Articles tagged as Architecture | Smithsonian Magazine

Williams is perhaps best known for his iconic Theme Building, a space-age structure at Los Angeles International Airport.

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

The Botswana Innovation Hub will be a new LEED-certified facility for technology research and development.

Step Inside a Virtual Building of the Future

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

December 6, 2016

American soldiers in Nimrud in 2008, with the Ziggurat in the background.

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

The Edicule which houses the remains of Jesus' tomb

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

Dish with copper-red glaze, and a Xuande mark in cobalt oxide on the base, China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Ming Dynasty, Xuande reign (1426-1435)

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

But don’t get too excited just yet

October 18, 2016

The Great Hall of the People in Beijing is now on a 20th-century cultural preservation list in China.

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

October 17, 2016

A rehearsal takes place at Teatro América, on Galiano Street in Havana. From the outside, the theater is nothing special, concealed behind a dull screen of gray polygon concrete. But step inside and you’ve entered the museum that is Cuban architecture.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

Havana’s Hidden Architectural Gems

The city’s eclectic architecture is both extraordinary and imperiled

October 6, 2016

These seemingly inhabited buildings are actually vacant properties illuminated by the new Breathing Lights project in three New York cities.

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

A prototype shelter from The Mobile Factory

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

For each Luckey Climber, the palette is the same: pipes, platforms, cables and wire netting.

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

The statue of Lenin where it formerly stood on the roof of the Red Square building on E Houston Street.

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

Much of the timber used for T3 came from trees killed by the mountain pine beetle.

Is Timber the Future of Urban Construction?

A celebrated architect goes out on a limb with a bold new take on building tall

October 2016

A concept design for the completed Glenner Town Square.

Cool Finds

Fake Towns Could Help People With Alzheimer’s Live Happier Lives

Model towns meant to spark memories could help patients with dementia

September 21, 2016

Cool Finds

You Could Own F. Scott Fitzgerald’s House

Live in the Victorian rowhouse where a career was born

September 16, 2016