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15 Clerkenwell Close by Amin Taha + Groupwork

This week, homes of drug lord Pablo Escobar and architect Amin Taha faced demolition

This week on Dezeen, architect Amin Taha faced an order to demolish his RIBA Award-winning home and office in London and it was announced Pablo Escobar's former home in Colombia will be torn down and replaced with a public memorial.

Islington Council issued the order to demolish Taha's six-storey block of flats at 15 Clerkenwell Close, which the architect lives in himself, with claims that the facade's natural stone was not fully detailed in the planning documents.

Taha said he believes the demolition notice is fuelled by personal dislikes of the Dezeen Award-nominated building. He has launched an appeal against the order.

Pablo Escobar's former Medellín home to be torn down

In Medellín, it was announced that the concrete Mónaco building, which once served as a fortress-like home to narcotics baron Pablo Escobar, is to be demolished to make way for a public space that will serve as a memorial to victims of Colombia's drug war.


Nicholas Grimshaw to receive "well overdue" 2019 RIBA Royal Gold Medal

RIBA announced that architect Nicholas Grimshaw is to receive the 2019 Royal Gold Medal for a lifetime of landmark projects, including the famous Eden Project in Cornwall and the International Terminal at London's Waterloo train station.

Dutch graphic designer Anthon Beeke, famous for creating the 1969 Naked Ladies typeface and provocative posters designs, passed away this week aged 78, following a stroke. Beeke is survived by his wife, the trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort.

Foster + Partners breaks ground on Shanghai skyscraper

Foster + Partners' 200-metre-high office skyscraper in Shanghai broke ground this week. The 42-storey tower is being built for property development company China Resources Land in the city's Suhewan district.

The firm was also in the headlines this week for winning the top prize at the Archiboo Web Awards 2018 for the best overall website, which judges described as "a tour de force in making so much content accessible and easily navigable".

NASA Glenn Research Center by TEN Arquitectos begins construction in Ohio

In Cleveland, a groundbreaking ceremony for a new office building at the NASA Glenn Research Center, designed by TEN Arquitectos, took place to coincide with the space agency's 60th anniversary.

Elsewhere in the US, Michael Kors Holdings acquired the iconic fashion house Versace in a £1.67 billion deal, following its purchase of shoe brand Jimmy Choo last summer for £900 million – the three brands are set to form a new fashion conglomerate.

Rose-flavoured breast wins Bompas & Parr's ice cream competition

In design news, a rose and chai-flavoured ice cream in the form of a woman's breast, by New York-based Sally Reynolds, was selected as the winner of Bompas & Parr's ice cream competition from London Design Festival.

A new stained-glass window was installed at London's Westminster Abbey to commemorate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II and her "deep affection for and connection to the countryside", designed by British artist David Hockney on his iPad.

BIG overhauls Copenhagen warehouse for Noma 2.0 restaurant

Popular projects on Dezeen this week included a London restaurant with green fixtures by Australian studio Biasol, ecological packaging for fries made from potato skins and BIG's overhaul of a Copenhagen warehouse to create the Noma 2.0 restaurant.

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