This week was all about hyper-realistic renderings, as we interviewed Ström Architects about architectural visualisations and published Peter Guthrie's images depicting one of their projects. Our Dezeen Music Project track of the week and more architecture and design news follow. More about This week on Dezeen
Following our interview with Ström Architects about the value of photo-realistic visualisations, the firm sent us a set of images by rendering guru Peter Guthrie showing a house proposed for Suffolk, England (+ slideshow). More about Private House in Suffolk by Ström Architects
Movie: in our second video interview with Job Smeets of Studio Job, the artist discusses the recent economic crisis but claims that, unlike many in the "design art" world, his studio's work has not been negatively affected by it. Update: this interview is featured in Dezeen Book of Interviews, which is on sale now for £12. More about "Working during an economic crisis is quite exciting" - Job Smeets
News: Austrian firm Coop Himmelb(l)au has landed a commission to design a winter sports resort and water park across an abandoned cement-mining quarry and lake near Changsha, China (+ slideshow). More about Coop Himmelb(l)au plans sports resort for abandoned Chinese quarry
News: NASA is developing an orbiting factory that will use 3D printing and robots to fabricate giant structures such as antennas and solar arrays of up to a kilometre in length, as part of its ongoing search for extra-terrestrial life. More about NASA develops 3D printing factory in space
Our second story this week from New York studio Asymptote features a silver pillow-clad pavilion that was installed on an artificial river peninsula in South Korea as part of the World Expo 2012 (+ slideshow). More about ARC River Culture Pavilion by Asymptote
London Design Festival 2013: Gothenburg designer Charlie Styrbjörn will present a ladder with curving linked rungs during the London Design Festival next month. More about Ladder by Charlie Styrbjörn Design
Wooden furniture forms sections of staircases at this house in Japan by Tato Architects (+ slideshow). More about House in Itami by Tato Architects
Product news: German designers Till Grosch and Björn Meier have created a modular office furniture system that can be arranged in a variety of groups and islands (+ slideshow). More about Docks for Ophelis by Grosch + Meier
New York studio Asymptote has designed a faceted performing arts centre for South Korea that references the curved rooftops of ancient Buddhist temples and pavilions (+ slideshow). More about Sejong Center for Performing Arts by Asymptote
News: glow-in-the-dark roads, a childbirth training kit in a back pack and spicy paper that keeps food fresh have been announced among the winners of the world's biggest design prize, the INDEX: Award (+ slideshow). More about INDEX: Award 2013 winners announced
Studio Job founder Job Smeets looks back over his career to date and explains why sculpture is so important to his studio's work in this movie Dezeen filmed at Moooi's Unexpected Welcome exhibition in Milan. Update: this interview is featured in Dezeen Book of Interviews, which is on sale now for £12. More about "When you try to separate art and design you create a ghetto" - Job Smeets
Interview: after completing Europe's largest public library in Birmingham, architect Francine Houben of Dutch studio Mecanoo spoke to Dezeen about the role of the library in the digital age and claims libraries are as central to society as cathedrals once were. More about "Libraries are the most important public buildings" - Francine Houben
Architectural drawings of a small workers' shack that featured in an exhibition in Shanghai, China, have been enlarged and used to create a full-scale replica in Auckland, New Zealand. More about Model Home 2013 by Michael Lin and Atelier Bow-Wow with Andrew Barrie
Europe's largest public library in Birmingham, UK, leads Dezeen Mail issue 167, which also features all the latest news, jobs, competitions and reader comments from Dezeen.
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News: a student housing block in London with a retained brick warehouse facade has been named Britain's worst building of the year. More about "Prison-like" student housing wins Carbuncle Cup 2013
News: architecture firm Kohn Pedersen Fox has unveiled plans to surround the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles in a cloak of steel ribbons as part of major refurbishment. More about KPF to wrap steel ribbons around LA's Petersen Automotive Museum
London Design Festival 2013: German designer Samuel Treindl has made a clock, lamp and other products from shapes cut out of existing furniture (+ slideshow). More about Parasite Production by Samuel Treindl
Japanese firm Naruse Inokuma Architects has designed a shared occupancy house in Nagoya with communal areas for eating, cooking and relaxing that encourage the residents to interact in different ways (+ slideshow). More about Share House LT Josai by Naruse Inokuma Architects
Dutch studio Mecanoo has completed Europe's largest public library in Birmingham, England, with a sunken amphitheatre, rooftop gardens and a shimmering facade clad with interlocking metal rings (+ slideshow). More about Library of Birmingham by Mecanoo