Barock by Renate Buser at the Bellelay Abbey Foundation

Protagonist of this year’s edition of the Bellelay Abbey annual art exhibition, Swiss artist Renate Buser presents Barock – a monumental photographic installation that celebrates and highlights the baroque architecture of the abbey.

Moskva: Urban Space at Venice Architecture Biennale 2014

Moscow's installation at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale highlights elementary shifts in architecture throughout the city's past, and reveals new urban possibilities. The exhibition features inverted prisms that hang from the ceiling with photographs of familiar buildings attached to them.

Luminaire by Rem Koolhas and Swarovski at Venice Architecture Biennale

Luminaire by Rem Koolhas in collaboration with Swarovski © Gilbert McCarragher

Dutch architect Rem Koolhas has collaborated with Swarovski to create Luminaire, a lighting installation that surrounds the entrance to Monditalia, one of the exhibitions that takes place at this year's edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Stainless steel architecture, Amsterdam

Architecture studio Maccreanor Lavington has recently completed the refurbishment of a metro station, originally built in 1970, in Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam. The stainless steel façade, a material chosen for its durability and low maintenance, is decorated with an intricate floral design.

The laser cut motifs allow natural light to flow through the entrance and create lace-like projections on the floor and walls, turning a regular metro station used by over 100,000 residents every day into an inspiring, stimulating place.

Lights cameras action! Milano Design Film Festival 2014 and its awards

From the boundary of the usual by Toni Meneguzzo

Sustained by last year's success, the Milano Design Film Festival has tripled the seating capacity for its second edition in Milan on October 9-12 and planned an international tour, which sees it touching down on 19 June at Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, for three dates in July at MAXXI in Rome and 24 - 30 September at Beijing Design Week.

Highlights of the festival will include From the boundary of the usual, a short film on Piero Fornasetti’s world by Toni Meneguzzo, and REM, a feature-length documentary by Tomas Koolhaas about his father Rem.

Eclectic restaurant: 70s chic by Tom Dixon

Eclectic by Tom Dixon - Photo by Thomas Duval

The new Eclectic restaurant by Tom Dixon opened its doors in Paris this month. Fabienne and Philippe Amzalak, the duo behind many great names of Parisian restoration including Le bon and Ma Cocotte, asked the designer's Design Research Studio to create cosy and vibrant interiors. Eclectic thus mixes British eccentricity with Parisian chic in a tribute to the exuberant 1970s. Concrete and gold brass are warmed up with thick rugs, and the huge central chandelier dominates the room with its 124 metallic shades.

Moto lamp by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez

Made using the same technology as motorcycle helmet visors, the Moto lamp by Jean-Baptiste Fastrez is made of translucent acrylic with an iridescent finish. When lit from behind it casts a kaleidoscope-like display of coloured shadows.

Homebuildlife subscribers can find out more about using iridescence to create a sense of wonder in products in our trend report on Changing Surfaces and our retail report on Moritz Waldemeyer's Winter Wonder installation for La Rinascente in Milan.

Saint-Gobain Archinovo Awards 2013: winners announced

Maison L

The Architecture de Collection agency and the Saint-Gobain group have annouced the prize-winners of the second Saint-Gobain Archinovo 2013, a French architecture competition devoted to individual houses.

Orchard Spa by De Matos Ryan

Photograph by Hufton + Crow

London-based architectural practice De Matos Ryan has created a spa in Coln Lakes, Gloucestershire, as part of holiday development The Lakes by yoo.

Tent Pile by formlessfinder at Design Miami 2013

Design Miami appointed New York-based architectural studio formlessfinder to design a pavilion for this year's fair as part of the biannual Design Commisions program.

Geometrical cloud by Paul Coudamy

Photo courtesy of Paul Coudamy

French architect Paul Coudamy has created a giant modern chandelier for a private home, in Paris.

"Nuctale", the contraction of Nuage Fractal, is a tiny 35 m2 studio flat lit by a monumental 5m long light. The structure comprises 15 light sources and 76 frosted acrylic triangles and covers the major part of the flat's ceiling. The furniture and storage are all made from digitally cut plywood, so as to optimise the small residential space.

International Architecture in Stone Award at Marmomacc 2013

Arup Associates: Druk White Lotus School - Ladakh, India 

Italian stone fair Marmomacc 2013 hosted the the thirteenth edition of the prestigious International Architecture in Stone Award, a biennial prize that celebrates the best architectural projects made using stone-based materials.

Caravan, the tiny house hotel

Located in the Alberta Arts District in Portland, Oregon, Caravan is a hotel comprising three tiny self-contained houses, built on wheeled trailers. Each house is unique and boasts a private bathroom (complete with hot shower) as well as a kitchen with microwave and refrigerator, so guests can feel completely at home during their stay.

New Italian overlooks by Archiplan

Italian design studio Archiplan has created Virgilio, a cultural landscape path in the Lower Mincio area of Italy. The series of Corten steel, wood and concrete rest areas and information points are situated along the banks of the river in Northern Italy, and have been designed to enhance views of the surrounding countryside.

Le Corbusier at MoMA

Le Corbusier's summer house has been rebuilt by Italian design brand Cassina, which is the exclusive producer of the architect's work. The house will be showcased at the exhibition Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes, which runs until 23 September at New York's MoMA.

London Design Festival 2013: a preview

Visualisation of The Endless Staircase, designed by DRMM Architects for LDF 2013

Returning for its eleventh year this autumn, the London Design Festival today announced a snapshot of projects to look out for from 14-22 September 2013. These include an optical illusion of a staircase, to be installed outside St Paul's Cathedral, a "living dining table" by Scholten & Baijings, the launch of a new design brand by HAY and Sebastian Wrong, and an innovative cork installation by FAT Architects.

Primitive architecture by Sou Fujimoto

Geometric Forest by Sou Fujimoto

Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has designed his first residential project in Europe, as part of the Solo Houses programme. 

At the head of his own agency since 2000, the architect's work has always explored the origins of architecture, such as caves and nests, and this new villa is no exception. The heart of the structure, made out of stone and glass, is enveloped in a cubic lattice of interconnecting wooden logs, thus combining basic constructed forms with highly elaborate execution. The result is "a closed and protected place, which is also totally open".

The Regent Street Windows Project: 2013 preview

Karen Millen by Mamou-Mani

For the fourth edition of The Regent Street Windows Project, RIBA has paired six architecture practices with six high street retailers to create unique shop front installations. Esprit will incorporate a giant beach wave in its interiors, a Magic Garden will take over the Karen Millen window display and Jack Spade will recreate the architecture of New York's Greene Street.

Boxed office space by h2o Architects

© Julien Attard

Hypernuit is a creative agency bringing together graphic designers, art directors and communication officers. For its new Parisian work space, the collective asked h2o Architects to create a calming and contemporary interiors that would reflect its innovative and dynamic ideas. It was due to accommodate five work stations and a meeting room. Another request was to fit as much storage as possible, and provide the possibility to hang photographs on the walls for potential exhibitions. 

Tree Houses: Fairy Tale Castles in the Sky

This book by architectural writer Philip Jodidio brings together photographs, illustrations and mini tours of the 50 best tree houses in the world, from traditional constructions to wildly inventive creations, made by architects and anonymous craftsmen alike.

Published by Taschen (2012), Tree Houses: Fairy Tale Castles in the Sky offers inventive cues for kids' lifestyle and even experience design. For more, see our microtrend, Mobile Environments.