Opinion: Nest's intelligently connected thermostat is a surface solution for a much deeper problem in cities like London – we need innovation in services not surfaces, says Dan Hill. More about "We need a Prouvé of plumbing, a Rogers of rewiring, an Utzon of U-values"
Opinion: Dutch writer Christian Reinewald defends Marcel Wanders' Pinned Up exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, following a series of critical attacks claiming Wanders' work does not have the cultural weight to merit a major retrospective. More about "We can't deny the important role of lifestyle approaches to design"
Opinion: in choosing to stage a major exhibition of work by Marcel Wanders, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam has mistaken commercial success for cultural importance, says Louise Schouwenberg. More about "Taste is not what a museum is about"
Opinion: the photo-sharing site set the agenda at this year's Milan design week and hints at how technology will transform the way we experience the world, says Marcus Fairs, who also shares a selection of his own Instagram images from the week (+ slideshow). More about "The star of Milan this year was Instagram"
Opinion: there's no excuse for excluding women from the design conversation in Milan, says Kieran Long who offers a ready-made Rolodex for a fairer male/female split. More about "There is without doubt institutional prejudice in the furniture industry"
Opinion: a campaign to protect London's skyline and the UK government's first review into the state of architecture both point to the same thing: Britain's approach to building is broken, says Sam Jacob. More about "We've got 99 problems but architecture ain't one"
Opinion: a 1960s institution in Mexico that gives visitors space and time to wander is a stark contrast to the commodified museum experience that has become the norm, says Alexandra Lange. More about "We need more museums that let us relax into knowledge"
Opinion: as the market for design education explodes and schools struggle to keep up, we need to work out what a designer actually is and what they need to learn says Lucas Verweij. More about "We are coming to view design more as a mentality than a skill"
Opinion: Patrik Schumacher's viral-friendly outburst against political correctness in architecture this week illustrated a dark symmetry between the TED talk and the rant, says Mimi Zeiger. More about "You need to know someone is looking in order to publicly tantrum"
Opinion: a Le Corbusier design for a customisable house inspired by the devastation of Flanders during the First World War has haunted architecture ever since, says Justin McGuirk. More about "The perfect architectural symbol for an era obsessed with customisation and participation"
Opinion: in this latest column Sam Jacob asks whether air fresheners boasting scents from the UK's National Parks are "surreal and distasteful" or a logical extension of the countryside as a product of modern urban life. More about "National Parks are synthesised products of urbanisation"
Opinion: in response to Joseph Rykwert's Royal Gold Medal lecture this week, where the critic stressed that all design has political implications, Kieran Long rejects Zaha Hadid's assertion that architects have "nothing to do with the workers" who die on construction sites. More about "We cannot absolve ourselves of responsibility for the implications of a project"
Opinion: watching the demolition of her own elementary school, Alexandra Lange reflects on the increasingly generic design of schools, museums and playgrounds that resign children to "places where all they can learn are the tasks we set them." More about "How can you learn about the world in spaces without character?"
Opinion: fiction is essential reading for architects because it explores ideas about homes and buildings that are "normally repressed," argues Sam Jacob in this latest column. More about "Alongside every dream home is its nightmare twin"
Opinion: Justin McGuirk argues that despite the furniture industry's decline in Italy, it's still the best place to buy a sofa until the digital manufacturing revolution delivers on its promises. More about "We are not in the midst of a revolution, we are between revolutions"
Opinion: in this week's column, Sam Jacob investigates how flip flops from a street market have taken their place alongside placards and banners as objects of protest in the recent Bangkok election demonstrations. More about "These flip flops are politics disguised as leisurewear"
Opinion: Kieran Long responds to the recent closure of ten London fire stations, arguing that architecture built for a specific purpose and location is far more valuable to a city's sense of place than generic, pragmatic solutions. More about "London's fire station closures represent the inevitable carelessness of contemporary cities"
Opinion: in his latest column, Sam Jacob argues that architects "might have to learn from communications agencies, advertising and design" in order to regain the social significance they once enjoyed. More about "Architecture might have to become less architectural"
Opinion: Mimi Zeiger argues that dismay over the New York Museum of Modern Art's plan to demolish the next-door American Folk Art Museum represents "a lingering sentimental belief that architecture is an exception to the rules of obsolescence." More about "We need to steel ourselves for more rapid architectural obsolescence"
Opinion: now we buy everything from Amazon, where does that leave the counterculture? A new attempt to revive the spirit of the Whole Earth Catalog is "about as counter-cultural as a Happy Meal," argues Justin McGuirk. More about "To stick it to The Man, first you have to let him trouser your money"