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, May 6

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, May 6

Upside Down & Under Sea

Season 2 • Episode 6

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

Wednesday, May 6

Viaducts & Hotels

Season 1 • Episode 4

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

Wednesday, May 6

Steep & Stunning

Season 2 • Episode 7

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

Wednesday, May 6

Summit & Submerge

Season 4 • Episode 7

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

Wednesday, May 6

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, May 6

Skywalks & Suspensions

Season 2 • Episode 5

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

Wednesday, May 6

Arches & Opera Houses

Season 1 • Episode 6

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

Wednesday, May 6

Jungles & Bricks

Season 3 • Episode 2

Exploring the engineering and architectural masterpieces like The Copper.

Wednesday, May 6

Canyons & Curves

Season 3 • Episode 3

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

Wednesday, May 6

Supertalls & Firehouses

Season 1 • Episode 5

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

Wednesday, May 13

Curved & Cables

Season 3 • Episode 9

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

Wednesday, May 13

Radical & Resplendent

Season 2 • Episode 10

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

Wednesday, May 13

Speedcore & Steambend

Season 4 • Episode 3

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

Wednesday, May 13

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, May 13

Retrofits & Airport Glitz

Season 2 • Episode 3

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

Wednesday, May 13

Shipyards & Slender Builds

Season 4 • Episode 6

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

Wednesday, May 13

Medals & Marinas

Season 4 • Episode 2

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

Wednesday, May 13

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, May 13

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, May 13

Boxes & Birds

Season 3 • Episode 10

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

Wednesday, May 13

Heights & Balance

Season 3 • Episode 5

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