Architecture firm SOM has completed the first public school in New York City that generates as much energy on site as it consumes (+ slideshow). More about SOM designs first net-zero energy school in New York City on Staten Island
German industrial designer Fabian Ludwig has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a cylindrical light that is inserted into the handlebars of bicycles (+ slideshow). More about Magnetic STiKK bike light slots into the handlebars of a bicycle
Brick buildings surround a series of courtyards to offer "moments of respite and calm contemplation" at this administrative headquarters for a busy steelworks in Qingdao, China, by British firm Coffey Architects. More about Coffey Architects completes brick-clad headquarters for a Chinese steelworks
This house by São Paulo architects Denis Joelsons and Gabriela Baraúna Uchida is built against the steep terrain of the Mantiqueira Mountains in south-east Brazil and sheltered beneath a large sloping roof (+ slideshow). More about Half-Slope House nestles against a hillside in Brazil's Mantiqueira Mountains
Architect Giles Reid has paired wooden furniture with bulbous lighting and pastel-coloured crockery to create a Japanese restaurant in Dalston, east London (+ slideshow). More about Giles Reid uses pastel tones and sycamore wood for Japanese restaurant in east London
Swedish designer Jonas Wagell used his background in graphics to create a clock with chunky hands. More about Jonas Wagell's minimal Bold clock is based on typographic shapes
Chinese architects Lee Chul and Liu Jing punched through the partitions of this small Beijing apartment to create a more open-plan layout with only one door (+ slideshow). More about Lee Chul and Liu Jing knock through walls to open up spaces in a Beijing apartment
From the death of fashion to the scandal-ridden Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Dezeen's social media editor Ross Bryant selects 10 of the most controversial architecture and design stories from 2015. More about Dezeen's top 10 controversial stories of 2015
Danish product designer Marie Hesseldahl has created a lamp with a built-in clamp that allows it to be attached to other furniture pieces. More about Marie Hesseldahl's Snap lamp clamps onto flat surfaces
Design Haus Liberty has converted a building with an triangular footprint in London's Shoreditch into rental apartments that fold around awkwardly shaped internal walls (+ slideshow). More about Design Haus Liberty squeezes three flats into angular period property in east London
The facades of this university building in the Spanish city of Getafe feature angled bays formed from a zigzagging arrangement of terracotta-hued ceramic panels (+ slideshow). More about Terracotta panels create zigzagging walls for Madrid university building by Estudio Beldarrain
Dezeen's design editor Dan Howarth selects his pick of this year's gadgets, including concepts, prototypes and commercial products for cooking, cleaning, cycling and even masturbating (+ slideshow). More about Dezeen's top 10 gadgets of 2015
Dutch designer Tim van de Weerd has unveiled a family of white porcelain planters that are supported by short limb-like protrusions. More about Tim van de Weerd's Carnivora plant pots designed to look like they could wander off
London office Rick Mather Architects has completed an extension to the city's Lyric Hammersmith theatre, adding a new wing that houses facilities including studios for film, dance and theatre (+ slideshow). More about Rick Mather Architects refurbishes and expands London's Lyric Hammersmith theatre
Dezeen editor Anna Winston picks the quotes that sum up the year in architecture, covering the changing status of refugee camps, the relationship between New York's skinny skyscrapers and inequality, and the blurring lines between designers and architects. More about The top 10 architecture quotes of 2015
British designer Ewan Cashman has created a cement and wood floor lamp based on the shapes of spinning top toys he played with as a child. More about Ewan Cashman's Pumpal light resembles an oversized spinning top
This Danish summer house by Norwegian studio Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects is split into five buildings "like a miniature village" to enclose a wind-sheltered courtyard in the middle (+ slideshow). More about Five buildings surround a courtyard to form Danish summer house by Jarmund/Vigsnæs
A spectacular staircase can transform even the most average building, and this year we've seen them in a huge variety of materials and sizes. Dezeen editor Anna Winston chooses 10 of the best from 2015. More about Dezeen's top 10 staircases of 2015
London designer Rachel Harding has created a range of framed fluorescent lamps that cast multicoloured diffracted light (+ slideshow). More about Rachel Harding's Wonderfluoro lights create rainbow-coloured visual effects
A zigzagging concrete screen separates this refurbished toll house in the Dutch city of Zaltbommel with a living room extension designed by architecture studio Bekkering Adams (+ slideshow). More about Bekkering Adams adds concrete extension to a traditional Dutch toll house