A series of cat houses designed by Los Angeles-based architects were created for Architects for Animals "Giving Shelter" fundraiser this month (+ slideshow). More about Architects design cat shelters for animal charity fundraiser
London Design Festival 2014: this copper pendant light by London-based Paul Crofts Studio alludes to pastry-cutting utensils, a reference to the patisserie it was originally designed for. More about Paul Crofts launches Cu29 pendant light based on copper pastry-cutting tools
Opinion: Apple's latest launches show it has become reactive rather than innovative, but after leading the market for 30 years it could still have an important role to play, says Karim Rashid. More about "Apple has taken the minimal aesthetic too far"
News: Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has won a competition to create a museum of fine art and culture in Taiwan's oldest city. More about Shigeru Ban wins contest to design Tainan Museum of Fine Arts
Competition: we've teamed up with MINI to offer one lucky UK-based reader the chance to win a weekend away to Milan for two people, plus a loan of the new MINI Hatch during the trip. More about Competition: win a trip to Milan courtesy of MINI
Maison&Objet 2014: Roger Arquer has updated an object from his childhood to create Nut Hammer – a nutcracker with a soft silicone head that fits over the end of a hammer – for Danish design brand Menu (+ movie). More about Roger Arquer designs a nutcracker to "tickle the soul"
London Design Festival: French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have been awarded this year's London Design Medal, with British architect Richard Rogers receiving the lifetime achievement prize. More about Bouroullec brothers and Richard Rogers honoured with London Design Medal awards
Dezeen promotion: Tokyo Designers Week will present work by emerging Japanese artists and designers during its debut appearance at Tent London during the London Design Festival this week. More about Tokyo Designers Week to make Tent London debut at London Design Festival 2014
Vo Trong Nghia Architects has revealed its second-phase prototype for an affordable and low-maintenance dwelling for Vietnam, as part of a project aimed at solving the country's housing crisis (+ slideshow). More about Vo Trong Nghia unveils second prototype for low-cost Vietnamese housing
News: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners has revealed its first-ever project in the Middle East – a row of four waterfront skyscrapers underway in Abu Dhabi. More about Rogers Stirk Harbour unveils waterfront skyscrapers for first Middle East job
News: a company that claims to have developed the first electric car powered by salt water says the vehicle has now been approved for testing on public roads in Germany and the EU (+ slideshow). More about Salt water-powered electric car approved for roads in Europe
The distinctive grey and yellow colour palette of this nursery school in Germany, by Ecker Architekten, extends to lighting fixtures, storage closets, doors and staircases (+ slideshow). More about Kindergarten by Ecker Architekten features an austere colour palette and a spiral staircase
London Design Festival 2014: Italian design duo Formafantasma has installed a range of unusual timepieces in the showroom of British furniture brand Established & Sons. More about Formafantasma uses saxophones and a brass pendulum to track the passing of time
Brutalism: Le Corbusier's first Unité d'Habitation is arguably the most influential Brutalist building of all time. With its human proportions, chunky pilotis and interior "streets", it redefined high-density housing by reimagining a city inside an 18-storey slab block. More about Brutalist buildings: Unité d'Habitation, Marseille by Le Corbusier
Brutalism: challenging, idealistic and serious – Brutalism is architecture for grown ups, says Jonathan Meades. More about "There was good brutalism and bad, but even the bad was done in earnest"
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: London designer Keiichi Matsuda shows us how he is making his new film about the future of augmented reality in the next preview of our Dezeen and MINI Frontiers exhibition. More about Keiichi Matsuda to "explore the future of the city" in new film
London designer and filmmaker Ilona Gaynor looks at how the setup of a courtroom can manipulate how a case is perceived for her Designers in Residence commission at London's Design Museum (+ slideshow). More about Ilona Gaynor designs staging for a hypothetical court case
News: architecture firm Foster + Partners has designed a 20-metre-long motor yacht with a white leather interior (+ slideshow). More about Foster + Partners combines the cruising yacht with the day boat to create Alen 68 vessel
Pieces by Tom Dixon, Wim Crouwel and Alessandro Mendini feature in the first collection at New York's latest design gallery and boutique Chamber, curated by Belgian artists Studio Job (+ movie). More about Chamber design gallery opens in New York's Chelsea
Angular walls clad with white granite and a glazed courtyard surrounded by Islamic motifs feature at Fumihiko Maki's Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, which opens later this week (+ slideshow). More about Fumihiko Maki completes white granite museum for the Aga Khan Foundation