Dezeen Wire: architecture critic Hugh Pearman has expressed admiration for the mature and understated nature of Dutch practice OMA's design for a new headquarters for merchant bank Rothschild on a sensitive site near the Bank of England – Hugh Pearman More about "Can we now say that OMA has grown up?" – Hugh Pearman
Dezeen Wire: the developer behind plans for a tower designed by architecture practice AL_A in Shoreditch, East London has withdrawn its planning application – BDonline
The design for a twisted tower on a former industrial estate attracted over a thousand letters from local residents. Developers Londonewcastle say they will adapt the proposal before submitting a new planning application early next year.
See our previous story on the original design for the Huntingdon Estate here, another AL_A project in London that was scrapped recently here and more projects by AL_A here.
More about Plans for East London tower by Amanda Levete Architects withdrawn
Dezeen Wire: the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom hotel by French architect Jean Nouvel has won the "New Build Hotel" category at The European Hotel Design Awards 2011. More about Jean Nouvel's Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom wins European Hotel Design Award
Dezeen Wire: pioneering multidisciplinary design consultancy Airside has announced that it is to close in March 2012, stating: "we can't see a way for Airside to move forward and accommodate all of our individual ambitions." More about Award-winning design consultancy Airside to close in March 2012
Dezeen Wire: a team of engineers based in California have created a material made from a lattice of hollow metallic tubes that they claim is the lightest in the world – BBC
The substance is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and consists of 99.99% air. Tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair are used to create the lattice structure that gives the material it's strength. Potential applications include shock and sound absorption and thermal insulation.
More about "World's 'lightest material' unveiled by US engineers" – BBC
Dezeen Wire: in her latest article for The New York Times, design critic Alice Rawsthorn examines the symbols and slogans adopted by the Occupy protest movement in cities around the world.
Rawsthorn explains that the name 'Occupy', which originated at the Occupy Wall Street protest against the banking and democratic system, "is a stellar example of both what is known in marketing as an umbrella brand name and what the anti-corporatists in the movement could call beating them at their own game." She adds that the use of hashtags and slogans short enough to send on social networks such as Twitter have helped the movement spread globally and could represent a new protocol for protesters involving "the repeated use of a few carefully chosen words," rather than images.
More about Occupy movement establishes new protocols of protest design – The New York Times
Dezeen Wire: Italian architect Renzo Piano says his London skyscraper, The Shard, will be loved by the public, because "it will be accessible, because it is transparent, understandable and not mysterious" – The Telegraph More about The Shard "will be loved" – Renzo Piano
Dezeen Wire: the opening of the September 11 museum in New York, which is scheduled for September 2012, is under threat due to an ongoing dispute over unexpected costs – The Washington Post
The museum is part of a memorial to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre being developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who say that they are owed $156 million by mayor Michael Bloomberg's National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation. The row had been kept quiet over fears it could overshadow the 10th anniversary of the attacks but has now led to the suspension of construction contracts which could delay the completion of the museum.
See our previous story on the opening of the National September 11 Memorial, an animation of the memorial fountains and architecture critic Rowan Moore's examination of the infighting that has plagued the redevelopment of the World Trade Centre site.
More about New York's September 11 museum delayed
Dezeen Wire: design critic Justin McGuirk says that a kitchen concept by Dutch electrical company Philips that uses decomposition to generate methane gas for cooking is an example of how we may "have to get more comfortable with bacteria and with putrefaction's role in our ecosystem" – The Guardian
McGuirk claims the Microbial kitchen concept's "steampunk" aesthetic offers "an alternative vision to the clinical kitchen," and also mentions the trend for low-tech kitchen appliances, such as designer Christoph Thetard's pedal-powered devices, which he says represent a reaction to the impending energy crisis.
Last year Dezeen published a report on Food and Design, including examples of low-tech gadgets for preserving and preparing ingredients and concepts for growing food in the kitchen.
More about Bacteria and pedal power could be the future of kitchens – The Guardian
Dezeen Wire: the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Design Council have expressed support for a new housing strategy announced by the UK government that aims to deliver high quality homes rather than a higher volume of poor standard properties. More about RIBA and Design Council back government strategy for quality homes
Dezeen Wire: architecture critic Rowan Moore says that a housing development built by the UK architecture show presenter Kevin McCloud's company Hab is a positive attempt at reversing the trend for "unimaginative, overpriced, undersized" properties in the UK – The Guardian
Moore describes the scheme in Swindon, England, as "imaginative and well-designed," whilst cautioning that it will take time to determine whether McCloud's goals of creating a community and "making people happy" have been achieved. He adds that the houses themselves are "very plain-looking" and far removed from the aspirational properties that feature on McCloud's show, Grand Designs.
