Why subverting style is more than just a knowing wink

The cultural rivalry between Glasgow and Edinburgh has been reignited by two striking new museums. But who gets the bragging rights? Jay Merrick finds out

Before identikit multiplexes, a trip to the movies meant audiences could see bold architecture as well as a film. Chris Beanland celebrates the picture palaces of the past

The "infinite Loop" – the street that's home to Apple's headquarters – clearly isn't infinite enough to cope with spiralling global demand for iPads, iPhones, iPods and elegant but slightly overpriced computers. Why else would Apple be planning to build a vast new Silicon Valley office complex that resembles a doughnut?

Comment

An intriguing new book delves into the notepads of leading architects to show the sketchy origins of some truly monumental buildings

The musician and songwriter can teach all cramped city dwellers a thing or two.

I have recently returned to the UK after a year teaching English in Thailand on a voluntary basis. I would now like to take some form of TEFL course, with the intention of returning to Thailand and getting some paid work. But there are so many different courses advertised. Are they all of equal worth, or should I be limiting my search to those accredited by certain bodies? I have a degree and a PGCE.

Empty car parks, unlit alleyways and deserted graveyards are among architectural situations which have been examined by artists for a new exhibition about the power of buildings to intimidate and unsettle.

Getting inside Ai Weiwei's head and getting aboard a dinghy with Arthur Ransome

In a world driven by economic savagery, hearts of darkness more mendacious than Conrad's original, and a globalised Tourette's Syndrome of texts, Twitter and Facebook, is there any point in thinking seriously, rather than entertainingly, about architecture? It has become a whipped-dog subject, virtually devoid of manifestos, heavy on irony and bottom-line issues. Two engrossing books, one examining the pathology that has produced icon-mania, the other a vivid motormouth travelogue through 12 British towns and cities, try very hard to imagine that architecture's often servile 21st century inertias can be reversed.

Britain's homes have long had the smallest rooms in Europe, now a new generation of town planners and architects is urging us to rethink the way we use our shrinking urban space. Oliver Bennett reports