A competition-winning proposal to transform Manhattan's Central Park into a sunken landscape (pictured) leads this week's edition of Dezeen Mail, followed by Herzog & de Meuron's Vitra gallery and "thigh gap" jewellery designed to challenge idealised beauty.
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More about Dezeen Mail issue 299 features this week's biggest stories in architecture and design
Opinion: a proposal to surround New York's Central Park with a giant "sidescraper" epitomises architects' disregard for designed landscapes, says president of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Charles A Birnbaum. More about "Disparity in the values assigned to architecture and landscape architecture continues"
Architect Phillip Lühl has added a pair of extensions to a Modernist house in Namibia, using cement brickwork textured with the coarse fibres of hessian fabric (+ slideshow). More about Phillip Lühl uses "bagged concrete bricks" to build two extensions to a Namibia house
Extra Moooi: in our next exclusive movie for Moooi, Swedish designer Jonas Forsman explains how he used 3D-knitting techniques to make his foldable Shift Chair for the Dutch brand as comfortable as possible. More about Jonas Forsman uses 3D knitting to create folding Shift Chair for Moooi
Materials and colours used throughout the interior of this Aesop store in Sapporo, Japan, were designed by architecture studio Case-Real to mimic the surrounding landscape of snow-topped mountains (+ slideshow). More about Case-Real references snowy Japanese mountains with Aesop Sapporo store interior
Design studio March Gut has converted a wine cellar in northern Austria into a tavern, with stepped seating on the roof to allow customers to get a better view of the surrounding vineyards (+ slideshow). More about March Gut creates "landscape of seating" on roof of vineyard wine tavern
New York designer Karim Rashid has unveiled a smartphone charging device that neatly stores a metre-long cable in a loop around its outside (+ slideshow). More about Karim Rashid's Bump smartphone charger "eliminates the knotty tangle of power cords"
Architecture firm SOM has completed a major new headquarters for Japan Tobacco International in Geneva, Switzerland, featuring an innovative facade of glass triangles and a huge central courtyard (+ slideshow). More about SOM builds new Geneva headquarters for Japan Tobacco International
A sinuous enclosure that doubles as seating and a shelter inspired by the yin-yang symbol are among the cat houses by Los Angeles architects that were created to benefit an animal welfare organisation (+ slideshow). More about LA architects create imaginative cat houses for charity auction
A group of engineers and scientists has come up with a way to remotely control insects, which they believe could provide an "improved alternative to remote-controlled drones". More about Remote-controlled flying cyborg beetles could replace drones
Visitors can take a plunge into a cold lake after warming up in this floating wooden sauna by Seattle firm goCstudio – the latest example of the trend for buoyant architecture (+ slideshow). More about WA Sauna by goCstudio floats on Seattle's Lake Union
Milan 2016: rounded trays extend from the sides of these bathroom fixtures by German designer Sebastian Herkner for Italian brand Ex.t. More about Sebastian Herkner designs Plateau range of oval-shaped bathroom products
Reebok has announced the release of the boot-like sneakers worn by Sigourney Weaver in 1986 sci-fi film Aliens. More about Reebok to launch Sigourney Weaver's Alien Stomper trainers
The craze for harbour baths in Denmark continues, with CF Møller set to build a trio of floating classrooms to provide "aqua learning" and water sports training for the new Copenhagen International School. More about CF Møller plans Copenhagen harbour baths that will double as school classrooms
Dezeen promotion: French furniture brand Roche Bobois has produced a movie featuring its Mah Jong sofa, which has been reinterpreted by a group of artists for a charity auction (+ movie). More about Roche Bobois' Mah Jong sofa shown in new movie and reinterpreted for charity auction
Threefold Architects has combined a Victorian workshop and an old shop unit in east London to create a home and gallery for an art curator (+ slideshow). More about Threefold Architects transforms workshop and shop to create combined gallery and home
Milan 2016: Dutch furniture brand Lensvelt is producing a collection of "boring" office furniture intended to "restore the balance between work and play" in the workplace (+ movie). More about Lensvelt designs collection of intentionally boring office furniture
Most Loved: in the next movie in our exclusive video series, London designer Tord Boontje explains how the decorative paper lampshade he designed in 2004 challenged the dominance of Minimalist design. More about Tord Boontje wanted to make the home "softer and more humane" with 2004 Midsummer Light
Slides and climbing frames connect brightly coloured playrooms in this kindergarten and play space by Crossboundaries, set within a formerly derelict building in Zhengzhou, China (+ slideshow). More about Crossboundaries converts derelict building into kindergarten and play centre
Pressed plants and colourful petals are frozen within these glass plates by German designer Meike Harde. More about Meike Harde's Evergreen Platters contain pressed flowers