News: the Design Museum in London has announced 76 nominations for Designs of the Year 2014, including a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon (pictured), a table that weighs just nine kilograms and a mobile phone made of detachable blocks. More about Designs of the Year 2014 shortlist announced
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: in our first movie looking at the interface between design and technology, Andy Millns of 3D production company Inition claims virtual reality will soon become almost indistinguishable from the real world. More about Advances in virtual reality will "blur the line between what's virtual and what's real"
News: Google has announced it is poised to acquire domestic technology firm Nest for $3.2 billion, a move that will increase the tech giant's presence in the home. More about Google buys domestic technology firm Nest in first step towards connected home
Paris architects Lacaton & Vassal have designed a translucent structure to house an international art collection that is a mirror image of the adjoining former shipbuilding workshop (+ slideshow). More about Art gallery and archive by Lacaton & Vassal mirrors an old shipbuilding workshop
An art gallery designed by David Chipperfield Architects to showcase the largest private art collection in Latin America opened this weekend in Mexico City (+ slideshow). More about Museo Jumex by David Chipperfield opens in Mexico City
Dutch Design Week 2013: Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Dave Hakkens' concept for a mobile phone made of detachable blocks has gone viral, attracting over 16 million views on YouTube and garnering almost a million supporters online (+ movie + interview). More about Phonebloks mobile phone concept by Dave Hakkens
London Design Festival 2013: footwear designer Tracey Neuls has teamed up with Tokyobike to create handmade shoes with rubber soles and reflective strips especially for cycling. More about Cycling shoes by Tracey Neuls for Tokyobike
London Design Festival 2013: Japanese architect Jo Nagasaka has developed a range of resin and wood furniture for Established & Sons. More about New Resin Series by Jo Nagasaka for Established & Sons
Designer Hella Jongerius and architect Rem Koolhaas have renovated the North Delegates' Lounge at the United Nations buildings in New York (+ slideshow). More about United Nations North Delegates' Lounge by Hella Jongerius and Rem Koolhaas
Following our story about the extension of fashion designer Paul Smith's Albemarle Street store, here are some more images of its new cast iron facade by London studio 6a Architects (+ slideshow). More about Paul Smith Albemarle Street store facade by 6a Architects
Royal College of Art graduate Lauren Davies has designed a range of copper, maple and glass tools to make scented oils, creams and cosmetics at home (+ slideshow). More about The Alchemist's Dressing Table by Lauren Davies
Faceted aluminium panels rise from the ground to form this pipe-shaped pavilion at the FRAC Centre in Orléans, France by architects Jakob + MacFarlane (+ slideshow). More about The Turbulences by Jakob + MacFarlane at the FRAC Centre
British architect John Pawson's minimalist remodelling of a church in Augsburg, Germany, includes slices of onyx over the windows to diffuse light more softly through the space. More about St Moritz Church by John Pawson
Here are the first photographs of Zaha Hadid's almost-completed Heydar Aliyev Center, an undulating cultural centre in Baku, Azerbaijan. More about Heydar Aliyev Center by Zaha Hadid Architects
News: researchers at MIT Media Lab's Mediated Matter group have created a dome from silk fibres woven by a robotic arm, which was then finished by live silkworms (+ movie). Update: this interview is featured in Dezeen Book of Interviews, which is on sale now for £12. More about Silkworms and robot work together to weave Silk Pavilion
Dutch graphics studio Experimental Jetset has redesigned the logo for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York as a slender W that changes shape to respond to its setting (+ movie). More about Whitney Graphic Identity by Experimental Jetset
Milan 2013: London designer Michael Anastassiades presented lamps strung between walls on fine cables for Italian lighting brand Flos last week. More about String Lights by Michael Anastassiades for Flos
Milan 2013: London designer Philippe Malouin is exhibiting furniture built from slats of two-by-four, sand-cast chairs and a spinning candle at the ProjectB gallery in Milan. More about Simple by Philippe Malouin
London firm Alison Brooks Architects used dark-stained timber and sloping rooftops to reinterpret the rural architecture of Essex for this suburban housing development (+ slideshow). More about South Chase housing by Alison Brooks Architects
Industrial designer Konstantin Grcic will present this chair for German manufacturer Flötotto at trade show imm cologne in Germany next week. More about Pro by Konstantin Grcic