More about TV presenter's housing scheme is "a much better application of celebrity philanthropy than most"
Dezeen Wire: supporters of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei have been posting photos of themselves naked on a website as a protest against the Beijing police's decision to question his assistant, who had taken nude pictures of the artist and four women – The Telegraph
Ai was detained for 81 days earlier this year by the Chinese government on charges of tax evasion, during which time he was also asked about the photographs that he says have no deeper political meaning.
More about Ai Weiwei supporters post nude photos online in protest against police
Dezeen Wire: apparently, tomorrow is World Toilet Day and the latest issue of Colors magazine focuses on all things faecal, including the taboos, dangers and practical applications of excrement – Colors magazine
Dezeen Wire: The latest RIBA Future Trends Survey shows that the private housing sector is benefiting from all-time low interest rates but overall confidence about future workloads remains low. More about "Private housing sector forecast recovers strongly" – RIBA Future Trends Survey
Dezeen Wire: in his latest article for the Financial Times architecture critic Edwin Heathcote analyses how some cities have successfully reinvented themselves as hubs of creativity and commerce – Financial Times
Heathcote states that "the city stands out as an engine of progress and modernity," using examples from urban centres such as San Francisco, Milan, Turin, Pittsburgh and London to demonstrate how intelligent state funding can encourage creative vitality and economic growth.
More about "Cities are machines for innovation" - Financial Times
Dezeen Wire: a new exhibition documenting the career of Terence Conran has provoked a flurry of media interest in the man who founded retail brand Habitat and London's Design Museum. More about Critics' reactions to Terence Conran: The Way We Live Now at the Design Museum
Dezeen Wire: plans for a 40-storey tower designed by British architect Richard Rogers to sit on top of the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York have been shelved following the Chinese backer's decision to pull out – The New York Times
See a skyscraper in London completed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners earlier this year.
More about Richard Rogers's New York skyscraper won't get off the ground
Dezeen Wire: Elle Decoration editor Michelle Ogundehin has declared British furniture brand Habitat "as good as dead" in an article on the magazine's blog, stating "I give it two years max" – read the blog post
Ogundehin says that the retailer, which closed all but three of its UK stores earlier this year, failed to react to competition within the market and "increasingly misunderstood 'Lifestyle'," its key selling point. She claims that Habitat has lost its original focus on innovation and simplicity, and rubbishes plans by current owners the Home Retail Group to sell Habitat products at Argos and Homebase outlets, adding that their one remaining interest is to "flog stuff."
See our previous story on Habitat going into administration.
More about Habitat is "as good as dead" - Elle Decoration editor
Dezeen Wire: the U.N. World Intellectual Property Agency has reported a rise in the amount paid as royalties and licensing fees from $2.8 billion to $180 billion in the last 40 years, representing a 60-fold increase – The Washington Post
The report shows that high income countries such as France, Germany, Japan, Britain and the United States continue to lead the way in research and development but that China's share in the global market has risen from 2.2 percent in 1993 to 12.8 per cent in 2009.
Last week we reported on measures being taken by the UK government to improve intellectual property laws, designer James Dyson also raised the issue when he accused a Chinese manufacturer of copying one of his brand's vacuum designs and Elle Decoration editor Michelle Ogundehin has criticised companies who reproduce classic products.
More about $180 billion spent on royalty fees annually - Washington Post
Dezeen Wire: British architect Richard Rogers has warned that plans by the UK government to simplify planning regulations could lead to unmoderated urban sprawl, "with rust belts and towns joining each other" – Daily Mail
He added: "If the framework is not improved it will lead to the breakdown and fragmentation of cities and neighbourhoods as well as the erosion of the countryside." Rogers' concerns about the government's new National Planning Policy Framework are shared by environmental campaigners who say they don't offer a clear enough definition of sustainable development.
Richard Rogers was involved in a planning battle in 2009 over his proposed redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks in London – see reports on Dezeen Wire
More about "Britain could become enormous Los Angeles-style ghetto" - Richard Rogers