A lattice of extruded aluminium sections evokes images of the brickwork in Beijing's old neighbourhoods at this Shang Xia boutique by Kengo Kuma and Associates (+ slideshow). More about Shang Xia Beijing Store by Kengo Kuma and Associates
Product news: each of these lamps by Swedish design duo Mats Broberg and Johan Ridderstråle for Nordic furniture company Muuto is shaped like a single leaf at the end of a long stem. More about Leaf by Broberg & Ridderstråle for Muuto
A disused hospital building in Valencia explodes and shifts into new configurations in this series of manipulated photographs by Spanish studio espai MGR (+ slideshow + movie). More about Creative Dismantling by espai MGR
American firm Morphosis has completed a museum of nature and science in Dallas where visitors begin their tour by taking an escalator journey to the uppermost floor. More about Perot Museum of Nature and Science by Morphosis
McDonald's restaurants in France will soon be kitted out with designer outdoor furniture by Patrick Norguet and Italian brand Alias. More about Côme by Patrick Norguet and Alias for McDonald's
Dutch studio MVRDV is proposing a 400-metre skyscraper for Jakarta that looks like a pile of at least ten separate buildings. More about Peruri 88 by MVRDV, Jerde and Arup
News: the lighting of the London 2012 Olympic Cauldron was conceived as a religious ceremony, designer Thomas Heatherwick has explained. More about "The Olympic Games is phenomenally religious" - Thomas Heatherwick
This bright-white house in Alicante by Spanish studio Fran Silvestre Arquitectos features an 18-metre-long balcony that stretches out towards the Balearic Sea (+ slideshow + movie). More about House on the Cliff by Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
News: the UK has become the most powerful nation in the world in terms of cultural influence following the success of the London 2012 Olympics, according to Monocle magazine's annual Soft Power Survey. More about UK overtakes US as nation with strongest cultural influence
Product news: Paris designer Inga Sempé has extended her range of little round wall-mounted shelves and dishes for French brand Moustache. More about Balcon collection by Inga Sempé for Moustache
News: Swedish furniture retailer IKEA has apologised for selling products manufactured by East German political prisoners in the 1970s and 1980s. More about IKEA says sorry for using East German forced labour
Daylight funnels into this dark concrete house in Japan through two narrow light wells in the roof. More about Ryusenji House by Tomoaki Uno Architects
Dezeen promotion: lighting consultancy LightCollective has collaborated with electronics brand Philips to create a smartphone app enabling lighting designers to collect and share their inspirations, available to download and trial for free from today on Apple and Android (+ movie). More about Philips LightCollector App now available to download
This house by architects Destilat appears to climb down a hill at the foot of the Pöstlingberg mountain in Austria. More about House Y2 by Destilat
This tower with a rippling facade of faceted concrete piers is the new Berlin headquarters for French oil giant Total, designed by German architects Barkow Leibinger. More about Tour Total in Berlin by Barkow Leibinger
Can the shape, texture and colour of cutlery change the way food tastes? Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Jinhyun Jeon created this set of knobbly, bulbous and serrated cutlery to stimulate diners' full range of senses at the table (+ slideshow). More about Tableware as Sensorial Stimuli by Jinhyun Jeon
The residential buildings of Paris appear to be sailing through the sky like kites in these dream-like images created by French photographer Laurent Chéhère (+ slideshow). More about Flying Houses by Laurent Chéhère
Designers Oscar Medley-Whitfield and Harry Trimble have turned clay dug from the muddy banks of the river Thames into ceramic tableware (+ movie). More about Oscar Medley-Whitfield and Harry Trimble at Designers in Residence 2012
Architect and writer Sam Jacob wants to transform St Paul's Cathedral in London into a live map of the phases of the moon. More about Man Made Moon by Sam Jacob
British artist Jeremy Hutchison will open a pop-up shop selling useless objects at a London gallery this December. More about Erratum by Jeremy Hutchison