Alexia Audrain designs hugging chair to comfort people with autism
Graduate designer Alexia Audrain has developed a chair with cocooning, inflatable walls that helps people with autism self-soothe when they are experiencing sensory overload. More
The Dezeen guide to plastic in architecture, design and interiors
Thinking of using plastic in your project? Our latest Dezeen guide includes more than 11 types of plastic commonly used in architecture, design and interiors, with links to hundreds of projects for inspiration. More
Ilja Schamle powers server with tomato plants in self-sustaining ecosystem
Design Academy Eindhoven graduate Ilja Schamle has replaced batteries with living plants in this self-built server system to explore how technology could enter into a symbiotic relationship with nature. More
Nebbia Works constructs mono-material pavilion for V&A from low-carbon aluminium
Nebbia Works has created a self-supporting pavilion from simple aluminium sheets at the V&A museum as part of the London Design Festival to highlight the material's sustainable potential. More
Low-key Milan design week shows that "less is better"
Last week's Milan design week offered a calmer, more meaningful experience reminiscent of the event's early editions, according to designers and exhibitors showing at Salone del Mobile and the parallel fuorisalone programme. More
Note Design Studio reuses Vestre fair stand to form indoor park installation
Vestre is showcasing a collection of urban furniture that encourages biodiversity at this year's Milan design week, set within a leafy installation constructed by Note Design Studio from one of the brand's old fair stands. More
Geneva students draw upon female form to reimagine Clockwork Orange milk bar
Imagery of breasts and beakers is combined in this fountain, designed by graduates Lolita Gomez and Blanca Algarra Sanchez based on the Korova Milk Bar from A Clockwork Orange and currently on display at Milan design week. More
Emerging Italian designers create furniture in response to Rick Owens' work
Rick Owens' clean, brutalist lines are contrasted against the "childlike touch" of contemporary Italian design in the Rick Owens – Dialog with Emerging Italian Designers exhibition curated by Galerie Philia as part of Milan design week. More
WPP building online "Minecraft world" featuring all its global offices in one place
Global communications group WPP is creating a digital campus in computer game Minecraft featuring replicas of its offices around the world, allowing employees to visit other buildings without leaving their desks. More
Sydney mandates lighter roofs and larger gardens for suburb to ward off climate change
Dark roofs will be banned and backyards expanded for all new houses built in Sydney's emerging Wilton suburb, as part of planning controls that are being introduced to help lower temperatures in the city. More
Shane Fu fools "gullible" viewers with hyperrealistic window animation
A wave of colourful balls seems to slosh through the New York store of fashion brand Zara in this CGI animation by motion designer Shane Fu, which has accumulated more than 17 million views online. More
Wind Catching Systems designs giant floating wind farm with 117 turbines
Norwegian company Wind Catching Systems is developing a floating offshore wind power generator that could produce renewable energy for 80,000 homes at prices comparable to traditional fossil fuels. More
IKEA launches "accessible and affordable" subscription for renewable energy in Sweden
Furniture retailer IKEA is branching out to become a renewable energy supplier with its Strömma subscription service, which is set to bring wind and solar power to Swedish households from September. More
The Act of Quad designs multi-generational Mumbai apartment with its own temple
Two flats in a Mumbai high-rise were combined to create a "minimal but playful" home for three generations, which local studio The Act of Quad has decorated with multiple spherical and rounded shapes. More
Tubular holiday home cantilevers over hill in Russian art park
Moscow's chief architect Sergey Kuznetsov has completed a pipe-shaped cabin, constructed like the hull of a ship and balanced on the edge of a slope in Russia's Nikola-Lenivets Art Park. More
Ten rustic interiors that incorporate natural textures and materials
From a sand-filled Portuguese beach house to a renovated farmer's cottage near Beijing, our latest lookbook highlights rustic interiors from Dezeen's archive that bring the countryside into the home. More
Critics mourn modernist French Railways House as "dying loved one" ahead of planned demolition
Architects and designers have reacted with dismay to the news that a 1960s landmark in central London will be demolished to make way for a new office development by architecture studio Make. More
IPCC climate report a "call to arms" say architects and designers
The latest IPCC climate report offers a "nugget of hope" but architects and designers must "make changes to the way they design" to help avert catastrophic climate change, according to Architects Climate Action Network and other UK climate pressure groups. More
Carbon-capturing Celour paint allows anyone to "participate in CO2 removal in their daily lives"
Design graduate Kukbong Kim has developed a paint made from demolished concrete that is capable of absorbing 20 per cent of its weight in carbon. More
ZUV is an electric tricycle that can be 3D-printed from plastic waste
EOOS has developed a prototype for a "zero-emissions utility vehicle", or ZUV, which can be 3D-printed locally rather than having to be shipped around the world. More