News: this desk with a solar panel in the writing surface by Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel generates electricity to recharge gadgets using a process similar to photosynthesis. More about The Current Table by Marjan van Aubel features a solar panel for charging mobile phones
News: Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has unveiled plans for a tower block shaped like a pine cone with balconies sprouting outwards in all directions, as part of a series of "modern follies" underway in Montpellier, France (+ slideshow). More about Sou Fujimoto designs nature-inspired tower for Montpellier "modern follies" project
News: people will soon have up to ten miniature devices on their bodies and clothes monitoring their health, organising their social lives and responding to their emotional needs, according to Gadi Amit, a leading designer of wearable devices (+ interview). More about Wearable technology that ignores emotional needs is a "major error"
News: a woman has been attacked in a San Francisco bar for wearing Google Glass, in the latest conflict amid increasing tension between the city's residents and the tech giants who have based their headquarters in the area. More about Google Glass wearer attacked in San Francisco and accused of "killing" the city
News: Dutch studio MVRDV has revealed its competition-winning design to create a bowl-shaped art depot for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam with a mirrored exterior and a rooftop sculpture garden. More about MVRDV unveils reflective bowl-shaped art depot for Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
News: a British firm has unveiled the world's longest aircraft - a hybrid of airship, plane and helicopter that can stay airborne for up to three weeks. More about World’s longest aircraft combines parts from airships, planes and helicopters
News: a conductive rug that can detect movement and call for help if someone has fallen over has been developed by German firm Future-Shape. More about SensFloor conductive rug by Future-Shape turns the floor into a giant touchscreen
News: work is nearing completion on an upgraded first floor for the Eiffel Tower that will offer visitors the opportunity to walk over a glass floor or host events and conferences 57 metres above the ground. More about Eiffel Tower's first-floor overhaul nears completion
News: American supermarket giant Walmart has unveiled a prototype for a fuel-efficient truck with a streamlined cab and the first trailer made entirely of carbon fibre. More about Walmart unveils concept for energy efficient carbon-fibre truck
News: American 3D printing firm 3D Systems has created a robotic suit that combines printed parts with motorised components to help paralysed patients stand and walk. More about 3D-printed exoskeleton helps paralysed users walk again
News: American furniture brand Emeco has reached a settlement in its legal dispute with two companies that were allegedly copying the company's Navy Chair and Kong Chair. More about Emeco settles further disputes over Navy Chair and Kong Chair replicas
News: the latest celebrity to dip their toes into design is hip-hop artist Snoop, who has teamed up with holiday rental website Airbnb to create a pop-up house during next week's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. More about Snoop collaborates with Airbnb to design pavilion for SXSW
News: construction has finally begun on a 216-metre skinny skyscraper designed by Foster + Partners for a site next door to Mies van der Rohe's Seagram Building in New York. More about Foster's skinny skyscraper underway beside Mies' Seagram Building
News: British curator Beatrice Galilee has been appointed to a newly created role as curator of architecture and design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. More about Beatrice Galilee appointed architecture and design curator for The Met
News: French studio LAN has won a competition to revamp the Grand Palais exhibition centre in Paris with plans to restore galleries around the Grand Nave and insert a new entrance court. More about LAN wins renovation of Grand Palais exhibition hall in Paris
News: the Oscars has been given a new logo and visual identity ahead of this Sunday's awards ceremony in Los Angeles. More about The Oscars gets a new visual identity
News: NASA is developing robots made from a tensile system of interlocking rods and cables that can transform from flat components into a ball shape then tense and flex to roll around the surface of planets. More about NASA's latest robot is designed to bounce and roll across rough terrain
News: alternatives to the current United Kingdom flag presented by a national flag charity have provoked a debate about whether a new design should be commissioned if Scotland chooses independence in its upcoming referendum. More about Designs proposed for union jack flag without Scotland
News: British designer Thomas Heatherwick has unveiled plans to create a new art gallery at the V&A Waterfront museum in Cape Town by hollowing out sections of a grain silo complex. More about Heatherwick unveils gallery inside grain silos for Cape Town's V&A Waterfront
News: international architecture firms IND and Powerhouse Company have won a competition to design a 100-metre-tall broadcast and observation tower in Çanakkale, Turkey, with a design that resembles a continuous ribbon. More about Ribbon-like design wins competition for Turkey broadcast tower and visitor centre