This week on Dezeen:Â Apple's Jonathan Ive (pictured) accused contemporary designers of losing interest in how things are made this week, while the United Arab Emirates revealed plans for a manmade mountain in an attempt to increase the country's rainfall.
Speaking at the preview of the recently opened Manus x Machina exhibition in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ive said designers in all fields appear to be less interested in the handmade.
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates revealed its intention of creating rain on demand. One solution, according to researchers, would be to build a mountain to increase cloud production.
The UAE also hit the headlines as Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava was selected to build the country's national pavilion at the Dubai Expo 2020.
In other news this week, Zaha Hadid Architects presented plans for a new Prague business district and Patrik Schumacher paid tribute to the company's founder – who died suddenly in March – for her "empowering" and "unprecedented" architectural moves.
The Venice Architecture Biennale named Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha as the recipient of the prestigious Golden Lion award for lifetime achievement, and New York's Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum announced Moshe Safdie, Bruce Mau and Studio O+A among the 11 winners of its 2016 National Design Awards.
It emerged that Foster + Partners might still be in contention for the Two World Trade Center tower project, despite being ditched in favour of BIG last year, while Thomas Heatherwick's elevated park over the Hudson River was given the go ahead.
Other news from New York this week included a proposal to transform a shipping barge into a "floating food forest", while Italian architect Piero Lissoni won a speculative design competition for a submerged circular aquarium for a site on the city's East River.
Over in Chicago, a plan for an aerial cable car that would stretch over the city was released.
Herzog & de Meuron's Tate Modern extension in London neared completion, as seen in this image by Mark Smyth, and architect Sean Griffith released his intention to add a shed-inspired roof to FAT's seminal Blue House.
London Design Festival announced the installations that will be on show at this year's event, including a large smile-shaped tunnel by architect Alison Brooks and a series of box-like structures by London studio dRMM.
Benjamin Hubert's studio Layer revealed designs for the "world's first" 3D-printed consumer wheelchair, while BMW redesigned a racing model for Paralympic athletes.
Popular stories this week on Dezeen included Ikea's indoor gardening product for space-poor urban dwellers, a robotically fabricated pavilion in Germany and plans for a cliffside house featuring a glass swimming pool for a roof.
More architecture | More interiors | More design | More news