MINI's open-top Touring Superleggera concept car, Google's "driverless" vehicle and reactions to the Glasgow School of Art fire feature in this week's Dezeen Mail newsletter, along with the latest news, jobs and reader comments from Dezeen.
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Dezeen promotion: Italian architect and designer Piero Lissoni will host a one-off lecture at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Arts next month, to celebrate a new exhibition of his work at design brand Luminaire's showroom. More about Piero Lissoni and Luminaire launch new exhibition with one-off lecture in Chicago
Dutch designer Chris Kabel has created key fobs from found objects and glowing curtains reminiscent of the Northern Lights for the Fogo Island Inn hotel on an isolated Canadian island (+ slideshow). More about Chris Kabel casts found objects in bronze for Fogo Island hotel key fobs
Amsterdam studio BCXSY has launched a crowdfunding campaign to produce its plush toys with body parts that can be interchanged using magnets (+ slideshow). More about BCXSY's Mixed Animals magnetic soft toys launch on Kickstarter
Dutch studio SeARCH has created a dome-shaped pavilion covered in grass and filled with plants, as part of the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam that opened to the public today. More about SeARCH creates grassy dome pavilion for Rotterdam Architecture Biennale
News: tech giant Apple has bought Dr Dre's Beats headphone company for $3 billion in the same week that details emerged of a project that will turn users' iPhones into remote control devices for their homes. More about Apple buys Beats and plans home- control system to rival Nest
Brazilian firms Hype Studio and Santini & Rocha Arquitetos have added a lightweight roof with a leaf-shaped structure to the Beira-Rio Stadium in the city of Porto Alegre ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on 12 June (+ slideshow). More about Hype Studio and Santini & Rocha Arquitetos modernise stadium ahead of Brazil World Cup
New York 2014: American magazine Sight Unseen asked designers to add bold prints to fashion and furniture designs using digital customisation company Print All Over Me. More about Sight Unseen commissions Memphis-influenced print collection
Two houses originally designed by Walter Gropius for professors at the Bauhaus art school in Dessau, Germany, have been rebuilt as a minimalist arrangement of geometric shapes by Berlin office Bruno Fioretti Marquez. More about Bauhaus Masters' Houses reinterpreted by Bruno Fioretti Marquez
Milan 2014: a swinging birdcage seat, lamps that branch out like a tree and a table designed for playing marbles feature in this collection of Fairytale Furniture by Dutch design studio Ontwerpduo. More about Ontwerpduo bases Fairytale Furniture collection on fantasy stories
A cantilevered box containing a wood-lined terrace extends from the vertical core of this house in the Japanese prefecture of Shiga by local architects Alts Design Office (+ slideshow). More about Projecting terrace intersects Minakuchi House by Alts Design Office
A curved serving counter clad with a honeycomb pattern of white tiles occupies the front space of this cafe in San Francisco by OpenScope Studio (+ slideshow). More about OpenScope Studio converts nail salon into San Francisco cafe with tiled front counter
News: technology company Oculus VR has said it will defend itself "vigorously" against claims that it used the intellectual property and expertise of ZeniMax Media to develop the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. More about American video game developer sues Oculus VR over virtual reality headset
Dezeen promotion: Creative program producers Cut&Paste have teamed up with Intel and HP to run a new product design contest called LaunchBox, with over £14,000 in prizes to be won for potential crowdfunding projects. More about Cut&Paste and HP launch contest for pre-crowdfunded product campaigns
London designer Dominic Wilcox has created a giant pair of audio binoculars that allows users to "listen" to – rather than see – places around Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England (+ slideshow). More about Binaudios by Dominic Wilcox encourage users to "listen to the city"
News: British car brand Jaguar Land Rover is working with researchers at MIT to develop technology for its vehicles, including controls operated by tracking where the driver is looking (+ slideshow). More about Land Rover developing sight-activated controls for future vehicles
Corrugated cladding with different levels of opacity provides privacy for residents of this housing development in Los Angeles by local office Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) (+ slideshow). More about Cloverdale749 apartments by LOHA feature balconies screened by perforated metal panels
Competition: Dezeen is giving one reader the chance to win a copy of an Ettore Sottsass monograph and a pair of tickets to a talk at London's Design Museum about the designer's life and work. More about Competition: Ettore Sottsass monograph and Design Museum talk tickets to be won
News: Google has revealed footage of a self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, announcing that it expects to roll out its first pilot scheme on public roads in "the next couple of years". More about Google unveils driverless car prototype
News: the Scottish Government is working with the Glasgow School of Art to provide support for students who were handing in their final projects at the Mackintosh-designed building when it caught fire last Friday. More about Glasgow School of Art students affected by fire to receive "phoenix" bursaries