The Barack Obama Foundation has revealed the names of the seven architecture firms it is inviting to pitch for the official presidential library in Chicago. More about David Adjaye, Renzo Piano and Snøhetta among seven-strong shortlist for Obama Library
As we enter the final week of our festive bridge countdown, we're spotlighting a third bridge by London firm Wilkinson Eyre Architects – the University of Limerick Living Bridge in Ireland. More about Dezeen's A-Zdvent calendar: University of Limerick Living Bridge by Wilkinson Eyre
A pool with a stationary boat on top is the centrepiece of this rowing centre designed by Mulroy Architects for a private boarding school in Oxfordshire, England (+ movie). More about Mulroy Architects completes timber-clad rowing centre for Oxford school
Australian architect David Boyle chose recycled brick for this renovation and extension of a psychologist's house in Sydney, which creates a double-height living room, a mezzanine bedroom and a home office (+ slideshow). More about David Boyle uses reclaimed brick to build extension to a Sydney terrace
Belgian architecture studio V+ has completed a mesh-covered water tower that is supported by angled concrete columns. More about V+'s Chateau d'Eau water tower rests on crossed concrete struts
House-shaped rooms are connected by staircases and bridges inside this three-metre-wide house in Ho Chi Minh City, which was named House of the Year at the World Architecture Festival last month (+ slideshow). More about Saigon House by a21studio is filled with house-shaped rooms at different levels
The cubic construction of this house in Brasília by local studio Bloco Arquitetos reveals the layout of spaces inside and was influenced by a 1930s villa designed by Modernist architect Adolf Loos (+ slideshow). More about Bloco Arquitetos bases geometric Brazilian home on a classic Modernist residence
Amsterdam studio NL Architects has completed a waiting area for a station in the Dutch town of Barneveld, featuring glass walls and a large cantilevered roof (+ slideshow). More about Huge steel roof oversails glazed waiting area at Barneveld Centrum station by NL Architects
The next bridge featured in the Dezeen A-Zdvent calendar is almost invisible, sunken down below the surface of a moat outside a historic Dutch fort. More about Dezeen's A-Zdvent calendar: Trench Bridge by RO&AD
Burnt wood clads this gatehouse designed by NORD Architecture for a historic palace in southeast England – a reference to the storm that destroyed many of the estate's trees in 1987 (+ slideshow). More about NORD Architecture completes charred timber gatehouse for National Trust estate
We've recently published a lot of buildings clad in wood that has been charred using a Japanese technique called Shou Sugi Ban. These include a blackened garden studio in London and a rural Icelandic cottage that settles into the landscape. Visit our new Pinterest board for even more examples of burnt-wood facades.
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More about See charred wood facades on Dezeen's new Pinterest board
Barcelona studio BCQ chose translucent plastic panels for the walls of this municipal sports hall in Spain, giving the building an ethereal quality that helps it match the colours of the sky (+ slideshow). More about BCQ completes sports hall with translucent polycarbonate skin
The facade of this private guesthouse in northern Spain extends out to become a fence, enclosing a large tree that was already growing in the garden (+ slideshow). More about Taller Basico de Arquitectura completes House for a Man and a Tree in Spain
John Pawson's serpentine crossing over a lake in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, is the latest addition to our alphabetical countdown of iconic contemporary bridges. More about Dezeen's A-Zdvent calendar: Sackler Crossing by John Pawson
Corrugated plastic surrounds a sunroom at one end of this timber-framed residence by Japanese architect Yoshichika Takagi, which also features a pair of house-shaped bedrooms (+ slideshow). More about Wooden home by Yoshichika Takagi features attic bedrooms and a translucent sunroom
SOM's San Francisco office has transformed an abandoned cinema into a multipurpose performance and community venue for the American Conservatory Theater, a prominent arts organisation in the Bay Area (+ slideshow). More about SOM recasts old San Francisco movie house for new role as a nonprofit theatre
Officials in Massachusetts have announced plans for a pair of new museums designed by New York studio Gluckman Tang in the state's northwestern region (+ slideshow). More about Gluckman Tang designs museums for art and model trains in western Massachusetts
Opinion: there are concrete tactics that architecture can use to make people feel mentally and socially safe, says Aaron Betsky, but the real question is how we apply them to public buildings and spaces. More about "We face calls for safe houses, safe communities and safe spaces"
The latest addition to our Christmas countdown of bridges is Thomas Heatherwick's Rolling Bridge in west London, which curls up like a caterpillar to allow boats to pass by. More about Dezeen's A-Zdvent calendar: Rolling Bridge by Thomas Heatherwick
Architecture studio Encore Heureux has built a pavilion outside Paris' city hall featuring a facade made out of reclaimed doors and insulation recycled from an old supermarket roof (+ slideshow). More about Encore Heureux uses recycled materials to build Circular Pavilion in Paris