Catch up with highlights from our digital travels this week…

Paintings of bureaucratic dystopia

Figures of authority are reduced to ant-like proportions in the paintings of Ian Davis. That’ll teach ‘em. Dwarfed by their monumental surroundings, they stand in eerie uniformity. See more of the US artist’s series on It’s Nice That.

Empty animal cages

On a trip to Berlin Zoo, photographer Dennis Didinger turned his back to the lions and tigers, instead using empty animal cages as his muse. His Cavea series is a statement about the distinction between man and beast. Have a prowl around the cages via Fubiz.

Melania Trump: wife, mother, architect?

Donald Trump’s wife Melania grabbed headlines earlier this week when she delivered a speech at the Republican national convention. Unfortunately for her, it wasn’t for the right reason. Spectators were quick to point out the ‘close’ resemblance between her speech and Michelle Obama’s 2008 version. It got Curbed wondering what else Mrs Trump – a self-professed architecture ‘graduate’ – claims to be responsible for…

Japanese homes… and their residents

Images of sculptural Japanese homes fill many an architecture tome but what are they really like to live in? Jérémie Souteyrat provides a clue with his series Japan, Archipelago of the House. The photographer shot residents of homes by all the big guns, from Shigeru Ban to Atelier Bow Wow, capturing children playing on rooftops and tea ceremonies in full swing. Pay them a visit via Dezeen.

Buy a Hobbit house in Huddersfield

They’re commonplace in Middle-earth but in middle England, Hobbit houses are a bit harder to come by. This one in Huddersfield has been 40 years in the making. It’s the passion-project of owner Arthur Quarmby, who has just put it on the market. Gizmodo goes inside the tricked-out bunker, which is dug into a hillside and features – among other things – an indoor swimming pool.

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