Venice Architecture Biennale 2014: architect Rem Koolhaas has today been confirmed as the director of the next Venice Architecture Biennale in 2014 and wants to use the opportunity to readdress the "fundamental elements of architecture". More about Rem Koolhaas confirmed as director of Venice Architecture Biennale 2014
News: a fork for dieters that vibrates when you eat too much or too fast is one of the most talked-about launches at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. More about Vibrating "smart fork" for weight loss launches at CES
News: a project to bring cheap and easy-to-build mine detonators to Afghan minefields has just nine days left to raise the final £14,000 of its £100,000 goal on crowdfunding website Kickstarter. More about Wind-powered mine detonator on Kickstarter
News: 3D technology company Inition has developed an augmented-reality iPad app that allows architects to look inside static architectural models, visualise how their building will look at night and track how wind flows around their design proposals (+ movie). More about Inition develops "augmented 3D printing" for architects
News: Here are the latest images of architect Jean Nouvel's Philharmonie de Paris, set to become the world's most expensive concert hall after surviving the French government's recent cull of major cultural projects (+ slideshow). More about Jean Nouvel's Paris concert hall spared the axe
News: Scientists at a Spanish university are developing a new type of concrete that captures rainwater to create living walls of moss and fungi. More about Researchers develop "biological concrete" for moss-covered walls
News: well-designed classrooms can improve the academic performance of primary school pupils by 25 percent according to a new study undertaken by the University of Salford and UK architects Nightingale Associates. More about Well-designed schools improve learning by 25 percent says new study
News: rumours are mounting that Apple is working on a wearable smartwatch that would link up to an iPhone. More about Apple rumoured to be working on "iWatch"
News: a building designed by Zaha Hadid for Beijing has been copied by a developer in Chongqing, with the two projects racing to be completed first. More about Zaha Hadid building pirated in China
News: British industrial designer Kenneth Grange has become Sir Kenneth Grange after receiving a knighthood for services to design in the New Year Honours. More about Kenneth Grange knighted in New Year Honours
News: the yacht commissioned by Steve Jobs before his death has been cleared to sail again as his family has come to a temporary agreement with French designer Philippe Starck in their dispute over an unpaid design bill. More about Steve Jobs yacht free to sail again
News: Design Academy Eindhoven is looking for a creative director following a period of turmoil that has seen the resignation of the heads of the three masters courses, their subsequent return to the school and the departure of school's chair. More about Design Academy Eindhoven advertises for creative director
News: a yacht built for Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs has been impounded in Amsterdam following a dispute over an unpaid bill to French designer Philippe Starck. Update 27/12/12: the boat is now free to sail again following a temporary agreement between Starck and Jobs' heirs. More about Steve Jobs yacht seized over unpaid Philippe Starck design bill
News: German car brand Audi has announced a new design strategy, bringing the interior and exterior design studios together to encourage faster innovation and stimulate greater dialogue between the teams. "You can't survive if you just depend on one brain to do a complex thing like a car," said Audi head of exterior design Achim Badstübner. More about Audi announces new design strategy
News: UK firm Foster + Partners has unveiled plans to overhaul New York Public Library's flagship branch on Fifth Avenue by inserting a contemporary lending library into unused reading rooms and stacks at the back of the building. More about Foster + Partners unveils plans for New York Public Library
News: New York mayor Michael Bloomberg will today lead the groundbreaking ceremony for the world's tallest modular building, a 32-storey residential tower in Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards development by Manhattan-based firm SHoP Architects. More about World's tallest modular building breaks ground in New York
News: Dieter Rams (pictured), the former head of design at Braun, has made furniture brand Vitsœ the exclusive worldwide licencee of his complete collection of furniture designs. More about Vitsœ granted exclusive licence to produce Dieter Rams furniture
News: the way architecture is consumed through websites like Dezeen is "utterly disastrous", according to UK critic Owen Hatherley (above). More about Architecture "no longer interested in anything but its own image"
News: flexible high-tech rental apartments with moving "robo-walls" should replace speculative developments as young people increasingly view homes as services rather than possessions, according to Kent Larson, director of the Changing Places Group at MIT Media Lab (+ movie). More about American dream "breaking down" as young reject home ownership
News: a team made up of architecture firms OMA, Hassell and Populous has been selected to redevelop Sydney's convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct at Darling Harbour (+ slideshow). More about OMA, Hassell and Populous to redevelop Sydney's Darling Harbour