Erotic toys are "an incredible opportunity for new designers"
Adult sex toys are in the midst of a design revolution, says Rita Catinella Orrell, who has written a book on the subject called Objects of Desire. More
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Sunken "sidescraper" bordering New York's Central Park wins skyscraper competition
US designers Yitan Sun and Jianshi Wu have proposed transforming Manhattan's Central Park into a sunken landscape encircled by a below-grade megastructure with office, housing, retail and cultural space. More
"Americans are not savvy when it comes to design brands" says Ahalife founder Shauna Mei
American consumers who learned about design through Ikea are starting to appreciate other brands and are "very ready and ripe" for online retailers like Ahalife, according to Shauna Mei, founder of the e-commerce site that has just hired former Net-A-Porter director Christopher Colfer to drive the brand's global expansion (+ exclusive interview). More
Sculp IT organises concrete boxes around glass corridor to create Belgian woodland home
Concrete boxes are arranged on either side of a long glazed corridor to form this concrete house by Belgian studio Sculp IT, which is made up of both indoor and outdoor spaces (+ slideshow). More
Nils Holger Moormann designs minimal interior for "inconspicuous" Volkswagen Bus
German designer Nils Holger Moormann has transformed a Volkswagen T6 bus into a mobile home away from home (+ slideshow). More
Klaus Pichler goes behind the scenes of Vienna's Natural History Museum
Photo essay: a shark in a corridor and a toad seated on a filing cabinet are among the scenes found by Austrian photographer Klaus Pichler when he went backstage at the Natural History Museum Vienna (+ slideshow). More
Tengbom adds "monolithic" zinc-clad extension to Alingsås District Court
Architecture studio Tengbom has added a zinc-clad extension to a traditional brick courthouse building in the Swedish town of Alingsås (+ slideshow). More
Mobile lingerie shop by SAW and MOA designed to travel across the US
American design studios SAW and MOA have teamed up to conceive a "nomadic fitting room" for an online retailer that sells intimate apparel for women (+ slideshow). More
Baca completes flood-resilient home beside an Oxfordshire brook
This larch-clad residence by floating architecture specialists Baca Architects is raised above its flood-prone site in Oxfordshire, England, on wooden blocks and an elevated deck (+ slideshow). More
High Rise is "not a criticism of post-war architecture" says director Ben Wheatley
The main character in High Rise, a new movie based on JG Ballard's dystopian novel, is a residential tower that "doesn't care about the people inside it" and is designed by an arrogant architect. Director Ben Wheatley spoke exclusively to Dezeen about the film and why it "isn't a takedown of the architects of the 50s and 60s" (+ interview). More
Stefano Giovannoni to launch Qeeboo online design brand in Milan
Milan 2016: Italian designer Stefano Giovannoni has set up a new internet-based plastic furniture brand that he hopes will overcome the "irreconcilable gap" between physical and online retail. More
Japanese architects have rejected the starchitect system says MoMA curator
Contemporary Japanese architects have created "a legacy with more consistency" than the famous names that dominate architecture elsewhere, says the curator of a major new MoMA exhibition (+ slideshow). More
Soo Kyung Bae's jewellery draws attention to the "thigh-gap trend"
These jewellery pieces by Singapore designer Soo Kyung Bae are intended to spark a debate about unrealistic body-image expectations portrayed by the media. More
Micro apartments could help cities retain their diversity says Ian Schrager
The booming market for luxury apartments in New York "is an issue" that could damage the city, according to hotelier and real-estate developer Ian Schrager – and micro apartments could be the solution. More
"Illustrations have become a key component of the response to terrorist atrocities"
Opinion: in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks, Rob Alderson asks how illustrations like Plantu's hugging flags and Jean Jullien's Peace for Paris symbol have become part of our "post-terror grammar". More
Factory Fifteen's latest movie features a futuristic car factory taken over robots
An artificial intelligence system takes control of a futuristic car manufacturing plant in this short movie by architectural film studio Factory Fifteen (+ movie). More
Google has had a negative effect on office design, says Jeremy Myerson
The Google-inspired fad for slides and ping-pong tables has had a damaging impact on the workplace, according to office design expert Jeremy Myerson. More
Sebastian Wrong launches "competitive" new lighting brand called Wrong London
Business news: British designer Sebastian Wrong is launching a new lighting company with offices in London and Hong Kong. More
Architecture and design "can support or even change company culture" says Haworth research
Haworth white papers: workplace culture is the most important factor to take into account when designing office spaces, according to research by Haworth. More
FrontOfficeTokyo strips back small Tokyo apartment by pulling down walls
To make better use of space inside this small Tokyo flat, local studio FrontOfficeTokyo replaced almost all of the walls with multi-functional box units and a series of sliding partitions (+ slideshow). More