A brass table with a gently rippled surface provides the reading area of this Japanese library dedicated to the sea and designed by Swedish studio ETAT arkitekter (+ slideshow). More about The Sea Library in Awashima by ETAT arkitekter
Dutch Design Week 2013: Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Alejo Bernal wants to help people improve their concentration spans by controlling a toy car with their minds. More about Synapse mind-controlled toy car by Alejo Bernal
This railway station in the Netherlands by Dutch studio NL Architects comprises a cross formation of shipping containers that frame a transparent waiting room and cafe (+ slideshow). More about Barneveld Noord railway station by NL Architects
News: Google-owned communications company Motorola is working with Design Academy Eindhoven graduate and Phonebloks creator Dave Hakkens to develop open-source modular mobile phones. More about Motorola teams up with Phonebloks to create modular mobile phones
Dutch Design Week 2013: Dutch creative agency …,staat has designed the interior and branding for this alternative supermarket in Amsterdam, where ingredients are grouped together as recipes rather than food types (+ slideshow). More about Bilder & De Clercq by …,staat
Saunders Architecture of Norway has added a hotel and gallery on stilts to the picturesque Fogo Island in Canada, where the firm has already created a series of rural studios for artists (+ slideshow). More about Fogo Island Inn by Saunders Architecture
Product news: designer Michael Young has created a wooden dining chair for Hong Kong design brand EOQ. More about Yi Chair by Michael Young for EOQ
A spiral staircase made from Brazilian ironwood links two floors inside this São Paulo house, which was designed by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld as a private gallery and guest house for two art collectors (+ slideshow). More about Casa Cubo by Isay Weinfeld
Graphic designer Peter Saville has created the prints and typography on these shoes by fashion brand Y-3 (+ slideshow). More about Meaningless Excitement footwear by Y-3 and Peter Saville
German design studio Ding3000 has created a high-tech version of the first pedalled bicycle, introducing electric power and plastics to the 148-year-old invention (+ slideshow). More about Concept 1865 electric bike by Ding3000
Some of the concrete walls of this house in Yokohama, Japan, by Tai and Associates were formed against wooden planks, while some have been rendered white and others have been left plain (+ slideshow). More about House in Shinoharadai by Tai and Associates
Dezeen and MINI World Tour: in this movie Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto discusses his philosophy of designing structures that are "in between" opposing concepts such as nature and architecture, and says the approach could work just as well on a skyscraper as a small private house. More about "Every kind of architectural definition has an in-between space" - Sou Fujimoto
Competition: as media partner for the Wearable Futures event taking place in London in December, Dezeen is giving away 50 tickets to attend the two-day exhibition and conference dedicated to technology for the body. More about Competition: 50 tickets for Wearable Futures to be won
This timber house in Kanagawa by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has a square plan with a teardrop-shaped courtyard at its centre (+ slideshow). More about Villa at Sengokubara by Shigeru Ban
News: Chicago firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture has seen off competition from Zaha Hadid, UNStudio, Snøhetta and more to land the design commission for the World Expo 2017 exhibition in Astana, Kazakhstan. More about Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture to design Astana Expo 2017
This house in Mexico City by local firm Taller Hector Barroso is built around a courtyard to bring in more natural light and to make up for a shortage of exterior views (+ slideshow). More about Casa Cumbres by Taller Hector Barroso
A playground covering the roof of this kindergarten in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, is dotted with wooden obstacles that function as light wells for the nurseries underneath (+ slideshow). More about Mukou Leimondo Nursery School by Archivision Hirotani Studio
Diagonally laid timber planks create zig-zagging patterns across the exterior of this church in Cologne by German architects Sauerbruch Hutton (+ slideshow). More about Immanuel Church and Parish Centre by Sauerbruch Hutton
Welsh designer Kieren Jones has devised a concept for harnessing the destructive power of erupting volcanoes by using lava flows to cast components for buildings. More about The Volcano Project by Kieren Jones