We’ve now reached no. 300 with our Newsletter. So we came up with a little fun to mark the occasion. If you have joined up the numbered dots correctly and come up with the image and worked out who designed it, then you can even win it. So, off you go!

Augustin Teboul is one of the highly promising Berlin fashion labels. Martina Metzner talked with Annelie Augustin and Odély Teboul in their Berlin studio about their eccentric somber robes, their relationship to Paris as the couture capital, and their dream house.

To date, the WC has been regarded as a largely no-tech zone. And now the shower WC, long since the norm in Japan and the Arab world, is ready to delight Europeans – as a “fun feature” and “pleasurable health booster”.

The sky is reflected in Europe’s highest building. London’s “The Shard” seems to constantly adapt to the weather and changing light conditions. This “visual adaptivity” is made possible by a coating custom-made for the high-rise. Julius Streifeneder talked with Bart Akkerhuis about it.

“Architektur für die russische Raumfahrt” is a lavishly illustrated volume that brings together an array of constructivist compositions, Stalinist monuments, brutalist buildings and monumental wall reliefs – all of them made to affirm the promise of salvation innate in Soviet astronautics.

The “Yiddishe Kop” with his wit and the stories of rabbis are not only full with wise insights into life, but also help solve problems. Rabbi Nilton Bonder explains how this works and why in isn’t enough to simply know a world.

There are many prejudices about China. One says that all designs are copied. Yet the “Chinesisch-Deutsche Kunstakademie” (CDK) in Hangzhou demonstrates that there are also other intercultural activities. Egon Chemaitis spoke to its president Yang Xiuqing on the cooperation between the CDK and UDK Berlin.

Everlasting Sprout is a young Japanese label that came to fame for its elaborate knitted creations and a joint project with Kazuyo Sejima at Sanaa. After Issey, Yohji and Rei they demonstrate why it’s worthwhile looking to Japanese fashion again.

Enjoying a TV dinner or simply eating with your laptop on your knees? Does either have much to do with cultured meals? And can you use plates, cups and the like made by three Modernist mega-hitters to this end, namely Wilhelm Wagenfeld, Tapio Wirkkala and Timo Sarpaneva? The exhibition on “Vom Stand der Dinge” in Bremen explores these questions, with the help of 11 contemporary designers.

“The Future is here” at London’s Design Museum is an ambitious exhibition that captures the current transition in manufacturing brought about by new digital technologies. An impressive achievement taking into consideration the fast change of the digital era.

In their work, artists and architects Jan and Tim Edler from “Realities United” focus on building systems and the potential for communication they afford. Adeline Seidel met Jan Edler in Berlin to talk about adaptive concepts.

Politics, climate change and the Niger shape their lives. Italian photographer Nicola Lo Calzo photographed people along the river.

In Berlin a communal prayer and teaching hall for Christian, Jews and Muslims is destined to promote inter-religious dialog. And a book has now been published documenting the architectural competition, visualizing the challenge innate in designing a religious building for which there are no historical precedents.

The new Mini was from the outset a lifestyle product. And the same can be said of the “Mini Vision” study. Martina Metzner spoke to Annette Baumeister, Head of Color & Trim at Mini Design, on the patterns, colors and materials that are typical of the Mini.

What systems and materials lay the basis for an architecture that can respond dynamically and independently to climatic influences? We present a few current R&D projects.

Entitled “Untragbar”, students at Bremen’s University of the Arts have launched a fashion project that needles what’s in vogue and stitches it all up in an original magazine design.

How to free oneself of the burden of celebrities at the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth.

What will the cities of tomorrow look like? How will we move in them? And what role will digital media play in the process? A discussion with Jürgen Mayer H. and Eric Höweler at the “Schaustelle” in Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne tried to find some answers.

To construct a fun car you need more than a great idea and a good mood. As can be seen from a comparison between the unique “Méhari” Citroën and Jean-Marie Massaud’s concept for a Toyota “Me.We”.

Even though current automobiles may resort to all kinds of make-up, in the first instance, what really counts as a trademark is the radiator grille. A little guide to the various different types.

The book on “Imagining the House” by Pritzker prizewinner Wang Shu includes hand drawings by the architect – in their original size. And if you take a closer look at them you soon see what a difference there is between designing a building by hand rather than at the computer.

Two years ago, the Bröhan Collection was sold to China. Egon Chemaitis spoke to Song Jianming about plans for the collection in Hangzhou and the immense importance attached to Bauhaus in China.

With “7 Studies”, gallerist and furniture maker Jörg Schellmann is showing in Munich how seven renowned artists and designers, among them Stefan Diez, Liam Gillick and Donald Judd, are furnishing workspaces. And that they are not all that far from the Renaissance studiolo.

Phyllis Lambert disagreed with her father in the choice of architects and proposed Mies van der Rohe for the construction of the new Seagram headquarter in New York City. In her book she allows insight into the undertaking "Seagram Building

We are in Spain, yes. Yet no sooner than someone mentions Cosentino and “Silestone”, we cannot help but think of a little Gallic village and the power of a magic formula.

Lithuania, one of the three Baltic countries, is largely forested. No wonder that its designers prefer wood primarily as a material. But what role does design play even in a small country between Scandinavia and Russia?

This summer, the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) in Copenhagen is devoting a show to the great Zaha Hadid. It’s an aesthetic pearl, but fails to mention a lot things.

“Learning from Las Vegas” taught us that anyone building in a location where people rush past needs to communicate simple messages. This premise no doubt served Frankfurt-based architects Schneider+Schumacher as a basis for their design. Their highway church speaks the language of a billboard, yet still surprises with its architectural diversity.

The venue: Design Miami/Basel, at the booth of Brussels-based Victor Hunt gallery. There, Daniel von Bernstorff, Stylepark, met designer Johannes Hemann, to talk with him about one of the most hotly discussed topics of the fair – the potential and limits of the interface between art and design.

A special kind of summit: Wolf D. Prix from Coop Himmelb(l)au and several of his colleagues lead a tour of the European Central Bank construction site in Frankfurt/Main.

You need courage and massive design punch to skillfully combine Punk music and Le Corbusier. Thanks to Konstantin Grcic this summer both join forces in Marseille.

The exhibition “Think global, build social” at the DAM in Frankfurt shows how architects support social building projects in developing countries, in a sustainable and communal fashion – using local materials. Yet many questions go unanswered.

Light and supple, transparent or opaque, textiles are extremely versatile. Today they find wide application in temporary architectural projects. With “Textile Architektur” Textil- und Industriemuseum has devoted a special exhibition to them. Now on show in Augsburg.

The idea is unusual, possibly even revolutionary. In the form of “Natevo” Italian bed specialist Flou has involved the public in the design process – and brought glowing furniture to market.