News: architecture firm Snøhetta has concluded the first phase of a major overhaul of New York's Times Square, continuing the initiative started in 2009 to pedestrianise large sections of the popular tourist destination. More about Snøhetta completes phase one of Times Square transformation
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in this exclusive interview with vertical gardens pioneer Patrick Blanc, the French botanist discusses his hanging gardens for Herzog & de Meuron's new Pérez Art Museum in Miami and reflects on why vertical gardens have become so popular. More about Green wall pioneer Patrick Blanc: "Now everybody is doing vertical gardens"
Architecture studio MAPA borrowed elements and colours typically used on colonial-style Chilean houses to create this bright red residence in a winemaking region near Santiago. More about WA House by MAPA references colonial-style Chilean residences
Italian architect Andrea Dragoni has extended a cemetery in an ancient Italian town by adding rows of monumental travertine walls with public plazas and artworks slotted in between (+ slideshow). More about Cemetery complex by Andrea Dragoni contains public plazas and site-specific artworks
A facade of translucent plastic pillows can be pumped up to alter lighting and temperature inside this domed tropical greenhouse in Aarhus by Danish firm CF Møller (+ slideshow). More about Quilted greenhouse by CF Møller inflates to change light and temperature conditions
Bright red walls contrast with vivid green lawns at this art and culture centre in Portugal by Lisbon architecture firm Future Architecture Thinking (+ slideshow). More about Art and culture centre with bright red walls by Future Architecture Thinking
Italian office Studio Galantini has upgraded the wooden structure of a 1970s chapel in north-west Italy so that it can be used for summer services, music recitals and theatrical performances. More about Studio Galantini rebuilds wooden frame of small Italian chapel
Anemone tentacles moving beneath the surface of the ocean influenced the latticed facade of this student housing block by French studio Atelier Fernandez & Serres at an oceanic observatory in the eastern Pyrénées (+ slideshow). More about Student housing with a coral-inspired facade by Atelier Fernandez & Serres
One of this week's most popular stories was a house in Spain featuring a cantilevered rooftop swimming pool, so we've collected together all the Spanish houses that have appeared on Dezeen in a new Pinterest board. See our Pinterest board of Spanish houses »
More about New Pinterest board: Spanish houses
London architecture studio ShedKM used walls of locally quarried red sandstone to help this concrete house in north-west England fit in with its coastal surroundings (+ slideshow). More about Coastal concrete house on a red sandstone base by ShedKM
News: the owners of an observation deck on the 94th storey of Chicago's John Hancock Center are considering adding a glass box into which visitors would be strapped and tilted forward to experience a bird's eye view of the city below. More about Tilting glass attraction proposed for observation deck of Chicago's John Hancock Center
French studio TVK has overhauled the Place de la République in Paris to create an even larger pedestrian plaza that includes a new cafe pavilion, water features and over 150 trees (+ slideshow). More about TVK transforms Place de la République into Paris' largest pedestrian square
A rooftop swimming pool with a glass floor cantilevers out beside the entrance to this house in Marbella, Spain, by Dutch office Wiel Arets Architects (+ slideshow). More about Wiel Arets' Jellyfish House features an elevated swimming pool with a glazed underside
News: architect Santiago Calatrava is facing legal action from his home city of Valencia because parts of the opera house roof at his City of Arts and Sciences complex are falling off just eight years after completion. More about Valencia to sue Calatrava over falling masonry at City of Arts and Sciences
This black house by German studios Fabian Evers Architecture and Wezel Architektur is raised up over a translucent base where the client's truck can be stored (+ slideshow). More about House Unimog stores a truck within its translucent base
News: architect David Adjaye has designed an office campus featuring ten conical towers as the centrepiece of a new 65-hectare urban development under construction in Kampala, Uganda. More about David Adjaye designs office campus for new 65-hectare development in Uganda
News: British architect Norman Foster has unveiled a concept to build a network of elevated pathways above London's railways to create safe car-free cycling routes, following 14 cyclist deaths on the city's streets in 2013. More about Norman Foster promotes "cycling utopia" above London's railways
Black-painted timber contrasts with clean white window frames on the walls of this cube-shaped weekend home in Normandy, France, by Paris studio Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes (+ slideshow). More about House in Normandy with blackened timber walls by Beckmann-N'Thépé Architectes
Trees line the protruding balconies of this concrete house in Tokyo by Japanese studio Ryo Matsui Architects (+ slideshow). More about Four-storey house with tree-lined balconies by Ryo Matsui Architects
A faceted roof made from a shimmering copper-bronze alloy covers this extension by British firm Emrys Architects to a pair of Georgian townhouses in London (+ slideshow). More about Office extension with a faceted copper roof by Emrys Architects