The lead up to today's British general election has revealed that no other room expresses more fully a family's taste and values – which is why politicians want to be seen mug in hand and why commentators search for meaning in Ed Miliband's lino, says Edwin Heathcote

Subversive design met feminist porn at the opening of the Italian maverick's retrospective at New York's Allouche Gallery

Protest camps are constructed rapidly, using everyday materials as objects of disobedient design. But the hasty architectural decisions made by protesters can come to symbolise their movement and deepen its impact

As the British general election draws closer, an exhibition at the V&A looks at the role of art, architecture and design in public life

In the lead up to the UK general election, Manchester-based design studio Instruct asks whether public faith in our political masters can be restored with open data and accessible design

Last week's fuss over Ed Miliband's home made clear that the kitchen is now the principal representational space of the house – a room that expresses the taste, aspirations and status of a family, but is actually less used for cooking and eating than ever before, says Edwin Heathcote

Designers of mega-projects in Abu Dhabi should use their influence to push for better conditions for migrant workers, Human Rights Watch says to Icon as it reveals continuing exploitation on luxury Saadiyat Island development

A densely packed exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery takes a Kazimir Malevich's painting as its starting point to assess the history of abstraction and its political undercurrents, says Jessica Mairs

Whitechapel Gallery, London
15 January – 6 April 2015

It may not all be publicly accessible, it may not even all be green, but the patchwork of protected land around London is a triumph of the social democratic spirit – the planning equivalent of the NHS

DIY drones, subversive textiles from Chile and shields that look like books are just some of the objects on display at an exhibition that examines the role of design in political activism