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, March 25

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, March 25

Skywalks & Suspensions

Season 2 • Episode 5

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

Wednesday, March 25

Arches & Opera Houses

Season 1 • Episode 6

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

Wednesday, March 25

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, March 25

Boxes & Birds

Season 3 • Episode 10

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

Wednesday, March 25

Heights & Balance

Season 3 • Episode 5

A 1.2 million square foot office building balances precariously on a 39-foot wide base in Chicago.

Wednesday, March 25

Super Stadiums & Extraordinary Elevators

Season 4 • Episode 9

Examine the sightlines in Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium, which sits right in the flight path of LAX.

Wednesday, March 25

Fantastic & Futuristic

Season 3 • Episode 1

A building inspired by a mountain valley; a launchpad for space travel prepares for liftoff.

Wednesday, March 25

Speedcore & Steambend

Season 4 • Episode 3

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

Wednesday, March 25

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, March 25

Retrofits & Airport Glitz

Season 2 • Episode 3

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

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.