Dezeen Wire: the British Council will invite architects to conduct research projects in far-flung places and present their findings at an exhibition entitled Venice Takeaway in the British Pavilion at next year's Venice Architecture Biennale. More
Dezeen Wire: editor-in-chief of Domus magazine Joseph Grima and Istanbul architect Emre Arolat have been appointed to curate the inaugural Istanbul Design Biennial, which will take place from 13 October to 12 December 2012. More
Dezeen Wire: a Kalashnikov AK-47 rifle, one of the most widely used weapons in the world, is among 13 new additions to the collection of the Design Museum in London.
Other new acquisitions include a Space Invaders arcade machine, Sony Walkman cassette player and The Face magazine. More
Dezeen Wire: Quentin Blake, the man responsible for illustrating many of author Roald Dahl's famous novels, has been announced as the winner of this year's Prince Philip Designers Prize. More
Dezeen Wire: the ongoing construction of skyscrapers in central London has caused the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to reconsider the status of the Tower of London and the Palace of Westminster as recognised sites of historical significance – Evening Standard
UNESCO are concerned that The Shard by architect Renzo Piano near the Tower of London and the 43-storey Doon Street tower on the opposite side of the river Thames from Westminster are having a negative impact on the views and historical integrity of the landmarks. It could place them on its "at risk" register, which would damage their appeal to international tourists.
See our previous story in which Renzo Piano says The Shard "will be loved" by the public and UNESCO's announcement of 25 new additions to the World Heritage List from earlier this year.
Dezeen Wire: an architect from one of the firms that collaborated with Foster + Partners on the design of the Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal in China says that recent damage caused by wind had nothing to do with the quality of the design – The Washington Post
Shao Weiping of the Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute said he was "very confident that the design was perfect and involved no mistakes or flaws.” China state media say passengers reported seeing roofing material from Terminal 3 blowing across the runway and through the three-year-old terminal building. It is the second time in a year that wind has reportedly affected the structure.
Dezeen Wire: architecture critic Hugh Pearman has expressed admiration for the mature and understated nature of Dutch practice OMA's design for a new headquarters for merchant bank Rothschild on a sensitive site near the Bank of England – Hugh Pearman More
Dezeen Wire: the developer behind plans for a tower designed by architecture practice AL_A in Shoreditch, East London has withdrawn its planning application – BDonline
The design for a twisted tower on a former industrial estate attracted over a thousand letters from local residents. Developers Londonewcastle say they will adapt the proposal before submitting a new planning application early next year.
See our previous story on the original design for the Huntingdon Estate here, another AL_A project in London that was scrapped recently here and more projects by AL_A here.
Dezeen Wire: the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom hotel by French architect Jean Nouvel has won the "New Build Hotel" category at The European Hotel Design Awards 2011. More
Dezeen Wire: pioneering multidisciplinary design consultancy Airside has announced that it is to close in March 2012, stating: "we can't see a way for Airside to move forward and accommodate all of our individual ambitions." More
Dezeen Wire: a team of engineers based in California have created a material made from a lattice of hollow metallic tubes that they claim is the lightest in the world – BBC
The substance is 100 times lighter than Styrofoam and consists of 99.99% air. Tubes with a wall thickness 1,000 times thinner than a human hair are used to create the lattice structure that gives the material it's strength. Potential applications include shock and sound absorption and thermal insulation.
Dezeen Wire: in her latest article for The New York Times, design critic Alice Rawsthorn examines the symbols and slogans adopted by the Occupy protest movement in cities around the world.
Rawsthorn explains that the name 'Occupy', which originated at the Occupy Wall Street protest against the banking and democratic system, "is a stellar example of both what is known in marketing as an umbrella brand name and what the anti-corporatists in the movement could call beating them at their own game." She adds that the use of hashtags and slogans short enough to send on social networks such as Twitter have helped the movement spread globally and could represent a new protocol for protesters involving "the repeated use of a few carefully chosen words," rather than images.
Dezeen Wire: Italian architect Renzo Piano says his London skyscraper, The Shard, will be loved by the public, because "it will be accessible, because it is transparent, understandable and not mysterious" – The Telegraph More
Dezeen Wire: the opening of the September 11 museum in New York, which is scheduled for September 2012, is under threat due to an ongoing dispute over unexpected costs – The Washington Post
The museum is part of a memorial to the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre being developed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, who say that they are owed $156 million by mayor Michael Bloomberg's National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation. The row had been kept quiet over fears it could overshadow the 10th anniversary of the attacks but has now led to the suspension of construction contracts which could delay the completion of the museum.
See our previous story on the opening of the National September 11 Memorial, an animation of the memorial fountains and architecture critic Rowan Moore's examination of the infighting that has plagued the redevelopment of the World Trade Centre site.
Dezeen Wire: design critic Justin McGuirk says that a kitchen concept by Dutch electrical company Philips that uses decomposition to generate methane gas for cooking is an example of how we may "have to get more comfortable with bacteria and with putrefaction's role in our ecosystem" – The Guardian
McGuirk claims the Microbial kitchen concept's "steampunk" aesthetic offers "an alternative vision to the clinical kitchen," and also mentions the trend for low-tech kitchen appliances, such as designer Christoph Thetard's pedal-powered devices, which he says represent a reaction to the impending energy crisis.
Last year Dezeen published a report on Food and Design, including examples of low-tech gadgets for preserving and preparing ingredients and concepts for growing food in the kitchen.
Dezeen Wire: the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Design Council have expressed support for a new housing strategy announced by the UK government that aims to deliver high quality homes rather than a higher volume of poor standard properties. More
Dezeen Wire: architecture critic Rowan Moore says that a housing development built by the UK architecture show presenter Kevin McCloud's company Hab is a positive attempt at reversing the trend for "unimaginative, overpriced, undersized" properties in the UK – The Guardian
Moore describes the scheme in Swindon, England, as "imaginative and well-designed," whilst cautioning that it will take time to determine whether McCloud's goals of creating a community and "making people happy" have been achieved. He adds that the houses themselves are "very plain-looking" and far removed from the aspirational properties that feature on McCloud's show, Grand Designs.
Dezeen Wire: supporters of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei have been posting photos of themselves naked on a website as a protest against the Beijing police's decision to question his assistant, who had taken nude pictures of the artist and four women – The Telegraph
Ai was detained for 81 days earlier this year by the Chinese government on charges of tax evasion, during which time he was also asked about the photographs that he says have no deeper political meaning.
Dezeen Wire: apparently, tomorrow is World Toilet Day and the latest issue of Colors magazine focuses on all things faecal, including the taboos, dangers and practical applications of excrement – Colors magazine
Dezeen Wire: The latest RIBA Future Trends Survey shows that the private housing sector is benefiting from all-time low interest rates but overall confidence about future workloads remains low. More