Our Top 5 Favourite Design Stories from this Week

From Kanye West to WWII, this week’s design news has it all.

1. Yeezy to assemble

Speaking to BBC Radio One’s Annie Mac this week, Kanye West declared his ambition to work with Swedish giant Ikea. “I have to work with Ikea – make furniture for interior design, for architecture,” said the rapper. “Yo Ikea, allow Kanye to create, allow him to make this thing because you know what, I want a bed that he makes, I want a chair that he makes,” he ranted live, on air, to the public, again.Read more about old Yeezy’s design aspirations at dezeen.com 

2. Warning: This house is not bomb proof

Or, as the CBC puts it, “‘Hideous’ house in Vancouver’s Point Grey neighbourhood compared to WWII bunker.” The architect of this house—or “the cube” as locals call it—is former Western Living Designers of the Year winner Tony Robins, who spoke to the CBC, saying: “It’s outside the box in terms of people’s preconceptions about what a house is.” The architect went on to apologize to neighbours who may be upset, but did clarify the sculptural building is “part of the world stage of architecture.”Read more about Robins’ house at cbc.ca  

3. Marc Jacobs’ bedroom out-does the Vatican (almost)

When Architectural Digest quotes South Park, you know they’ve got a good story on their hands. ” attitude might be summed up in one of the signature pronouncements of South Park’s Eric Cartman: “I do what I want!”” The story? Exclusive access to Marc Jacob’s four-floor Greenwich Village townhouse. You’ve got to see the pictures to believe it, but we can tell you that Jacobs’ bedroom has six paintings by American artist John Currin and a pair of Lalanne bronze monkeys. Bronze. Monkeys.Snoop around on architecturaldigest.com for the full story 

4. Architects unite to join The People vs. Donald Trump

Speaking on behalf of architects all over the world, Common Edge’s takedown of Donald Trump as any sort of architectural spearhead is swift, precise, and deadly. After asserting his character as “a narcissistic caricature of himself,” the publication goes on to explain that architects deal with this kind of personality almost every day, but “the scale and prominence of Trump makes his projects a special nightmare.” If you ever thought Trump was a valuable contribution to the construction business, we suggest you read this piece.For the full story, head to commonedge.org 

5. “Rustic chic” just became code for “Black Market”

Theft is never funny, but the concept of this had us in stitches. This story’s hero is innocent, hard-working, Quebecois farmer Claude Villeneuve. After a particularly vicious hailstorm, Villeneuve went outside to survey the damage to his property and was shocked to find that not one, but two of his barn walls were missing. Not damaged—the entire walls were missing. In the months leading up to the storm, Villeneuve had been approached by several individuals wanting to purchase his barn’s walls for resale on the design market. We aren’t one to point fingers here, but perhaps consider asking just how free-range your “rustic” table is before you commit to your next purchase.Read poor Claude’s full story on mnn.com