British government to reduce affordable housing quotas as part of stimulus package
Dezeen Wire: the British coalition government's new stimulus package to encourage house building includes complex plans to lower the proportion of affordable housing that private developers must include in large projects, reports CNBC via the Financial Times. More
Rio looks to London's "temporary" Games to avoid white elephant Olympic legacy
Rio 2016: host city for the 2016 Olympics Rio de Janeiro will be taking notes from the London 2012 Olympics – the most 'temporary' Games in history – to avoid the legacy of 'white elephant' sporting venues suffered by other former host cities including Athens and Beijing, reports Reuters. More
Uchi Lounge 02 by Facet Studio
A screen made from century-old bricks divides this Japanese restaurant in Sydney, designed by Australia and Japan-based architects Facet Studio. More
Loveat Jaffa by Studio Ronen Levin and Eran Chehanowitz
Hessian sacks, timber planks and wire mesh hint at the former life of this cafe in Tel Aviv, which Studio Ronen Levin and Eran Chehanowitz converted from an orange-packing plant in the historic port of Jaffa that gives the oranges their name. More
Daphne by 24° Studio
Design practice 24° Studio linked together hundreds of hollow paper stars to line a tunnel and stairway in Santorini, Greece. More
Queen Street House by Edwards Moore
Steps built into the kitchen counter lead up to a suspended staircase in this Melbourne house by Australian architects Edwards Moore. More
Voivodeship Police Headquarters by Poznań Projekt and mode:lina architekci
Flashes of blue stand out against the stark white and grey interior of this police headquarters in Poland by Poznań Projekt and mode:lina architekci (+ slideshow). More
Curious Vase by Mianne de Vries
Don't worry if you smash this vase by Dutch designer Mianne de Vries – a back-up vase is waiting inside. More
Liquid Rainbow by Edwin Deen
This sprinkler by Dutch artist Edwin Deen sprays jets of coloured water to turn a room into a rainbow (+ slideshow + movie). More
House T by Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects
There are huge rectangular holes in the walls and floors of this Tokyo house by Japanese studio Hiroyuki Shinozaki Architects. More
Layers wallpaper by Richard Hutten at the Design Museum
Visitors are invited to make their mark on the cafe walls of London's Design Museum by ticking boxes on this stripy wallpaper by Dutch designer Richard Hutten. More
Dezeen archive: algae
Dezeen archive: this week we featured a skyscraper with an algae skin, so we thought we'd bring you all the projects involving algae we've published on Dezeen. See all the stories »
Fountain Hacks by LIKEarchitects and Ricardo Dourado
Portugese studio LIKEarchitects and fashion designer Ricardo Dourado have used beach loungers, garden furniture and toys to get the people of Guimarães in Portugal paddling in the city's fountains (+ slideshow). More
Dear Disaster by Jenny Ekdahl
This scale-covered cabinet by Swedish designer Jenny Ekdahl is intended to help victims of natural disasters to recover from their traumatic experiences. More
Boost for Finnish tourism as visitors head to World Design Capital Helsinki
Dezeen Wire: Finland is attracting tourists at an unprecedented rate, boosted by Helsinki's current status as the World Design Capital, in sharp contrast to the unexpected drop in visitor numbers London has experienced during its Olympic summer. More
Memento by Wesley Meuris
Narrow slits provide entrances to this circular pavilion by Belgian artist Wesley Meuris outside the Flemish town of Borgloon. More
Frivole Prestige perfumery by Theza
A multi-faceted gold block dominates this perfumery in Wrocław by Polish interior designers Theza. More
9,5° chair by Rasmus B. Fex
The wonky look of this chair by Danish designer Rasmus B. Fex actually makes it stronger. More
"Olympics will only take place in non-democratic countries," say authors of Olympic Cities report
Dezeen Wire: democratic nations won't be able to host the Olympics in future due to increasing tensions between the public interests of democracies and the commercial interests of the games, according to a new report published by Dutch architecture, research and urbanism studio XML to coincide with the London 2012 Olympics. More
Shed create gender-neutral toy department at Harrods
Dezeen Wire: this week Harrods opened the doors to its first gender-neutral toy department, designed by London and Singapore-based interior architects Shed. More