Castanheira & Bastai Arquitectos conceived this horse-riding centre in northern Portugal as a group of four connected house-shaped structures with sloping walls and exposed timber frameworks (+ slideshow). More about Timber-framed equestrian centre completed by Castanheira & Bastai in Portugal
The Vlotwateringbrug by NEXT Architects will span a river that forms an important natural pathway for the local bat population, and provide shelter for the mammals with a series of covered roosting spots. More about NEXT Architects' bat-friendly bridge to have winter roosts built into its concrete structure
Milan 2015: a machine that converts dog poo into battery power, fashion accessories laced with catnip and a 3D printer that uses ink made from salamander bacteria are among products designed by students from the HEAD Geneva School of Art and Design. More about Geneva students make ink from salamanders and electricity from dog poo for Milan show
A small wooden shed constructed from stacks of timber planks in a Bavarian field forms a home for a herd of goats owned by German architect Michael Kühnlein (+ slideshow). More about Michael Kühnlein builds a timber barn for his herd of pygmy goats
A curving wall of rammed earth channels a stream of water around the edge of this horse riding centre near Melbourne, by London studio Seth Stein Architects and local firm Watson Architecture + Design (+ slideshow). More about Equestrian centre on Australia's south coast features a curving rammed-earth wall
Design Indaba 2015: designer Kathryn Fleming has presented prototypes for new organisms that could be created using synthetic biology, including a cat-dog hybrid with reflective fur and a tightrope-walking herbivore. More about Kathryn Fleming proposes engineering animals to thwart extinction
Italian designer Massimo Faion has created a set of bespoke falconry stands for a live performance at this year's Design Days Dubai fair. More about Massimo Faion's Posa Project reinterprets falconry perches
To celebrate the year of the "yang" – which can be translated as sheep, goat or ram – we've trawled the Dezeen archive to create a slideshow of buildings that have been photographed alongside a horned animal, from a house on a working sheep farm in Tasmania to a modern farmhouse built from shipping containers in Northern Ireland. More about Happy Chinese New Year from Dezeen!
Asked to design a New York home for chickens rather than people, Architecture Research Office has completed a metal-clad bunker featuring wooden nesting boxes and underfloor heating (+ slideshow). More about Sheffer Chicken Coop is a metal-clad New York home for eight hens
Dutch costume designer Lisa Louwers turns unwanted fur coats into soft toys as a tribute to the animals that the material was taken from (+ slideshow). More about Refurbeasts project aims to rehabilitate "taboo" fur coats
Dutch Design Week 2014: School of Arts Utrecht graduate Vera Knoot has developed a new type of leather from the skin of geese culled in the Netherlands due to overpopulation. More about Vera Knoot makes leather from unwanted goose skin
A series of cat houses designed by Los Angeles-based architects were created for Architects for Animals "Giving Shelter" fundraiser this month (+ slideshow). More about Architects design cat shelters for animal charity fundraiser
Belgian artists Studio Job have designed a collection of feline bronze pieces with lights instead of eyes for London's Carpenters Workshop Gallery (+ slideshow). More about Studio Job's Pussy Cats sculptures capture aggressive feline behaviour
The living room of this home in Japan's Hyogo prefecture, by Tokyo architect Soichi Yamasaki, features a dog pen so the owner's pets can be involved in family life without running riot (+ slideshow). More about Playpen for dogs installed within Soichi Yamasaki's S Residence
The two intersecting roofs of the Giraffe House at Auckland Zoo in New Zealand were designed to comfortably accommodate both its long-necked inhabitants and their human keepers (+ slideshow). More about Monk Mackenzie and Glamuzina Patterson create angular giraffe shelter at Auckland Zoo
Battery-farmed chickens could be tricked into thinking they are roaming free if dressed in virtual reality headsets designed as a tongue-in-cheek proposal by US company Second Livestock (+ interview). More about Virtual reality headsets create "pastoral" illusion for battery-farmed chickens
Wearable technology is no longer just for people, as San Francisco agency New Deal Design has designed an activity-tracking device for canine companions. More about Whistle wearable technology for dogs lets owners monitor pet activity
Milan 2014: holes and tunnels in the top of this wooden desk by Hong Kong-based designer Hao Ruan of LYCS Architecture have been designed to provide a playground for cats (+ slideshow). More about CATable by Hao Ruan offers a shared work surface for cats and their owners
These aluminium CCTV camera cases by Italian designer Eleanor Trevisanutto transform security equipment into animal characters. More about Aluminium animals by Eleanor Trevisanutto disguise CCTV cameras
A stuffed lamb with a table on its back and a drawer in its side is the latest addition to a collection of furniture based on the paintings of Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí. More about Taxidermy sheep cabinet joins Salvador Dalí furniture collection