Today is Dezeen's eighth birthday! From chocolate penises to houses with slides instead of stairs, we've pretty much written about everything architecture and design related over the years. To celebrate, we're looking back at the most popular story from each year of our existence.
2007: Condom applicator by Willem van Rensburg and Roelf Mulder
In our first full year we reported on a condom device that was named Most Beautiful Object at South Africa's Design Indaba conference.
The condom applicator was designed to help prevent AIDS by encouraging the use of condoms, which can – via the applicator – be applied to the penis easily and rapidly in one thrusting movement.
The device, which takes its place among MoMA's permanent collection in New York, attracted over 250,000 pageviews on Dezeen. Find out more about this project »
2008: Manned Cloud by Jean-Marie Massaud
This whale-shaped airship was conceived in 2008 by French designer Jean-Marie Massaud as a hotel capable of hosting 40 guests.
With a cruising speed of 130 kilometres per hour and a travelling range of 5,000 kilometres, Manned Cloud aimed to enable passengers to travel the world without polluting places with noise and fumes. Find out more about this project »
2009: Ink Calendar by Oscar Diaz
This calendar, launched in 2009 by Oscar Diaz, uses the capillary action of ink spreading across paper to display the date.
For each month of the year a different sheet of paper embossed with numbers is displayed alongside a pot of ink. The ink spreads across the sheet, revealing the date by colouring in each number as it goes. Find out more about this project »
London designer Asif Khan produced these chairs and tables made of freeze-dried flowers in 2010 – and they have gone on to become Dezeen's most viewed project of all time.
Created for an installation at London's Design Museum, the Harvest furniture consisted of flowers commonly found in London. The harvested plant material was put into moulds and freeze-dried, before being bonded with an oil-based resin. Find out more about this project »
2011: House in Nakameguro by Level Architects
Rousing children for breakfast would never be a chore in this Japanese house featuring a slide connecting all three of its floors, which was Dezeen's biggest story of 2011.
A staircase wraps around one side of the three-storey residence and the slide encircles the other, allowing residents to decide at each level how they wish to descend. The fun house also features a double-height terrace which doubles as a ball pen for children (and adults) to play in. Find out more about this project »
2012: 8 Inches of Dark Chocolate Cock Filled With... by United Indecent Pleasures
Perhaps one of the most shocking stories ever to be published on Dezeen, this eight-inch chocolate penis oozes fondant cream.
Coming in six finger-licking flavours, the chocolaty member also has firm fondant at its base to ensure its structure stands impressively proud. Find out more about this project »
2013: Animation shows completion of Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família
This one-minute animation depicting the completion of Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona captured the imagination of our readers.
Work began on Sagrada Familia in 1882 and Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi took over the direction in 1914. The completed basilica is due to open in 2026, 144 years after it began, to coincide with the centennial anniversary of Gaudí's death in 1926. Find out more about this project »
2014: Silk Leaf by Julian Melchiorri
As part of the Dezeen and MINI Frontiers project this year, we've been exploring the future of mobility and examining how technology is intersecting with design.
One such protect exploring this crossover was Julian Melchiorri's man-made Silk Leaf, which absorbs water and carbon dioxide to produce oxygen just like a plant. A movie we made explaining the project and its future applications has so far had over 583,000 plays. Find out more about this project »