How Did They Build That?

Smithsonian Channel

Series

2021

TVG

How-to

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

Trailer

Season 4

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Cast & Crew

Scott Rummel Host

⨁Full Cast & Crew

Where to Stream

2021 Series 4 Seasons40 Episodes

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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, January 28

6:00 AM

Floating & Lifting

Season 3 • Episode 7

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

Wednesday, January 28

7:00 AM

Parking & Sparkling

Season 3 • Episode 4

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

Wednesday, January 28

8:00 AM

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, January 28

9:00 AM

Tricks & Trains

Season 3 • Episode 6

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

Wednesday, January 28

10:00 AM

Steep & Stunning

Season 2 • Episode 7

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

Wednesday, January 28

11:00 AM

Summit & Submerge

Season 4 • Episode 7

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

Wednesday, January 28

4:00 PM

Elevated & Elegant

Season 2 • Episode 4

Traveling from Canada to Belgium and to the U.S. to examine a school, museum and railway station.

Wednesday, January 28

5:00 PM

Skywalks & Suspensions

Season 2 • Episode 5

The design and engineering secrets behind the Grand Canyon Skywalk, Audain Museum and more.

Wednesday, January 28

6:00 PM

Viaducts & Hotels

Season 1 • Episode 4

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

Wednesday, January 28

7:00 PM

Jungles & Bricks

Season 3 • Episode 2

Wednesday, January 28

8:00 PM

Canyons & Curves

Season 3 • Episode 3

Engineers grapple with an apartment building; the Gateway Arch takes shape in St. Louis.

Wednesday, February 4

6:00 AM

Supertalls & Firehouses

Season 1 • Episode 5

Alien port authority in Belgium; ultrathin skyscraper in Manhattan; hanging museum in Scotland.

Wednesday, February 4

7:00 AM

Curved & Cables

Season 3 • Episode 9

A new performance center with a tent-like glass-and-steel lobby tests engineers in Kansas City.

Wednesday, February 4

8:00 AM

Radical & Resplendent

Season 2 • Episode 10

Exploring the design and engineering stories behind D.C.'s Museum of African American History.

Wednesday, February 4

9:00 AM

Speedcore & Steambend

Season 4 • Episode 3

A look at how engineering helped a huge Seattle skyscraper go up without harming it's neighbour.

Wednesday, February 4

10:00 AM

Arctic Modules & Auditoria

Season 1 • Episode 8

A research station in Antarctica, a concert hall on the Canary Islands and a boat lift in Scotland.

Wednesday, February 4

11:00 AM

Retrofits & Airport Glitz

Season 2 • Episode 3

Visiting New York's Hearst Tower, Florida's Dali Museum and Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport.

Wednesday, February 4

4:00 PM

Shipyards & Slender Builds

Season 4 • Episode 6

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

Wednesday, February 4

5:00 PM

Medals & Marinas

Season 4 • Episode 2

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

Wednesday, February 4

6:00 PM

Arches & Opera Houses

Season 1 • Episode 6

The inside stories behind a horseshoe-shaped complex in Rotterdam and a rock-shaped opera house.

Wednesday, February 4

7:00 PM

Facelifts & Scaffolds

Season 4 • Episode 8

A museum building bends 1,100-glass tubes to form a facade and tunnels below the water table.

Wednesday, February 4

8:00 PM

Boxes & Birds

Season 3 • Episode 10

The American Museum of Natural History gets a cave-like extension; Boston University gains a tower.