Clients are increasingly attracted to designers who "think differently", while architects are restricted by knowledge says Dror Benshetrit – whose New York studio is developing a giant urban island off the coast of Istanbul (+ slideshow + interview). More about You don't need to be an architect to design buildings, says Dror Benshetrit
Interview: hotelier, restauranteur and developer André Balazs is the man behind The Standard in New York, Chateau Marmont in Hollywood and Chiltern Firehouse in London. He told Dezeen why his approach is "kind of like an old-school Hollywood studio" (+ slideshow). More about "We don't go to architects who have a signature style" says André Balazs
Business news: London designer Benjamin Hubert has relaunched his studio under a new name as part of a shift towards more "human-focused" projects, and is using "crowdspeaking" to drum up interest (+ interview). More about Benjamin Hubert rebrands studio as Layer and launches "crowdspeaking" campaign
Exclusive interview: Architecture for Humanity co-founder Cameron Sinclair describes the work he is conducting in Syria with his latest venture, and tells Dezeen that he'll "die happy" knowing that he will never win the Pritzker Prize (+ transcript). More about "When I said architects should get involved in humanitarian issues, people laughed at me"
Later this week, 70,000 people will converge on a temporary city in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. Burning Man founder Larry Harvey told Dezeen about the "stunning achievement" of creating a high-density, car-free festival in a remote and inhospitable landscape (+ slideshow + transcript). More about Burning Man "needed urban design because it's a city" says founder Larry Harvey
Pomo summer: in this exclusive interview, architect and planner Denise Scott Brown distinguishes the research-led brand of Postmodernism championed by herself and husband Robert Venturi, from the style employed by Philip Johnson, which she calls "limp" (+ transcript). More about "There is still a lot to be learned from Postmodernism" says Denise Scott Brown
Exclusive interview: jeweller Shaun Leane was one of fashion designer Alexander McQueen's closest friends and collaborators. As the sellout Savage Beauty exhibition closes at the V&A, Leane spoke to Dezeen about how the duo "tried to change people's perceptions of what jewellery and fashion should be". More about "Alexander McQueen changed fashion and I changed jewellery" says Shaun Leane
Seattle architect Tom Kundig has designed a collection of over 100 hardware items including drawer pulls, door handles, fire pokers and shovels. He spoke to Dezeen about his "modifiable, morphable" and growing product range (+ transcript + slideshow). More about I design products "sort of like Frankenstein" says Tom Kundig
Photographer Alicja Dobrucka recently stayed at and photographed Sainte Marie de La Tourette, the 1960s Dominican convent near Lyon, France, designed by Le Corbusier. We spoke to Dobrucka about her trip to the building that "looks and feels very much like a Baroque bunker" (+ slideshow + interview). More about Alicja Dobrucka photographs Le Corbusier's "random and eccentric" La Tourette
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"
Design magazines today have lost their critical edge and are little more than catalogues, according to Italian designer, theorist and editor Alessandro Mendini. More about There is no more ideology in design, says Alessandro Mendini
The 3D-printing industry "is choking off its own revolution" with a combination of toy-like machines, over-priced materials and legal wrangles according to Francis Bitonti, the designer behind the printed dress for Dita von Teese (+ interview). More about 3D printing has stagnated, says pioneering designer Francis Bitonti
Philippe Starck has spoken about the pros and cons of technology, saying that designers are morally obliged to use the latest materials to create more efficient products – but warned that dependence on screen-based devices is "sick" (+ transcript). More about LED technology means designers are "obliged to redesign all lights" says Philippe Starck
Movie: in the first of a series of videos to celebrate the opening of the fifteenth Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, gallery director Julia Peyton-Jones previews SelgasCano's colourful structure ahead of its opening next week. More about Exclusive video preview of SelgasCano's 2015 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Extra Moooi: Dutch furniture and lighting brand Moooi has launched a range of hotel bath and shower products with a "strong and outstanding scent". In this movie, co-founder Casper Vissers explains why the move is about brand recognition, not turnover. More about Moooi launches range of hotel soaps and shampoos to extend its brand
Architect David Adjaye has spoken about the "ethical pride" that drives his studio and explained his approach to designing buildings and furniture in a conversation with Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs (+ transcript + slideshow). More about "There has to be a social agenda" to my architecture, says David Adjaye
Interview: maverick graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister explains why he thinks that record cover designs will always be superior to film posters in this exclusive interview (+ transcript + slideshow). More about "The Star Wars poster is ultimately a piece of shit" says Stefan Sagmeister
Movie: in this movie, French architect Annabel Karim Kassar explains how her Camera Chiara installation recreated the atmosphere of a Lebanese house in a Milanese courtyard. More about Annabel Karim Kassar’s telescopic pavilions bring a taste of Lebanon to Milan
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: Superflux has built a series of drones, which the London studio suggests could one day be used in cities for surveillance, traffic control and advertising (+ movie). More about Superflux research project imagines London patrolled by a fleet of drones
Extra Moooi: interiors could soon feature carpets on the walls as well as the floor thanks to Moooi's advanced "print on demand" technology, according to designers (+ movie). More about Moooi's new photorealistic carpets could give designers "a new kind of freedom"