Wooden boxes surrounding the tables of this noodle bar in the Chinese city of Shenzhen frame views of the city skyline, which is visible through a full-height glazed wall. More about Slatted timber boxes contain dining areas inside Fanbo Zeng's Fun noodle bar
London firm Timothy Hatton Architects has added a burnished steel staircase to rug designer Deirdre Dyson's Chelsea carpet gallery as part of a renovation of her studio. More about Timothy Hatton Architects designs floating steel staircase for Deirdre Dyson gallery
Lithuanian design and architecture studio YCL has used furniture to add pops of colour to the interiors of an otherwise monochromatic apartment in Strasbourg, France (+ slideshow). More about YCL adds colourful furniture accents to monochrome Strasbourg apartment
Shanghai design studio Coordination Asia has converted a Beijing art gallery into a gym and studio space for sports brand Nike (+ slideshow). More about Coordination Asia uses neon grids to transform a Beijing art gallery into a gym for Nike
A concrete staircase with no balustrade ascends through this minimal house in the Valencia region of Spain, which was added to a converted factory containing the headquarters of an outdoor furniture company (+ slideshow). More about Borja Garcia Architects adds a minimal residence to a former textiles factory
Chocolate-patterned wall panelling and sofas shaped like Toblerones feature in Dutch designer Marcel Wanders' Swiss-inspired hotel in Zurich (+ slideshow). More about Swiss chocolate influences Marcel Wanders' Kameha Grand Zurich hotel
Studio Aa has converted a former boiler house in south Amsterdam to create a new headquarters for a family-run investment company (+ slideshow). More about Studio Aa transforms Amsterdam boiler house into contemporary office space
Oak boards cover the chamfered entrance to this hair and beauty salon in Osaka, renovated by Okuwada Architects Office to look like a cave (+ slideshow). More about Okuwada gives Mook salon in Osaka an oak-panelled makeover
Japanese architect Jo Nagasaka stripped away the walls of this inherited house in Tokyo, revealing an arrangement of timber columns that give the residence an unfinished appearance (+ slideshow). More about Jo Nagasaka knocks through the walls of a Tokyo house to reveal its aged structure
Architect Shimpei Oda has renovated a 36-square-metre studio apartment in Osaka, Japan, transforming part of a balcony into an extension of the living room. More about Shimpei Oda creates "inner balcony" in renovated Osaka apartment
American studio CHA:COL has incorporated modified IKEA products into a unit that serves as an office and apartment for two visual artists in Los Angeles. More about CHA:COL creates a live-work space in LA using hacked IKEA products
Archiplan Studio has rejuvenated the interior of a villa in northern Italy, reviving original wallpapers and furnishings, and pairing them with contemporary details (+ slideshow). More about Archiplan Studio blends old and new for restoration of early 20th-century Italian villa
Swiss architecture studio Stereo Architektur has completed its first project: a wooden structure that transforms a former Basel machine factory into a shared working space (+ slideshow). More about Stereo Architektur builds wooden "house within a house" inside Basel factory
Berlin architecture firm Atheorem has used dark grey curtains and metallic fixtures to update an apartment that dates back to the late 1800s in the city's Mitte district. More about Atheorem refurbishes compact apartment in Berlin's Mitte district
Brazilian firm Vitrô Arquitetura has renovated a 1960s apartment in São Paulo, revealing structural concrete pillars and brickwork walls (+ slideshow). More about Vitrô Arquitetura exposes structural concrete pillars within 1960s São Paulo apartment
Belgian creative agency Dift has designed the interiors for a loft apartment housed in a former office space in the centre of Ghent (+ slideshow). More about Dift transforms former Ghent office space into WATT loft apartment
Photo essay: London-based photographer John Short was determined to depict the death of New York's creative scene, but his images of its once-legendary arts venues proved that the spaces are far from "lost" (+ slideshow). More about John Short rediscovers New York's lost creative spaces
London architect Simon Astridge has renovated the disused basement of a kitchen showroom in Putney, adding textured materials and a spiral-shaped wine vault with a glass trapdoor (+ movie). More about Simon Astridge creates "wine cave" beneath south London kitchen showroom
Design and architecture studio Conran and Partners is reworking the interior of a 17-storey block that forms part of London's Brutalist Barbican Estate, transforming it from a youth hostel into high-end apartments (+ slideshow). More about Conran and Partners to turn Barbican's Blake Tower into luxury apartments
LA-based CHA:COL has completed a "bare bones" office for tech startups that features a retrofitted shipping container and a wooden bleacher that doubles as a storage unit (+ slideshow). More about California tech incubator by CHA:COL discourages occupants from staying too long