Industrial Design

One of Brigham Young University engineering professor Larry Howell's initial origami projects was a solar array that compacted to 9 feet during launch, but deployed to 82 feet across in space to generate power.

How Origami Is Revolutionizing Industrial Design

Scientists and engineers are finding practical applications for the Japanese art form in space, medicine, robotics, architecture and more

Transparent wood becomes cloudier as it cools.

This Transparent Wood Could Be an Energy-Saver in Green Buildings

Researchers in Sweden have developed a material, able to store and release heat, that could potentially be used in windows

GM's head of design Harley Earl drove the "Y-job" to and from work for 11 years.

How General Motors Introduced the Idea of a 'Concept Car'

Eighty years ago, the Buick Y-job was billed as the car of the future

Walter Gropius' Dessau Bauhaus building

Five Events to Watch For as Germany Celebrates 100 Years of the Bauhaus Movement

Bauhaus 100 looks back—and forward—to the movement that united formal art and craftsmanship in functional, streamlined designs

A 2017 Ducati motorcycle, a Panigale 1299 Superleggera, as-yet unridden, is on view at the Cooper Hewitt in New York City.

A Sensuous Blending of Style and Speed, This Ducati Is Both Art and Machine

An appreciation for the cognoscenti of motorcycles

Fears materialized when a series of deadly botulism cases struck unassuming consumers throughout the country.

The Botulism Outbreak That Gave Rise to America’s Food Safety System

In late 1919 and early 1920, scientists and canners worked with the government to protect the public from the deadly toxin

Airbus and Zodiac Aerospace have teamed up on lower-deck modules like this one, with sleeping berths.

Seven Airplane Innovations That Could Change How We Travel

In-flight virtual reality entertainment? Bunk beds in the cargo hold? These innovations may be the future of flight.

The museum's situation on the National Mall gives it access to ample water and sunlight.

The African American History and Culture Museum Wins Gold for Going Green

How the Smithsonian’s newest museum set the bar for sustainability in architecture

Amdavad Ni Gufa

These Unique Buildings in India Just Won the Biggest Award in Architecture

The 90-year-old is the first Indian architect to win the Pritzker Prize

Don't touch that thermostat.

The Things People Do To Foil Energy-Saving Buildings

New research on how occupants inhabit energy-efficient buildings reveals behaviors designers don't anticipate—and a slew of bloopers

Jony Ive

Why Jony Ive Is Apple's Design Genius

His work has become the seeds of a tech revolution that is rapidly changing our lives

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Photos: The Incredible Legacy of the Bauhaus School of Design

Though open for just 14 years, the Bauhaus marked the beginning of Modernism and its impact is still felt today

The minimLET toilet kit

A Sleek Portable Toilet and Other Design Solutions for Disaster Victims

The toilet kit, from a Japanese design studio, is part of wave of interest in design fixes for the problems created by disasters

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John Z. DeLorean Thought He Was Designing the Car of the Future

Instead its almost-instantly out-of-date styling made it a legend

From left: The bell tower of the “Fish Church,” in Stamford, Connecticut; the Sculpture Gallery at Philip Johnson’s Glass House, in New Canaan.

Every Modern Architecture Lover Should Take This Three-Day Road Trip

In Connecticut, works by some of the most notable architects of the 20th century are hiding in plain sight. Take the wheel for this sightseeing tour

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

It looks a bit like a blimp–unsurprising, since Fuller meant it to fly.

Buckminster Fuller Was Good at Ideas, Terrible at Car Design

Fuller held more than 30 patents during his life, but many of his ideas didn't make it off the page–or not for long

Bjarke Ingels

Bjarke Ingels Makes the Impossible Concrete

The star architect is mapping out a new daring plan for the Smithsonian

Muse with Violin Screen (detail), 1930. Rose Iron Works, Inc. (American, Cleveland, est. 1904). Paul Fehér (Hungarian, 1898–1990), designer. Wrought iron, brass; silver and gold plating

How Jazz, Flappers, European Émigrés, Booze and Cigarettes Transformed Design

A new Cooper-Hewitt exhibition explores the Jazz Age as a catalyst in popular style

A permanent exhibition at Micropia in Amsterdam, the world’s only museum dedicated to microbes, called “A Fungal Future” showcases an array of everyday objects made from fungi.

Is Fungus the Material of the Future?

Scientists in the Netherlands have found a way to make slippers and other household objects using fungi

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