Berlin's Reichstag dome and ramp in engineered wood

Finnish engineered timber company Metsa Wood has designed a reconstruction of the Reichstag, the home of the German Parliament, in engineered wood. More information and videos on  www.metsawood.com/planb

Aerocene metallic orbs by Tomás Saraceno in Paris' Grand Palais

"By releasing hot air from inside the Aerocene globes, pressure can be regulated and the altitude of the orbs can be controlled. They could also float along natural jet streams, using these as a way of changing direction."

from dezeen.

The World of Charles and Ray Eames at the Barbican until 14 February

The World of Charles and Ray Eames

21 October 2015 - 14 February 2016

Charles and Ray Eames are among the most influential designers of the 20th century. Enthusiastic and tireless experimenters, this husband and wife duo moved fluidly between the fields of photography, film, architecture, exhibition-making, and furniture and product design.

at the Art Gallery 

Barbican Centre

Silk Street London 

EC2Y 8DS

Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy until 13 December

"Ai became widely known in Britain after his sunflower seeds installation in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2010 but this is the first major institutional survey of his work ever held in the UK and it bridges over two decades of his extraordinary career.

Curated in collaboration with Ai Weiwei from his studio in Beijing, we present some of his most important works from the time he returned to China from the US in 1993 right up to present day. Among new works created specifically for our galleries and courtyard are a number of large-scale installations, as well as works showcasing everything from marble and steel to tea and glass. 

With typical boldness, the chosen works explore a multitude of challenging themes, drawing on his own experience to comment on creative freedom, censorship and human rights, as well as examining contemporary Chinese art and society."

It's recommended that you book ahead of time.

Royal Academy

Burlington House

Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD

more here and here.

'Interior Tales' Book Presentation, Syracuse University London, 9 December

'Housing Social Life', Technical Studies Lecture by Peter Barber, 10 December

Peter Barber – Peter Barber Architects

The Social Life of Housing

Thursday 10th December, 6.30pm, Room M416 (Evans)

Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment

University of Westminster

35 Marylebone Road

London NW1 5LS

“We think that space conditions, and is in turn conditioned by, society and culture and that architecture can create the potential for social action and activity” Peter Barber Architects

Peter Barber previously worked with Richard Rogers, Will Alsop and Jestico+Whiles prior to establishing his own practice in 1989. He is currently a design tutor at the University of Westminster, teaching MArch Studio with Ben Stringer. He has lectured about the work of the Practice at many institutions, including the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Architectural League in New York, and numerous international and domestic university schools of architecture including Genoa, Frankfurt, Brighton, Kingston, Glasgow and The Bartlett.

In October 2001 the Practice won first prize in the Architecture Foundation's prestigious Innovations in Housing Competition. The project won a Housing Design Award, runner-up in Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, AIA Award and RIBA Award. It was also short-listed to the last 10 for the 2006 Stirling Prize. A series of radical urban housing projects have followed which have variously won Housing Design Awards, RIBA Awards and AIA Awards. Peter Barber Architects have won the Building Design Architect of the Year for Housing in 2007 and 2010. In 2015, Peter Barber Architects landed the Royal Academy’s top architecture prize for its alternative vision for low-cost housing on London’s Mount Pleasant.

Peter Barber will talk about the development of his practices work and in particular the evolution and reinvigoration of housing typologies such as the terrace/courtyard hybrid at Donnybrook Quarter and the McGrath Road project where Barber reexamines the back-to-back housing typology.

For details contact Will McLean / Pete Silver

w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk