2015: human statues support the floors of these conceptual towers by graduate Alice Theodorou – part of a 10,000-year masterplan that anticipates nuclear war and city-wide flooding (+ slideshow). More about Humanoid columns support conceptual skyscrapers designed to never go out of style
Artek is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Finnish designer Tapio Wirkkala's birth by re-releasing a set of glass lampshades he created in the 1960s. More about Artek reintroduces coloured glass lampshades by Tapio Wirkkala
The research arm of Dutch studio OMA created a 1990s-style nightclub in Paris to host a one-off event for fashion brand Miu Miu (+ slideshow). More about AMO designs pop-up Miu Miu Club for fashion event in Paris
Fans of Bubble Wrap are up in arms after its American manufacturer unveiled a new variety of inflatable packaging that doesn't pop under pressure. More about Bubble Wrap redesigned to create pop-less packaging material
In this movie, Dutch designer Hella Jongerius introduces the three latest additions to Danskina's range of rugs and explains how she "always starts with the yarn" when designing new textiles. More about Hella Jongerius' new rugs for Danskina were designed from the yarn up
The education system is "obsolete" and fails to reflect the way creative people work, according to trend forecaster Li Edelkoort, who is introducing a new department of Hybrid Design Studies at Parsons School of Design in New York (+ interview). More about Li Edelkoort introduces hybrid design to Parsons "to loosen things up"
Australian firm Elenberg Fraser has won planning approval for a 226-metre-high Melbourne skyscraper that will feature a curvaceous form taken from a music video by Beyoncé (+ slideshow). More about Beyoncé-inspired skyscraper to be built in Melbourne
Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron dominated the news last week, winning permission to build Paris' first skyscraper for 40 years and unveiling its redesign of Chelsea FC's stadium. The studio even found time to finish a mountain-top restaurant and cable-car station. Read all our stories about Herzog & de Meuron »
More about This week we like: Herzog & de Meuron
Ceramic triangular prisms are arranged as staggered peaks to form this public installation by Istanbul studio SO? Architecture and Ideas outside London's Royal Academy of Arts (+ slideshow). More about Unexpected Hill provides seating and climbing opportunities at the Royal Academy of Arts
This school canteen by Miguel Ángel García-Pola Vallejo was prefabricated in a workshop close to its site in northern Spain, so that it could be built within the client's tight 90-day deadline (+ slideshow). More about Tube-shaped school canteen built from prefabricated modules in just three months
Australian architect Matt Gibson took cues from the designs of European Modernists for this pair of extensions he has added to the rear of a Victorian-era residence in Melbourne (+ slideshow). More about Matt Gibson adds Modernist-inspired extension to a Victorian home in Melbourne
Graduate shows 2015: Royal College of Art graduate Kyugum Hwang's perfume-designing station allows shoppers to create bespoke fragrances by picking complimentary scents from coloured containers (+ slideshow). More about Kyugum Hwang creates coloured Scent Palette for customising perfumes
The living spaces of this beach house in Byron Bay, Australia, by Refresh Design are accommodated in an upper storey that projects outwards at both ends from a timber-clad plinth (+ slideshow). More about Northern Rivers Beach House is raised off the ground to avoid flooding
The front of this family home in South Korea comprises three blank white blocks, designed to shield views from the house opposite, while the rear is glazed to open it out to a protected garden and balcony (+ slideshow). More about 172M2 House by JMY Architects maintains privacy with a blank facade and a secluded garden