In this week's comments update, Dezeen readers dispute the potential fire hazards of a timber-framed, tree-covered high-rise, which has been proposed for Toronto by architecture firm Penda. More about "People need convincing that wood can be a fire-safe material"
An entire glass wall swings upward to open this spacious retreat to the landscape of the American West – one of several inventive features incorporated by US firm Olson Kundig. More about Rural Idaho home by Olson Kundig has gadgets and gizmos aplenty
Dezeen promotion: a quirky Haringey house, a Stirling Prize-nominated apartment block with wicker balconies and the new home of New Scotland Yard are among the buildings that open up their doors to the public next month, as part of Open House London. More about Over 800 buildings open to the public for Open House London 2017
Japanese architect Tadao Ando has concealed a huge stone statue of the buddha within a hill covered in lavender plants at the Makomanai Takino Cemetery in Sapporo. More about Tadao Ando surrounds huge buddha statue with lavender-covered mound at Sapporo cemetery
The Centre Pompidou has announced that it will open a Chinese outpost in Shanghai's David Chipperfield-designed West Bund Art Museum in 2019. More about Centre Pompidou to open Shanghai outpost in David Chipperfield's West Bund Art Museum
Museum director Martin Roth has passed away at the age of 62, prompting tributes from his former colleagues at the V&A. More about Former V&A head Martin Roth dies aged 62
Open-plan offices are "sabotaging" employees' ability to focus at work, while connectivity is leaving them "paralysed" by an oversupply of information, according to research by furniture brand Haworth. More about Open-plan offices must be rethought to prevent employees losing focus, finds Haworth
An "obese house" by Austrian sculptor Erwin Wurm has been installed on the lawn outside an 18th-century palace in Vienna. More about Erwin Wurm's Fat House installed outside baroque palace in Vienna
Australian design studio Dowel Jones has expanded its Hurdle seat into a full collection, which includes a bench and a stool reminiscent of a tennis umpire's chair. More about Dowel Jones stretches and tweaks Hurdle chair into whole seating collection
American firm In Situ Studio has overhauled a mid-century modern dwelling in Raleigh, North Carolina, that had been "haphazardly chopped up" over the years. More about In Situ Studio revives mid-century modern home in North Carolina
A series of steep-roofed pavilions linked by gardens and external corridors make up this home by De Reus Architects on Hawaii's Big Island. More about Hawaii house designed as a mini village by De Reus Architects
This minimal loft apartment for a New York-based photographer has areas for meeting clients, entertaining guests and escaping city bustle. More about Photographer's Loft by Desai Chia provides live-work space in New York
Official statistics published by the UK government reveal that white males are dominating the creative industries, with women filling less than 40 per cent of jobs – although the gap is narrowing in architecture and design. More about Lack of diversity within UK's creative industries revealed
New York City architect-developer Cary Tamarkin has built a modernist home in the Hamptons using locally sourced wood and stone, to match the area's historic architecture. More about Cary Tamarkin constructs Island Creek home in the Hamptons with local materials
Work is well underway on Heatherwick Studio's "tree-covered mountains" in Shanghai, as shown in this flyover movie filmed by a drone. More about Drone footage shows Heatherwick Studio's "tree-covered mountains" underway in Shanghai
Designers should rethink the high-tech look of gadgets according to Nendo founder Oki Sato, who has also called most of today's smart devices "useless". More about "Technology should look like something in your grandmother's room" says Oki Sato
This moody Melbourne house extension by local studio Branch Studio Architects features dark rammed-charcoal walls, window nooks and an outdoor bathtub. More about Branch Studio uses rammed earth to build Melbourne house extension
Dezeen is giving away three copies of Surf Shacks, a book of full-colour photography capturing surfers' homes around the world. More about Competition: win a book that showcases the homes of surfers from around the world
Beijing architecture firm People's Industrial Design Office has designed a mobile farm that lets the community share responsibility for crops' wellbeing. More about PIDO's Bike Share Farm is a community garden that can be pedalled from place to place
Royal College of Art graduate Jiaji Shen has proposed transforming a disused pier on London's River Thames into a workshop for a designer who makes jewellery with items scavenged from the mud. More about Jiaji Shen proposes turning abandoned coal pier into workshop for "mudlarking" jewellery maker