Rowan Moore: the best architecture of 2015

From dumb towers to cool interventions, 2015 saw the gap widen between the big and brainless and the small and thoughtful

Observer critics’ reviews of the year in full

Poltrona Frau Babel. A home bar unit, three cupboards, for the living room.

Ebony, steel, and Pelle Frau. Designer Roberto Lazzeroni joins elegance and innovation in Babel – a compact home bar unit comprising three cupboards in two different sizes. The largest, placed on the floor to support the other two, is in multiple birch with an ebony veneer MDF top and it has a chromium- plated tubular … Read more

The ideal shopping experience: can technology deliver?

Virtual-reality shops, magic dressing room mirrors, 3D printing … the choice for consumers is huge, but can technology alone create a retail Utopia?

1 Undershaft, the tallest skyscraper in the City of London, revealed

Architect Eric Parry unveils plans for tallest skyscraper in the City – but the orgy of billion-pound towers doesn’t stop there

SkyDeck for aircraft to offer 360-degree views while in flight

Current in-flight entertainment offerings have not changed much over the decades. Windspeed Technologies wants to come up with a product that would provide a higher level of entertainment to reduce the boredom of long flights. Meet “The SkyDeck” – the revolutionary new in-flight entertainment system designed to provide an exhilarating view while in flight. The … Read more

Europe has the edge in fashion and luxury – and cars do OK, too

We have yet to produce a Facebook or a Google, but this side of the Atlantic is also no slouch in aerospace, oil and pharma