Architecture

Sparkling Ice Castles Take Form Across the Midwest

January 4, 2017

Armenia

How Ancient Volcanoes Created Armenia’s Pink City

In the capital city of Yerevan, volcanic rock flows pink

December 28, 2016

The Oldest Structure on the National Mall Is on the Move

But don’t worry, it’s only going about 30 feet away

December 13, 2016

Trending Today

Why You Should Know Trailblazing Architect Paul Revere Williams

Almost four decades after his death, the African-American architect whose work came to define Los Angeles gets his due

December 12, 2016

How Trump Tower Takes the Skyscraper Debate to New Heights

The future of urban development takes on a new twist when the president lives among the clouds

December 8, 2016

The Washington Monument Looks Like an Obelisk Because of Egyptomania

In the 1800s, America was desperate to look like it had been around for a while, so it was adopting old styles. Really old

December 6, 2016

Step Inside a Virtual Building of the Future

Architects are embracing virtual reality and the complex designs they can create there

December 6, 2016

Trending Today

ISIS Has Destroyed a Nearly 3,000-Year-Old Assyrian Ziggurat

The ziggurat of Nimrud was the ancient city’s central temple

November 15, 2016

Cool Finds

Get to Know Man Mound, One of 10 New National Historical Landmarks

The Interior Department has designated new landmarks including James Merrill’s house, a silent film studio and the only human-shaped effigy mound

November 11, 2016

Trending Today

Walls of “Jesus’ Tomb” Exposed for the First Time in Centuries

During repair work, archaeologists removed the marble slabs that covered the walls of the limestone cave where Jesus was purportedly laid after crucifixion

October 31, 2016

Cool Finds

Retro-Futuristic “House of Tomorrow” Declared a National Treasure

The property in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is seeking $2 million to return it to its 1933 World’s Fair glory

October 28, 2016

What a Mark Rothko Painting Has in Common With a Ming Dynasty Dish

This one vibrant color, rich in symbolism, unites two works across five centuries

October 27, 2016

Cool Finds

What to Know About NASA’s Historic Astronaut Beach House

The famous bungalow is on track to be repaired by 2018 when SpaceX is hoped to launch humans into space once again

October 19, 2016

Trending Today

Archaeologists Detect Two Previously Unknown Cavities Beneath Giza’s Great Pyramid

But don’t get too excited just yet

October 18, 2016

Trending Today

China Now Has a 20th-Century Architectural Heritage List

A country with an uneasy relationship to its past will preserve 98 buildings of the 20th century for future generations

October 17, 2016

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Havana’s Hidden Architectural Gems

The city’s eclectic architecture is both extraordinary and imperiled

October 6, 2016

Cool Finds

This Art Project Breathes New Life Into Blighted Buildings

Breathing Lights will illuminate hundreds of abandoned structures throughout New York

October 5, 2016

The Mobile Factory Turns Earthquake Rubble Into Bricks For Permanent Homes

The Netherlands-based company makes Lego-like blocks from debris using portable equipment that fits in two shipping containers

October 3, 2016

Art Meets Science

King of the Playground, Spencer Luckey, Builds Climbers That Are Engineering Marvels

The 46-year-old architect and his crew build multi-story climbing structures for museums and malls around the world

September 28, 2016

Cool Finds

A Statue of Lenin Has Finally Come Down from Red Square…in New York City

One of Manhattan’s strangest buildings has lost its mascot

September 26, 2016