A 10-year survey of American design at the Cooper Hewitt, New York, highlights its commercial colours.

This month we are looking forward to Design Indaba in Cape Town 24-28 February and the opening of the third Brit Insurance Design Awards at the Design Museum from 17 February. We are also doing our first ever icon pub quiz in London on 8 February, so get your diaries out and start planning.

The New York that might have been is now on your iPhone. Geoff Manaugh went exploring.

A review of the decade that never was, from icon’s fiction issue.

Studio Roso has completed a chandelier installation for the Ames Hotel in Boston, USA. Reminiscent of the boughs of a silver tree, its tiny metallic mirrors cast thousands of dappled reflections around the vault of the hotel lobby.

MOMA’s blockbuster on the gothic filmmaker packs in the material and oozes style, but is there anything else to it? Scott Geiger paid a visit.

Sugru is a simple silicone substance that makes it easy to alter, add to and repair stuff. We spoke to its inventor, RCA graduate Jane ní Dhulchaointigh, who told us about how the material allows people to “hack” design.

The icon and Iittala pub quiz takes place in the Ten Bells pub, in London on 8 February. To secure a place for your team you’ll need to register online.

This month, icon abandons journalism and takes a literary look at architecture and design in our first-ever fiction issue.

The AA brings together the debuts of the starchitects – can it offer any pointers to today’s young practices? Geoff Shearcroft looks for tips.