Architecture

A VR animation of a 1945 design for a massive elevated airport over the Hudson River

New Exhibit Imagines the Buildings New York Could've Had

From a gigantic airport, to an urbanized Ellis Island, the show reveals the many fascinating ideas for New York City that never made it off the page

The Contemplative Court at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture

In This Quiet Space for Contemplation, a Fountain Rains Down Calming Waters

One year after the Nation’s first black president rang in the opening of the African American History Museum, visitors reflect on its impact

A Minecraft rendering of the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. Participants in Minecraft: Education Edition online festivities will be able to let their own imaginations run wild this Museum Day.

Fans of Minecraft Are Sure to Dig this Nationwide Museum Fest

The indie hit is the perfect game for a day devoted to unearthing knowledge

The Devastating Fire That Left Windsor Castle in Shambles

Windsor Castle, the scene of a disastrous fire in 1992, was badly in need of restoration. One problem: The bill was likely to be in the millions

Developers are breathing new life into indoor shopping malls.

The Transformation of the American Shopping Mall

Headlines claim malls are dying, and some are. But many others are having second lives as churches, schools, hospitals, even farms

Aerial view of Pennsylvania Station

Five Architects on the One Building They Wish Had Been Preserved

From an elegant solution to urban density to a magnificent financial hub

This Man Is the Father of Modern American Suburbia

By 1951, two thirds of Americans lived in urban areas. Enter William Levitt, who would utilize construction techniques he learned to build affordable homes

The cornerstone of the edifice was laid by Andrew Jackson in 1836. The third-oldest public building currently standing in Washington, D.C. (behind the White House and Capitol), it was named a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

The Fused History of Two of Washington, D.C.'s Beloved Museums

A new exhibition sheds light on the enduring legacy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery

Artists view of Greenwich Palace

Part of Henry VIII's Birthplace Discovered

Workers uncovered two rooms of Greenwich Palace while building a visitors center at the Old Royal Naval College in London

Big Ben to Fall Silent During Four-Year Renovation Project

It is the longest time that Big Ben has been paused during its 157-year history

An unlit church in Sweden

Lights Are Driving Bats From Their Belfries

The trend of pointing floodlights at churches in Sweden has driven some long-eared bat colonies out of their historic roosts

Highly social, narwhals travel in pods, often broken off by sex, and communicate via complex vocalizations that seem to be specific to their herds.

Does the Narwhal's Majestic Tusk Have a Point?

A Connecticut dentist, turned curator of a new exhibition, has long worked to solve the secrets of the whale's characteristic horn

The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal.

This Bridge Transforms Data on Weather, Traffic and Twitter Rants into a Beautiful Light Display

The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal lights up the skyline with the mood of the city

An earthship seems to rise out of the high plains at the foot of the mountains near Taos, New Mexico.

These Otherworldly "Earthships" Offer Visitors Unusual, Off-the-Grid Accommodations

Spend the night in an art house built from garbage

Georgia Tech engineers Glaucio Paulino and Jerry Qi show two of their 3-D printed "tensegrity" structures that fold flat and build themselves up with heat. These are just proofs of concept, but Qi and Paulino predict that structures like this could be used to build space habitats or heart stents.

Print, Then Heat for Self-Assembling Space Stations

With special ‘memory’ polymers, stents and space habitats could one day build themselves

The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, is one of the few remnants of America’s mid-20th century motel boom.

The Rise and Fall of the Great American Motel

Mom and pop motels once dominated American highways. Now, they're an endangered species

A skull believed to have belonged to a companion of St. Ursula. The bones of other saints are said to lie under the gemstones and gold fabric.

A Pittsburgh Church Holds the Greatest Collection of Relics Outside of the Vatican

Behold the treasures of this tiny neighborhood church

Seattle’s Space Needle Is Getting a Makeover to Enhance Panoramic Views

Interior and sand floor of the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue in Willemstad, Curacao

Why Sand Covers the Floor of One of the Western Hemisphere's Oldest Synagogues

Fleeing anti-Semitism in Europe, Jews found unexpected shelter on the island of Curaçao

When Fresh Air Went Out of Fashion at Hospitals

How the hospital went from luxury resort to windowless box

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