This kit launched by Belgian designer Laurence Humier includes sets of containers filled with materials that children can mix together to learn simple chemical reactions. More about Laurence Humier's Alchemist Matter Kit teaches children basic chemistry
News: Danish architecture studio EFFEKT has triumphed in a competition to design a street sports facility in and around a crumbling train engine roundhouse in Esbjerg, south-west Denmark (+ slideshow). More about EFFEKT to transform abandoned train engine depot into street sports centre
A bank of cherry blossoms are mirrored in the reflective gables of this cafe that angles around a smaller tree in Gifu, Japan, by architecture studio Bandesign (+ slideshow). More about Bandesign clads a Japanese cafe in mirrors to reflect a row of cherry trees
Stockholm design studio Claesson Koivisto Rune has created a set of three huge cone-shaped lamps for Swedish lighting brand Wästberg. More about Claesson Koivisto Rune designs giant conical pendant lamps for Wästberg
Behind the burnt-timber exterior of this sauna by Canadian studio Partisans is a cavernous cedar interior that emulates the form of a seaside grotto (+ slideshow). More about Lakeside sauna by Partisans designed as a cavernous wooden grotto
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition of products by Swiss brand Vitra to celebrate the company's American ties (+ slideshow). More about Vitra retrospective goes on show in Philadelphia
Inside Festival 2014: Hong Kong architect Joyce Wang explains how she incorporated her client's "love for metals" into the interior of a luxury Shanghai penthouse (+ movie). More about Xintiandi Penthouse by Joyce Wang is "a celebration of metal"
Global design consultancy IDEO has developed a series of concept vehicles that imagine how autonomous vehicles could transform the way we work, shop and travel (+ movie). More about IDEO envisions a future where self-driving workplaces commute to you
News: Frank Gehry has written an open letter defending the design for the George Lucas Museum by Chinese architecture firm MAD, as a legal wrangle threatens to delay the project. More about Frank Gehry defends MAD's Lucas Museum for Chicago as judge suspends work
News: Rem Koolhaas has defended the design of OMA's CCTV tower in Beijing, after the Chinese president called for an end to the construction of "weird architecture" in the country. More about "Chinese architecture will benefit" from CCTV building, says Rem Koolhaas
The gaping hole in the centre of this office block in Paris was designed by MVRDV to preserve views of another local building (+ slideshow). More about MVRDV's Pushed Slab office block has a huge hole in its middle
News: a trio of international architecture firms will redevelop and add new facilities to Montreal's natural science museum, housed in a vast glass velodrome within the grounds of the city's former Olympic park. More about AZPML, Lacaton & Vassal and Kuehn Malvezzi to redesign Montreal's natural science Biodome
News: underwater cities with infrastructure networks spiralling down into the depths of the oceans could be a reality as soon as 2030, according to a Japanese construction company. More about Spiralling underwater cities could make oceans inhabitable by 2030
News: a 3D printer on the International Space Station has produced its first object, "paving the way to future long-term space expeditions" according to the US space agency NASA. More about NASA 3D prints its first object aboard the International Space Station
Behind a traditional limestone facade, Heneghan Peng's new architecture school for the University of Greenwich is a four-storey composition of steel and glass centred around a double-height critique room (+ movie). More about Heneghan Peng's Greenwich architecture school has a restrained exterior and a modern interior
Japanese architect Kunihiko Matsuba has balanced a small white house over the flat rooftops of a dental clinic and garage near Tokyo (+ slideshow). More about Tokyo house bridges the rooftops of a dental surgery and garage
A group of Canadian designers has created a wearable device that monitors environmental data including air quality and UV radiation, and presents the metrics via an app. More about TZOA wearable environment tracker measures UV and air pollution
Multi-tonal layers of concrete resemble bands of sediment on the walls of this visitor centre designed by Swiss architect Max Dudler for a medieval fortress in Germany (+ slideshow). More about Sparrenberg Castle visitor centre by Max Dudler boasts striated concrete walls
Comments update: Thomas Heatherwick found himself at the centre of a flurry of criticism this week, as planning documents revealed some unusual restrictions for his proposed bridge across the River Thames. More about "Is there a quota of new friends I can make while on this bridge?"
News: designers including Marti Guixè and Stefano Giovannoni will be among the teaching staff of a food design course being co-developed by one of Italy's leading design schools – an increasingly popular subject area for design education (+ interview). More about Milan universities team up to launch "unique" food design degree