Un Swissroll

A terracotta-toned palette of concrete, brickwork and tiles nods to Lappeenranta’s distinctive 1980s civic architecture at Sammontalo, a mixed-use community building in Finland by local studio Nervin Architecture. Read more

An AI pocket pet, a vibrating ultrasonic knife and a « paper battery » were among the interesting and unusual products on display at the world’s most influential technology fair, CES, in Las Vegas this week. Read more

International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif has suggested that the David Chipperfield-designed Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will not be fully complete in time for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which begins next month. Read more

Staff members of the Musée du Louvre in Paris went on strike this week, demanding that plans to renovate and add a new entrance to the museum be scrapped in favor of building maintenance. Read more

In this week’s comments update, readers are discussing CLOid, an AI-powered robot that takes care of household chores, unveiled by electronics brand LG at the CES tech fair in Las Vegas. Read more

Curved walls and porthole windows add character to this brick home built on an infill site in north London, which has been completed by local architecture studio Nikjoo. Read more

Chinese studio FOG Architecture used tactile materials and natural lighting to create a calm, soothing atmosphere in this Shanghai home. Read more

The anxiety surrounding AI in creative fields often stems from viewing it as a competitor. But the true shift is seeing AI as the most versatile, tireless, and surprising member of your creative studio, a junior designer who can work at the speed of thought, generating raw material for you to refine with your human …

At some point, most product leaders face a practical question that sounds simpler than it is: should we hire individual designers, or work with a UI agency? The question often comes up under pressure. A roadmap slipping. A redesign overdue. A team stretched thin. The instinct is to look for the fastest, most controllable solution. …

Architect Shalom Baranes has presented an updated design of the proposed White House ballroom that he said will allow it to « age in a much more graceful way » and speculated on adding a storey to the West Wing for symmetry. Read more