This week on Dezeen, we spoke to the editors of a book about Barbie's Dreamhouse to find out how changes in its design showcase the evolution of the American home.

The monograph, which was released by toymaker Mattel and architecture magazine Pin-Up, features detailed architectural drawings as well as images by fashion photographer Evelyn Pustka.

Its co-editors, Pin-Up magazine founder Felix Burrichter and journalist Whitney Mallett, explained why the book is "the first architectural survey of the world's best-selling dollhouse" and shared six Dreamhouse designs that exemplify societal changes.

This week marks a year since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. We interviewed a number of Ukrainian architects and designers who are already working to rebuild their homeland even as Russian attacks continue.

"Life doesn't wait for anyone, and it will not wait for us," STEM charity founder Elizeveta Korenko told Dezeen. "We have to do this work now."

We also published Ukrainian design writer Tetiana Makowska's selection of eight products designed for the war effort, including protection systems for monuments under threat from Russian shelling, gloves for drone pilots and invisibility shields.

In architecture news, German architecture firm Henn and the Technical University of Dresden have completed the world's first building made of carbon concrete. The building has a thin, twisting facade that both visually references the textile quality of carbon fibre and is formally enabled by the material.

An icon came under threat in Japan, as the demolition of the Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium by architect Kenzo Tange was announced. The local architecture community is protesting and a petition to preserve the building has reached nearly 4,000 signatures.

Designer Paul Cocksedge unveiled a sculpture made from more than 2,000 pieces of coal in Liverpool Cathedral this week. Designed as a comment on our fossil fuel dependency, the installation shows the amount of coal consumed by a 200-watt light bulb if illuminated for a year.

In other design news, car brand Mercedes-Benz teamed up with fashion brand Moncler to create a version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class with a reflective silver roof and wheels that resemble a puffer jacket.

The car was shown at London Fashion Week and designed as an "eye-catching sculptural object".

To mark Black History Month, we asked Black architects and designers to name a fellow Black contemporary whose work they admire.

The resulting list includes architects working in big firms, multidisciplinary designers running their own studios and educators, as well as a Black-owned fashion brand, and was recommended by the renowned Black architects and designers who featured on the 2022 list.

Popular projects on Dezeen this week included an interfaith complex by David Adjaye, a California house with scalloped concrete walls and a rural house extension in Cambridgeshire.

Our latest lookbooks featured beautiful and practical concrete bathrooms and homes with cleverly designed lifts.

This week on Dezeen

This week on Dezeen is our regular roundup of the week's top news stories. Subscribe to our newsletters to be sure you don't miss anything.