News: work has started on the Bibliothèque Multimédia à Vocation Régionale (BMVR) - an X-shaped public library designed by OMA for the old port area of Caen, northern France (+ slideshow). More about Work starts on OMA-designed library in Caen, France
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur has created a chandelier for a château in Marseille, France, that looks like an illuminated rope suspended from the ceiling. More about Les Cordes chandelier by Mathieu Lehanneur for Château Borély
Food with edible packaging is served around a circular counter at the WikiBar in Paris by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur. More about WikiBar Paris by Mathieu Lehanneur
Metal trellises offer a framework for climbing plants and vines around these recently completed houses in Poitiers, France, by Bordeaux studio Lanoire & Courrian (+ slideshow). More about 32 houses in Poitiers by Lanoire & Courrian
Industrial designer Konstantin Grcic has furnished an apartment in Le Corbusier's iconic Cité Radieuse housing block with his own products and blown-up pages from a punk fanzine (+ slideshow). More about Konstantin Grcic at Appartement N°50
News: a proposal by Rem Koolhaas' firm OMA for a bridge that could accommodate different types of traffic as well as pedestrians and events has been selected by local authorities in Bordeaux, France, as one of two final competing designs. More about OMA proposes bridge with pedestrian boulevard for Bordeaux
A cantilevered exhibition floor and an underwater conference suite feature at this archive and research centre, designed by Italian office Boeri Studio and one of several new buildings on Marseille's waterfront (photographs by Edmund Sumner + slideshow). More about Villa Méditerranée by Boeri Studio
Japanese firm Kengo Kuma and Associates has completed an art and culture centre with a chequered timber facade on the banks of the Doubs river in Besançon, France (+ slideshow). More about Besançon Art Centre and Cité de la Musique by Kengo Kuma and Associates
The faceted surfaces of this library in the French town of Montauban by Paris architecture studio Colboc Franzen & Associés follow the lines of historical roads bordering the site (+ slideshow). More about Montauban multimedia library by Colboc Franzen & Associés
French practice AWP has remodelled a water-treatment plant outside Paris to reveal its industrial processes to the public. More about Water-Treatment Plant by AWP
This two-storey extension by French architect Loïc Picquet converts an old farm building into a rural guesthouse in the Alsace region of France (+ slideshow). More about Création de 4 chambres d'hôtes by Loïc Picquet
News: Saint Laurent has opened the doors to its new flagship store in Paris, the first to be designed by Hedi Slimane since he became creative director of the fashion house last year. More about Saint Laurent opens new flagship store in Paris
Doors, windows and recesses are picked out in yellow ochre on the timber facade of this retirement home near Paris by French studio Vous Êtes Ici Architectes (+ slideshow). More about Morangis Retirement Home by Vous Êtes Ici Architectes
Haute couture garments by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen will be displayed at an exhibition of her work in Calais, France, from June. More about Iris van Herpen exhibition at the International Centre for Lace and Fashion
News: Danish firm BIG has been selected to design an 80-hectare shopping and leisure complex with a park on its roof to serve a business district between two Paris airports. More about BIG to design leisure district on Paris outskirts
London firm Farshid Moussavi Architecture has won a competition to design an apartment block in Montpellier with designs for a tower made from a stack of rippling floor plates. More about Lot 2, Jardins de la Lironde by Farshid Moussavi Architecture
News: Dutch firm OMA is to masterplan a new urban development south of Bordeaux based around the extension of the local tram system. More about OMA hired for Bordeaux masterplan
This renovation of a crumbling 1960s tower block in Paris nicknamed "Alcatraz" topped the architecture category of this year's Designs of the Year Awards and is in the running for the top prize to be announced tonight (+ slideshow). More about Tour Bois-le-Prêtre by Frédéric Druot, Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal
News: work has started on a football stadium in Bordeaux, France, by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. More about Construction begins on Bordeaux stadium by Herzog & de Meuron
News: the rooftop of Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse housing block in Marseille is to open to the public this summer as a contemporary art space masterminded by French designer Ora-Ïto. More about Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse rooftop to open as art space