Weekly design agenda: Alex McQueen vs electric airplanes

The nominees for this year's Brit Insurance Design Awards include a housing project designed for self-build expansion, Alexander McQueen's last spring/summer show, flexible bamboo furniture, a service that helps you print your own newspaper, eye-tracking software for drawing without hands, a foldable plug, and an electric airplane. Also coming up: the Enchanted Palace, also in London, and I Saloni in Milan.

Zaha Hadid - Fluidity and Design
March 15 - April 30
Bahrain

For her inaugural exhibition in the Gulf at Cartesian galleries of the Shaikh Ebrahim Center, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect presents her practice's continued exploration and research towards a new architectural language of fluidity that encompasses all scales of design.
http://www.zaha-hadid.com

Brit Insurance Design Awards
March 16
London, UK

The winner of the prize, which spans seven categories from architecture to fashion and product design, will be announced at an awards dinner hosted by London's Design Museum.
http://www.designsoftheyear.com

Zac Posen apartment launch
March 18
New York, USA

Fashion designer Zac Posen will open his first condo development, consisting of nine lofts as well as a duplex and a penthouse triplex, located at 16 West 21st Street. Sales are handled by residential agents Prudential Douglas Elliman.
http://www.prudentialelliman.com

Pavilion des Arts et du Design
March 24-28
Paris, France

In its 14th edition this year, the pavilion - located in the Tuileries Garden - showcases everything from jewelry to contemporary paintings, African art to sleek furniture, and from decorative arts to lacquerware from the Far East.
http://www.padparis.net

The Enchanted Palace
March 26 - January 2011
London, UK

Kensington Palace will be taken over by British designers including Vivienne Westwood, who have reimagined the royal residence's rooms and created dresses for them to illustrate the stories of the princesses who lived there.
http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensingtonpalace

I Saloni
April 14-19
Rho exhibition centre
Milan, Italy

The event, which is considered the international benchmark of interior design, will again host the Salone Internazionale del Mobile, Eurocucina (the International Kitchen Furniture Exhibition), and SaloneSatellite for upcoming designers. SaloneUfficio, the International Biennial Workspace Exhibition, will not be included this year but return in 2011. New York and Moscow will also host Saloni spinoffs later in the year.
http://www.cosmit.it

Armani hotel opens
Date to be announced (postponed from March 18)
Dubai, UAE

The luxe label, which is still managed by its founder Giorgio Armani and currently runs a variety of fashion lines as well as home accessory boutiques, spas, and cafés, has chosen the recently opened Burj Khalifa (formerly Burj Dubai) - the world's highest tower - to host its first venture into hospitality.
http://www.armanihotels.com