French-Brazilian studio Triptyque has revamped a 85-metre-high office block in Rio de Janeiro with zigzagging glazing and solar panels so it can generate its own electricity (+ movie). More about Triptyque overhauls 1970s office tower in Rio to make it more environmentally friendly
Milan 2016: in this Dezeen movie for Caesarstone, designer Tom Dixon explains how the four sculptural kitchens he created for The Restaurant installation in Milan were designed to satisfy "the mini celebrity chef" in people. More about The Restaurant by Caesarstone and Tom Dixon aimed to "open up what a kitchen could be"
An installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama originally created for the 1966 Venice Biennale has been reconstructed near Philip Johnson's iconic Glass House in Connecticut (+ slideshow). More about Yayoi Kusama installs 1,300 floating steel balls at Philip Johnson's Glass House estate
Amsterdam collective Fiction Factory has developed a modular building system of cardboard components, which can be assembled in just one day to form houses or offices (+ slideshow). More about Fiction Factory builds prototype for "groundbreaking" cardboard house
Swiss architect Mario Botta, whose San Francisco Museum of Modern Art building reopens next week with a Snøhetta-designed extension, has put his stamp on the iconic Fixpencil tool for architects. More about Mario Botta adds chequered pattern to architects' Fixpencil
This northern California cabin by Mork-Ulnes Architects is clad in tar-coated timber and sits atop a concrete plinth – measures that both help protect the structure from heavy snowfall. More about Mork-Ulnes completes California ski chalet coated in black tar
Designers are losing the understanding of the nature and potential of materials gained from creating things by hand, according to Apple's Jonathan Ive. More about "Fewer designers seem to be interested in how something is actually made" says Jonathan Ive
British designer Thomas Heatherwick's elevated park over the Hudson River has been given the go ahead by planners and will start construction this summer. More about Heatherwick's Pier 55 to begin construction over New York's Hudson River
Clerkenwell Design Week 2016: Benjamin Hubert's London studio Layer has unveiled designs for a made-to-measure wheelchair that will be manufactured using 3D-printing technology. More about Benjamin Hubert's Layer designs "world's first" 3D-printed consumer wheelchair
With just over a month to go before London's Tate Modern opens its new Herzog & de Meuron-designed wing, Instagram users have been sharing images of the angular brick structure. More about Herzog & de Meuron's Tate Modern extension nears completion
Comments update: the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art has reopened with a major extension by Snøhetta, but commenters think simply demolishing Mario Botta's original Postmodern building would have been a better solution. More about "It would have worked better had they demolished Botta's building"
IKEA has launched its new indoor gardening product into stores, bringing home hydroponics to a larger market (+ slideshow). More about IKEA moves into indoor gardening with hydroponic kit
Milan 2016: this was a bumper year for the Salone del Mobile, with a record-breaking number of visitors. Dezeen editor Anna Winston rounds up some of the best product launches from the furniture fair, including new work by Jasper Morrison and Claesson Koivisto Rune, the standout piece from Patricia Urquiola's Cassina revamp, and a minimalist Japanese kitchen for small homes (+ slideshow). More about 25 of the best new furniture and lighting designs from Salone del Mobile 2016
This weathering steel staircase by engineering studio Close to Bone cantilevers off a hill in Flanders, forming an observation tower overlooking rolling farmland and the Kabouterbos forest (+ slideshow). More about Gravity-defying staircase by Close to Bone climbs up into the sky
Architect Sean Griffiths has unveiled plans to add a shed-inspired roof extension to the Blue House, one of the best-known projects of his former studio FAT. More about FAT's seminal Blue House set for rooftop extension
New York 2016: prolific Japanese studio Nendo has unveiled a collection of furniture and lighting featuring sketch-like outlines that trace the motion of moving elements (+ slideshow). More about Nendo designs collection of movement-tracing furniture
Zaha Hadid 1950-2016: Patrik Schumacher has paid tribute to the "empowering" and "unprecedented" architectural moves developed by his former partner Zaha Hadid, who died unexpectedly in March following a heart attack. More about Zaha "delivered an unprecedented expansion" of architectural style says Patrik Schumacher
Milan 2016: furniture manufacturer Onecollection has relaunched a 1956 chair by Finn Juhl, which played an important role in the proliferation of Danish design (+ slideshow). More about Onecollection reissues Finn Juhl's Danish mid-century FJ 136 chair
American studio SAS Designbuild has completed a family dwelling in a historic Boston neighbourhood that reads as two separate homes due to its unusual facade treatment. More about SAS Designbuild combines two facade styles for an urban Boston home
The Shohei Shigematsu-led OMA New York office has used translucent scrim to create a "ghost cathedral" for this year's Costume Institute exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which focuses on the convergence of fashion and technology (+ movie). More about OMA designs The Met's Manus x Machina fashion and technology exhibition