Architecture

The First Americans Museum opened in Oklahoma City this month.

A Brand-New Museum in Oklahoma Honors Indigenous People at Every Turn

The team behind the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City incorporated the traditions and spiritual beliefs of 39 tribal nations into its design

Natural disasters do not destroy buildings evenly. By studying which fall and which are left standing, engineers can develop new strategies for the future.

When a Natural Disaster Hits, Structural Engineers Learn From the Destruction

StEER engineers assess why some buildings survive hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, and why others do not

Oceanix is gearing up to build a prototype of a 5-acre city for 300 residents in a yet-to-be determined location.

Innovation for Good

In the Face of Rising Seas, Are Floating Cities a Real Possibility?

A scale model of Oceanix City, a concept capable of supporting more than 10,000 residents, will be featured in the Smithsonian's upcoming 'Futures' exhibit

Instead of a soaring, verdant oasis in the middle of the city, visitors were greeted with sparse, earth-covered scaffolding.

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Widely Mocked London Tourist Attraction Closes Two Days After Opening

The Marble Arch Mound sought to invigorate a major shopping district in England's capital. Visitors called it a "bad Santa's grotto"

Four robots printed the steel structure in just six months.

Innovation for Good

World's First 3-D-Printed Steel Bridge Debuts in Amsterdam

The newly opened overpass measures 40 feet long and weighs 6 tons

The opulent public building dates to between 20 and 30 A.D.

Cool Finds

Palatial, 2,000-Year-Old Public Building Revealed in Jerusalem

The grand structure, which once hosted events near the Temple Mount, will soon open to tourists

Inventive and egalitarian, the Arts and Industries Building is due to open in November after being closed for nearly two decades.

Smithsonian 175

The Storied Past and Inspiring Future of the Smithsonian's Arts and Industries Building

It was once the Institution's most forward-looking museum. Soon it will be again

At the foot of North Idaho's Bitterroot Mountains sits Wallace, an incredibly resilient, Old West mining town.

The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2021

From Alabama's music capital to the self-proclaimed 'center of the universe,' these American towns are calling your name

Ongoing excavations at the Haydarpaşa Railway Station (pictured here) in Istanbul revealed traces of a third- or fourth-century B.C. monument or mausoleum.

Cool Finds

Ruins of Millennia-Old Monument Unearthed in Turkish 'City of the Blind'

Archaeologists conducting excavations at an Istanbul train station found traces of an ancient apse, or semicircular recess

Photographed in late April while still under construction, LUMA Arles is no skyscraper at 184 feet tall, but it towers over neighbors in the ancient city.

A New Frank Gehry Tower Rises Above the Quaint French Town of Arles

The city best known for its association with Vincent van Gogh now has a new, controversial art center

The 516 Arouca surpasses the previous record holder—Switzerland’s 1,621-foot Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge—by about 70 feet.

World's Longest Pedestrian Suspension Bridge Opens in Portugal

The 1,693-foot overpass hangs 570 feet above a roaring river and wobbles as people walk across it

Xiulin Ruan, a Purdue University professor of mechanical engineering, holds up his lab’s sample of the whitest paint on record.

Innovation for Good

This Ultra-White Paint May Someday Replace Air Conditioning

Developed by researchers at Purdue University, the paint reflects 98.1 percent of sunlight

Workers felling 150-year-old oak trees in the Villefermoy forest, near Echouboulains, France, on March 15. The wood will eventually used to reconstruct Notre-Dame Cathedral's roof and spire.

Hundreds of Centuries-Old Trees Felled to Rebuild Notre-Dame's Iconic Spire

French authorities cut down some 1,000 historic oaks as part of the Paris cathedral's ambitious reconstruction process

Gloria Steinem in her Upper East Side apartment

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of Feminist Icon Gloria Steinem's Historic Manhattan Apartment

In honor of her 87th birthday, the speaker and activist is (digitally) welcoming visitors into her home

François Pascal Simon Gérard, Joseph Bonaparte as King of Spain, circa 1808

New Jersey Estate Owned by Napoleon's Older Brother Set to Become State Park

In 1815, exiled Spanish king Joseph Bonaparte fled to the U.S., where he lived in luxury on a sprawling, 60-acre estate

Because of their honeycomb shape, the huts can fit together like a beehive, expanding to fit growing needs.

Innovation for Good

The World's First 3-D Printed School May Soon Be a Reality

Thinking Huts, a nonprofit founded by a 15-year-old, plans to kick off construction in Madagascar this summer

Architect Julia Morgan is best known for California’s Hearst Castle.

Virtual Travel

Six Wonders Built by Pioneering Women Architects

Virtually explore these groundbreaking designs around the world, from an Italian villa to an American castle

Researchers are still investigating who created the tunnel and why.

Cool Finds

Contractors Discover Forgotten Medieval Tunnel Beneath Welsh Garden

The passageway runs along a brook near Tintern Abbey, a 12th-century monastery on the border between Wales and England

“It’s not a historical museum,” Henrik Lübker says. “It’s more an existential museum.”

This Hans Christian Andersen Museum Asks You to Step Into a Fairy Tale

Opening soon in the storyteller's hometown of Odense, Denmark, the museum allows visitors to experience his multilayered stories

The Peace Memorial stands in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 2021, nine days after the storming of Congress.

The Tragic Irony of the U.S. Capitol's Peace Monument

An unfinished Civil War memorial became an allegory for peace—and a scene of insurrection

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