British firm John McAslan + Partners has converted a stone barn into a library and added a contrasting stained timber extension, as part of its redevelopment of a university campus in Cumbria, England (+ slideshow). More about John McAslan transforms a stone barn into a library for University of Cumbria
Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with the Future Everything conference to give two readers the chance to win a guest-list pass for two days of talks and lectures in Manchester next week. More about Competition: two Future Everything conference passes to be won
A tactile watch designed for blind people by a group of students has gone into production after strong demand from sighted consumers (+ interview). More about The Bradley timepiece for blind people proves inclusive design has wide appeal
News: OMA has seen off competition from BIG and Buro Ole Scheeren to win a competition to expand the Berlin headquarters of multimedia firm Axel Springer. More about OMA lands Axel Springer office project ahead of BIG and Buro Ole Scheeren
Dutch firm Wiel Arets Architects applied an intricate fritting technique to the glazed facade of this office complex in Zurich to give it the appearance of onyx marble (+ slideshow). More about Allianz Headquarters by Wiel Arets features glass fritted to reference Mies' Barcelona Pavilion
Milan 2014: industrial designer Marc Newson has raided the archives of 80-year-old glasses manufacturer Safilo to find inspiration for his first collection of optical eyewear, which will launch in Milan in April (+ slideshow). More about Marc Newson's first eyewear collection to debut in Milan
London designer Paul Cocksedge has launched a set of circular bike lights on Kickstarter that can be locked to a bicycle by slotting them over a standard lock (+ movie). More about Paul Cocksedge's Double O bike lights slot securely around a D-lock
Canadian studio Naturehumaine inserted a glass floor and skylight to draw sunlight through the interior of this two-storey house in Montreal, and reintroduced wooden boards to make a feature of the staircase. More about Montreal house by Naturehumaine features a glass floor with a skylight overhead
Dezeen promotion: Dezeen readers can receive a 25 percent discount on tickets to the Designs of the Year 2014 exhibition, opening today at London's Design Museum (+ slideshow). More about Dezeen readers get 25% off Designs of the Year 2014 exhibition tickets
News: social network Facebook has paid $2 billion to acquire Oculus VR, the technology company behind the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. More about Facebook invests in virtual reality with Oculus
Swedish firm OkiDoki! Arkitekter has created its own offices inside a former corset factory in Gothenburg, designing an open-plan workspace that hosts events for local residents in the evening (+ slideshow). More about Former corset factory converted into office and events space by OkiDoki! Arkitekter
British designer Benjamin Hubert has developed a more stable version of his lightweight Ripple table, which features on the shortlist for Designs of the Year 2014 (+ slideshow). More about Benjamin Hubert's lightweight Ripple table is now strong enough to stand on
London studio dRMM has completed a house and studio for Hackney artist Richard Woods, using his trademark cartoon-style print to add colour to the building's facade and staircase (+ slideshow). More about Richard Wood's cartoon-style prints added to his new Hackney residence by dRMM
Zaha Hadid has completed a Hong Kong boutique for Stuart Weitzman - her latest sinuous store interior for the American footwear designer. More about Zaha Hadid's boutique for Stuart Weitzman opens in Hong Kong
Opinion: as the market for design education explodes and schools struggle to keep up, we need to work out what a designer actually is and what they need to learn says Lucas Verweij. More about "We are coming to view design more as a mentality than a skill"
News: tech giant Google and eyewear company Luxottica have announced a partnership to develop Google Glass wearable headsets into consumer-friendly products. More about Google and luxury eyewear brand form wearable tech partnership
High street fashion chain American Apparel has launched a 43-piece collection of clothing featuring graphic prints by Memphis Group designer Nathalie Du Pasquier (+ movie). More about American Apparel launches collection with Memphis Group's Nathalie Du Pasquier
News: football star David Beckham has unveiled proposals to build a 25,000-seat stadium for his new Major League Soccer (MLS) team on the waterfront in Miami. More about David Beckham unveils seafront stadium proposal for Miami port
Here's a look at one of the standout projects from Designs of the Year 2014 - a floating school on a Nigerian lagoon by architecture studio NLÉ (+ slideshow). More about NLE's floating school casts anchor in Lagos Lagoon
Slideshow feature: following the news that Shigeru Ban will receive this year's Pritzker Prize, here is a look back at some of the buildings designed by the Japanese architect across his 30-year career. More about Key projects by 2014 Pritzker Prize laureate Shigeru Ban