Dutch Design Week 2015: Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Pim van der Mijl's De Voorkamer project proposes a communal meeting space to help break down barriers between refugees and local communities in Holland (+ slideshow). More about Pim van der Mijl designs "living room" to bring refugees and locals together
People appear to be dancing, jumping and skating behind the seemingly translucent facade of this public restroom, which has just been named Japanese Toilet of the Year (+ movie). More about Japan's "toilet of the year" by Klein Dytham Architecture seems to offer no privacy
German auto brand Mercedes-Benz has released images of its Vision Tokyo – a self-driving concept vehicle created for "young, urban trendsetters" that showcases how future car designs could be transformed into "hip living spaces". More about Mercedes-Benz unveils autonomous concept car designed for urban hipsters
Fledgling design brand Norlan and Icelandic designer Sruli Recht have launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise funding for a whiskey glass that creates waves in the alcohol to aerate it. More about Norlan glass uses biomimicry to improve whiskey-tasting experience
Canadian studio Scott & Scott has "brightened up" the interior of a mid-century property north of Vancouver, adding simple wooden surfaces, white-washed walls and a marble sink (+ slideshow). More about Scott & Scott updates Canadian mountain house interior using timber and marble
Chinese studio People's Architecture Office used metal air conditioning pipes to create giant Chinese characters on the facade of the Tubular Baitasi visitor centre during Beijing Design Week 2015. More about People's Architecture Office uses ventilation pipes to create typographic installation
British architect David Chipperfield has refused to attend the opening of his Museo delle Culture museum and gallery complex in Milan, and is seeking court action over "defects" in the project. More about Chipperfield boycotts opening of his Milan museum amid legal proceedings
Dezeen promotion: entries are open for architects and designers to submit proposals for the inaugural Exhib-it! architecture contest 2015. More about Call for entries to the Exhib-it! 2015 competition
Business news: London is set to lose 3,500 creative workspaces by 2020 according to mayor Boris Johnson, who is asking planners and developers to prioritise culture as well as housing. More about London to lose a third of creative workspace unless developers step in, warns Boris Johnson
Vector Architects designed a huge grassy roof canopy and plant-covered walls for this community centre in southwest China, helping it to blend in with its mountain landscape (+ slideshow). More about Vector Architects disguises mountainside community centre beneath sprawling grass roof
Designer Thomas Heatherwick has applied for planning permission to convert a Victorian coal yard in London's King's Cross into a canal-side shopping destination. More about Heatherwick reveals plans for canal-side shopping centre in London's King's Cross
Canadian designer Julie Legault has developed a desktop biolab to make synthetic biology more accessible, allowing users to hack DNA at home and monitor the progress of their creations (+ movie). More about Julie Legault's Amino bio-engineering kit creates a bacterial Tamagotchi
Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with New Zealand winemaker Brancott Estate to offer five readers the chance to win a wine rack designed by Dror Benshetrit. More about Competition: win one of five wine racks designed by Dror Benshetrit for Brancott Estate
Declerck-Daels Architecten used different varieties of timber and "frivolous" colours for this surgery in Bruges, in an attempt to make going to the dentist more bearable (+ slideshow). More about 50 Shades of Wood by Declerck-Daels Architecten is a timber dentist surgery in Bruges
Spanish designer Nacho Carbonell has encased lights in loose cocoons of coloured mesh for his Light Mesh solo exhibition at London's Carpenters Workshop Gallery (+ slideshow). More about Nacho Carbonell wraps lamps in mesh cocoons for Carpenters Workshop exhibition
Built in the wake of an earthquake, this secondary school in northern Thailand by Vin Varavarn Architects is raised above the ground on metal stilts (+ slideshow). More about Earthquake-resistant school in Thailand raised up on stilts by Vin Varavarn Architects
UK architect George King has used ultra-violet wool thread to produce an installation that appears to be formed by laser beams within an old train underpass in Detroit (+ slideshow). More about George King weaves UV string to create glowing maze-like installation in Detroit
French car manufacturer Renault has commemorated the 50th anniversary of the death of Le Corbusier by creating a concept car that references his Modernist architecture. More about Renault marks anniversary of Le Corbusier's death with Modernist-inspired concept car
Standard Studio has created a home for a family inside a former teachers' lounge – part of a wider conversion project by Casa Architecten that turned an early-20th-century school in Amsterdam into a series of apartments (+ slideshow). More about School teachers' lounge transformed into contemporary loft apartment by Standard Studio
Landscape firm Gustafson Porter has unveiled plans to create tiered gardens and waterfalls with a towering development proposed for Singapore's Marina Bay. More about Verdant "cloud forests" and waterfalls proposed for new Singapore high-rise