How Did They Build That?

How Did They Build That? - Smithsonian Channel

Smithsonian Channel

Series

2021

TVG

How-to

An exploration of how some of the world’s biggest man-made structures were built.

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Season 4
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Upcoming TV Airings

The airings below are based on a generic national schedule. Times and dates can vary by TV provider.

Wednesday, April 1

Shipyards & Slender Builds

Season 4 • Episode 6

A 284ft wooden skyscraper built from 1,200 bespoke pieces tests fire safety limits in Milwaukee.

Wednesday, April 1

Medals & Marinas

Season 4 • Episode 2

Paying tribute to the brave, gravity-defying design of the U.S. National Medal of Honor Museum.

Wednesday, April 1

Space Stations and Super

Season 4 • Episode 1

Learn how astronauts constructed the ISS while circling the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour.

Wednesday, April 1

Floating Parks & Upcycled Towers

Season 4 • Episode 10

A 1970s Sydney skyscraper is recycled into a 21st century tower; in Dallas, a park is created.

Wednesday, April 1

Biomes & Rebuilds

Season 1 • Episode 3

A London railway station; giant Singapore biodomes; eye-catching hospital in Las Vegas.

Wednesday, April 1

Breakthroughs & Bridges

Season 2 • Episode 8

Visiting Gherkin, Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and Musée des Confluences for their origins.

Wednesday, April 1

Swamps & Swagger

Season 2 • Episode 2

The design and construction of revolutionary buildings in Spain, New York and Florida.

Wednesday, April 1

Towers & Roofs

Season 1 • Episode 2

A Manhattan high-rise; an Athens cultural center; a Singapore university.

Wednesday, April 1

Subways & Sightlines

Season 3 • Episode 8

A sculptural high-rise with rippling balconies; Mammoth machines bore 26 miles of tunnels.

Wednesday, April 1

Mirrors & Marble

Season 2 • Episode 9

Revealing the architectural secrets of Australia's One Central Park, the Oslo Opera House and more.

Wednesday, April 1

Cantilevers & Lifts

Season 1 • Episode 1

An unstable high rise, an otherworldly museum, and a towering cliffside elevator.

Wednesday, April 8

Ecobuilds & Earthquakes

Season 4 • Episode 5

A 9,000 ton timber roof is built without stopping flights at Portland International Airport.

Wednesday, April 8

High Waters & Harsh Winds

Season 4 • Episode 4

Defy gravity in an Amsterdam high-rise; marvel at three interconnected towers in Chicago.

Wednesday, April 8

Floating & Lifting

Season 3 • Episode 7

Architects and engineers build an eco-friendly convention center on Vancouver's waterfront.

Wednesday, April 8

Parking & Sparkling

Season 3 • Episode 4

A 1400-foot tapering skyscraper is built right next to New York's Grand Central.

Wednesday, April 8

Sky Gardens & Seismic Stations

Season 1 • Episode 7

A massive sky garden in Singapore, a tower in Brighton, and a railway station in Vesuvius.

Wednesday, April 8

Tricks & Trains

Season 3 • Episode 6

An Olympic and Paralympic museum tests engineers; a curved glass skyscraper battles gravity.

Wednesday, April 8

Steep & Stunning

Season 2 • Episode 7

The world's steepest mountain railway, a remodeled 145-year-old museum and a futuristic condo.

Wednesday, April 8

Summit & Submerge

Season 4 • Episode 7

Building an eco-friendly visitor center in the permafrost on Colorado's Pikes Peak tests the team.

Wednesday, April 8

Riverparks & Artworks

Season 2 • Episode 1

Visiting Little Island, the Denver Museum of Art and La Tête Carrée to reveal how they were built.

Wednesday, April 8

Upside Down & Under Sea

Season 2 • Episode 6

Visiting the Vancouver House, Norway's Under restaurant and the Seattle Central Library.

Wednesday, April 8

Viaducts & Hotels

Season 1 • Episode 4

A towering bridge in France; upside-down hotel in China; Italy's forest into the sky.