What’s Happening: The Center for Architecture sheds light on the short- and long-term reconstruction efforts unfolding within Ukraine, from modular furniture to accommodate the displaced to documenting destroyed buildings in painstaking detail.

The Download: It’s difficult to grasp the full extent of devastation unfolding in Ukraine, even as Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country pushes into its third year. A recent New York Times investigation revealed that a staggering 210,000 buildings—including 106 hospitals, 109 churches, and 708 schools—have been damaged or destroyed by Russian offenses, and that only represents regions where data is readily available. Despite the ongoing threats against Ukrainians’ lives, ecology, and culture, civilians haven’t lost hope. A rising generation is reimagining ideals of home and employing design thinking to support grassroots reconstruction efforts as an act of resilience, even as their future remains uncertain.

More than a dozen examples are brought to light in “Constructing Hope: Ukraine,” an exhibition at the Center for Architecture in Manhattan. They range in scale from modular furniture and housing for internally displaced people to detailed documentation of destroyed buildings. MetaLab, a Ukrainian NGO that provides affordable housing and community workshops, is spearheading an initiative called Co-Haty that converts unused buildings into homes for the displaced and provides modular, ready-to-assemble wooden beds.

One of the show’s heaviest components recreates destroyed homes and vanished communities. Artist collective Prykarpattian Theater asked displaced Ukrainians to create detailed maquettes of the homes they were forced to abandon, which fill the central gallery. They act as anguished testimonies of places to which they may never return, yet temper wartime despair with a sense of hopefulness. Places might be erased, but as they archive them, the memories they embody are eternal.

That sense of resilience is echoed in the show’s graphic identity, conceived by Ukrainian illustrator Aliona Solomadina. Since the invasion, Ukrainians have taped their windows—one of the most vulnerable components of architecture—in intricate, crisscrossing patterns to protect them from shattering glass during explosions. Gaping windows render buildings uninhabitable in the winter, and solutions aren’t easy to come by. Production has slumped since Russian offenses have leveled Ukraine’s sheet glass factories, meaning that many rebuilding efforts rely on importing glass from Warsaw. The practical solution of taping windows has become yet another visible symbol of resistance.

In Their Own Words: “This resilience and mobilization doesn’t come from nowhere,” Sasha Topolnytska, who curated the show with fellow architect Ashley Bigham and artist Betty Roytburd, tells Dwell. “It comes from generations of memories and pain that have been translated verbally and emotionally through people.”

Surface Says: History has long been baked into Ukraine’s architecture—we’re sure any reconstruction efforts will follow suit and speak to their resilience.

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Over the past 27 years, home and fashion boutique Toast has become a go-to for its artisanal wares, repair studios, and design collaborations with sustainability-focused designers like Phoebe English. Until recently, the U.K was the only place where one could stumble upon—or seek out—one of its 20 stores.

With the opening of its new Brooklyn outpost, though, shoppers across the pond have the opportunity to discover its easy-wearing linen day dresses, Scottish and Welsh knits, and furniture and decor from its 2024 class of New Makers: Amy Krone, Polly Liu, Will Nock, Kate Semple, and Rosie Stonham. Thanks to the brand’s in-house design talent, the tin-ceilinged and brick-walled Boerum Hill boutique creates an airy and relaxing environment for moments of discovery. Don’t sleep on Felicity Irons’ collection of bulrush-woven napkin rings, placemats, and bread baskets, which are a Brooklyn boutique exclusive.

In anticipation of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, French-Iranian architect India Mahdavi has enlisted Harry Nuriev of Crosby Studios to dream up a ping-pong installation at her Project Room space. Titled Match Point (a.k.a. Project Room #14), the setup reimagines play and exercise as integral aspects of domestic life by inviting visitors to enjoy a free game on a first-come, first-serve basis.

It also seeks to evoke childhood joy and curiosity, which Nuriev enhances by blanketing the entire room—including the table and paddles—in reflective silver surfaces. “One of my favorite parts of the project is that it has no color,” Nuriev says of the monochrome spatial mirroring, which he often deploys to trippy effect in his other projects. “Everything is gray and silver—and reflects everything happening around and outside.” Catch it in Paris until August 2.

The origin story of Christian Dior’s New Look is practically common knowledge by now, after numerous museum exhibitions and an Apple TV series. Less well-known is the story of how the Miss Dior fragrance launched alongside the New Look, but a new Shohei Shigematsu–designed exhibition at the Roppongi Museum is changing that.

The OMA partner was dealt no easy brief: conceptualize and create an engaging backdrop to tell the story of something as abstract as scent. The resulting show unfolds over nine rooms, detailing how the designer launched Miss Dior with his legendary silhouette, and how it has reverberated across art, ready-to-wear, campaigns, and even future perfume iterations since. Details like Japanese wood block-style floral motifs, Eva Jospin tapestries and textiles, couture garments, and a lot of pink ensure Miss Dior’s story will not be forgotten.

Earlier this week, musicians, star artists, cultural figures, and more notables gathered at Kensington Gardens for the Serpentine Summer Party in celebration of this year’s Serpentine Pavilion, designed by Mass Studies principal Minsuk Cho. The night featured a performance by co-host and musical sensation Peggy Gou, bites by Dorsia, and a DJ set by Skepta.

When was it? June 25

Where was it? Kensington Gardens, London

Who was there? Bettina Korek, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Venus Williams, Yinka Shonibare, Marina Abramović, Yinka Ilori, Zadie Smith, Soo Joo Park, Edward Enninful, and Caroline Polachek.

Unlike its ill-fated namesake, Givenchy’s classic Antigona handbag is anything but a tragedy. The French fashion house recently added an origami-inspired silhouette available in three sizes to the family staple styles, with a top-handled variation that softens the intense structure of its shape with a kiss of elegance. From $1,800

Established in 1586 in the forest of Moselle, France, Saint-Louis escapes the ephemeral with more than 430 years of mouth-blown and handmade creations, ranging from tableware and decoration to lighting and beyond.

Surface Says: One of France’s most venerated crystal manufacturers, Saint-Louis skillfully reconciles 19th-century artisan know-how with contemporary style. Some of our favorite designers—Paola Navone, Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance, Kiki van Eijk—have created unforgettable pieces for the company.

Oslo’s new tourism ad is enticing visitors—by telling them not to come.

Influencers are seeing some returns on Instagram’s broadcast channels…

…but that still doesn’t mean most are even close to making ends meet.

A Chinese folk art in which artists sing with boar tusks is facing extinction.