This week on Dezeen, Sagrada Familia was granted its first building permit, after 137 years of construction, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Hill House was encased in a protective chainmail.

The permit given to Barcelona's renowned Sagrada Familia will last until 2026 to allow builders to finally complete the basilica, which has been under construction since 1882.

However, it came at a cost of €4.6 million (£4.1 million) – adding to the €36 million (£31 million) that Sagrada Familia already agreed to pay city officials last year to cover municipal expenses racked up after decades of building works.

In Helensburgh, Scotland, architecture studio Carmody Groarke created a huge transparent shed around Mackintosh's famous Hill House.

Intended to offer "a more radical approach to active conservation", the scaffolding and chainmail structure will allow the building to remain accessible and visible to visitors throughout its long-term renovation.

In architecture news, Peruvian architect Jean Pierre Crousse argued that the "museumification" of Peru's Sacred Valley was more of a threat to the site than its upcoming airport, which broke ground two weeks ago.

the airport is expected to increase the number of international visitors from five to eight million per year, but Crousse views it as an opportunity for the local government to "rethink the way we envision so-called development".

British architect Nicholas Grimshaw opened up to Dezeen about his plans to step down as chair of his eponymous firm. Grimshaw will remain connected to the studio in an advisory role, with his arts and architecture foundation becoming one of his "chief interests".

A selection of street furniture in the form of giant dogs and brightly-coloured sundials also popped up in London's Cheapside, as part of the city's annual festival of architecture.

Conceptual projects also proved popular this week, as SHoP Architects and Gensler unveiled renderings of "skyports" that Uber could use for its fleet of flying taxis that are set to launch in 2023.

Compass Pools also proposed creating a four-sided infinity pool on top of a London skyscraper. Designed to be a "little bit James Bond", it would be accessed via a submarine-style hatch and feature a transparent bottom so that it could act as a skylight to rooms underneath.

Popular projects on Dezeen this week came in all shapes and sizes. Among them were Oliver du Puy Architect's Skinny House in Melbourne, which measures just 4.2 metres wide and Fran Silvestre Arquitectos' Hoffman House, which has a giant T-shaped roof that doubles up as a walkway.

We also featured a golf clubhouse in Jordan by Oppenheim Architecture, which has an undulating concrete shell that mimics the form of desert sand dunes.