San Francisco studio Lapka has imagined a range of health-related modules that would fit onto the Project Ara smartphone – for which Google unveiled the latest prototype last week (+ slideshow). More about Health-monitoring components designed for Google's Project Ara modular smartphone
Hungarian pianist Gergely Bogányi has redesigned the grand piano to improve the quality of the sound produced, resulting in an unusual sculptural form (+ movie). More about Musician Gergely Bogányi offers a curvaceous take on the traditional grand piano
News: Rotterdam firm MVRDV has won a contest to design a new addition to the Vienna skyline by proposing a 110-metre tower with an "elegant, hourglass figure" that will reduce the impact of its shadow (+ slideshow). More about MVRDV plans skyscraper with a "curving waist" for Vienna
Stockholm 2015: Italian designer Luca Nichetto's collection of upholstered seats for Danish brand &tradition is intended to merge elements from the furniture heritage of both countries (+ slideshow). More about Luca Nichetto combines Danish and Italian design for Cloud seating range
This asymmetric concrete chapel by EMC Arquitectura teeters on the edge of a mountain in El Salvador (+ slideshow). More about Skewed concrete chapel by EMC Arquitectura balances over a mountainside in El Salvador
News: the team behind an entirely solar-powered aircraft has revealed the planned path for a record-breaking flight around the world that won't use a single drop of fossil fuel (+ slideshow). More about Solar plane to embark on fuel-free flight around the world
Purple amethyst crystals formed inside rocks provided the inspiration for this ambitious hotel design, proposed by Dutch studio NL Architects for an island off the south coast of China (+ slideshow). More about NL Architects proposes "slightly insane" hotel modelled on amethyst crystals
World-famous nightclubs including Berlin's Berghain and London's Fabric are illustrated in this series by Barcelona-based graphic designer Pablo Benito (+ slideshow). More about Pablo Benito illustrates international clubbing meccas
Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto aimed to create "crystallised showers of sunlight" with the blue glass fins that front his shopping centre in the Miami Design District (+ interview + slideshow). More about Sou Fujimoto's Palm Court retail complex completes in Miami
News: British manufacturer McLaren has launched a limited-edition coupé designed to reference the iconic car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in 1995. More about McLaren's super-fast 650S Le Mans references iconic 1995 race winner
The breeze flows through the centre of this funeral chapel that Tria Studio has completed at a village cemetery in Slovenia's picturesque Tuhinj Valley (+ slideshow). More about Funeral chapel by Tria Studio brings gentle winds through its hollow centre
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: Amsterdam designer Maurizio Montalti explains how biological organisms such as fungi could be harnessed to create new sustainable materials in this movie filmed in Eindhoven. More about Growing products from fungus could be the start of a "biotechnological revolution"
Northmodern 2015: Danish design company Menu has released a range of homeware accessories in pale oak and pastel colours intended to "stay classy for generations" (+ slideshow). More about Menu's homeware collection avoids "anything crazy coloured or hyper trendy"
Photographer Tarek Mawad and animator Friedrich van Schoor have used projection mapping to create a dream-like forest where trees and mushrooms glow and twinkle (+ movie). More about Bioluminescent Forest glimmers with projection-mapped light
An ivy motif spreads across the exterior of this bookstore in Japan by Klein Dytham Architecture, while the interior presents books and magazines on a "street" that also includes a cafe and a hair salon (+ slideshow). More about Klein Dytham's Shonan T-Site is a bookstore with a makeshift high street inside
Cologne 2015: black metal frames clamp folded cushions into shape to form seats in this collection by French designer Inga Sempé (+ slideshow). More about Inga Sempé's Beau Fixe seating is clamped into shape
Photo essay: Montpellier-based photographer Mary Gaudin has created a series of images documenting mid-century residential architecture in New Zealand, her home country. More about Down the long driveway: New Zealand homes photographed by Mary Gaudin
Maison&Objet 2015: French designer Matali Crasset has paired concrete and metal to create four faceted objects, each for displaying different items. More about Matali Crasset creates faceted presentation cases from concrete
News: British car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled a concept for an in-car warning system it says could reduce the number of cyclists killed on the roads, using a headrest that "taps" the driver (+ movie). More about Jaguar's cars could "tap drivers on the shoulder" to prevent cyclist deaths
Opinion: despite significant improvements last year, architecture's archaic equality problems haven't gone away. The American Institute of Architects' decision to award its 2015 Gold Medal to another mature white man isn't helping, says Alexandra Lange. More about "Was it too much to hope for first a woman and then a partnership?"