The sight of 204 copper torches rising to form one vast bowl of flame was an extraordinary finale to the London 2012 opening ceremony. It was also one of the highlights of an extraordinary 12 months for designer Thomas Heatherwick – who is also the winner of Icon of the year, an award decided by public vote.

Few designers get to watch their work being ceremonially paraded up and down the country, but that’s how Ed Barber and Jay Osgerby spent the summer of 2012. The question is, after the “whirlwind” of the Olympic torch, what will they do next?

With the 1948 “Austerity Olympics” as its starting point, the V&A surveys 60 years of British design, architecture and fashion. From punk posters to Laura Ashley florals, the exhibition questions contrived notions of national identity to reveal a country caught between modernity and nostalgia. Here’s our review.

With less than a year to go before the 2012 Olympics in London, how is the park shaping up – and what difference will the multi-billion-pound project make after the athletes leave? Kieran Long looks at what it tells about how the British make cities.