Architecture

Billie Mochow's gingerbread sculpture was among the top 10 winners. Mochow says she is a self-taught baker.

These Elaborate Gingerbread Creations Prove That Baking Is An Art

12:34pm December 21, 2016

by Tove K. Danovich

At this national contest in North Carolina, these intricate and gravity-defying works of edible ingenuity might just make Hansel and Gretel think that warring with a witch was worth it.

There was a lot in the world of race relations to make your head hurt. But it wasn't all bad. There was also John Legend.

This Week In Race: Racism, Racism And, To Salve Your Soul, John Legend

8:33pm December 09, 2016

by Leah Donnella

Everywhere we looked in the news this week — in prisons, politics, online — we found strains of racism. It even shows up from beyond the grave.

A cruise ship passes Venice's St. Mark's Square at sunset in September. Up to 90,000 tourists fill the city every day, far outnumbering the 55,000 residents.

As Tourists Crowd Out Locals, Venice Faces 'Endangered' List

1:06pm November 25, 2016

by Christopher Livesay

Two years ago, UNESCO gave Venice and Italy a deadline to figure out a way to manage the harmful effects of tourism or risk being placed on a World Heritage in Danger list. The deadline has passed.

When Cultural Heritage Is At Risk, Italy's Art Police Come To The Rescue

5:33am October 22, 2016

by Christopher Livesay

Over the decades, they've tracked down looted paintings and manuscripts, and rescued artwork after natural disasters. These days, they're salvaging centuries-old works in Italy's Amatrice quake zone.

People walk past a replica of an ancient statue of a human-headed winged bull from Nimrud, Iraq, destroyed by the Islamic State. It's part of an exhibition called "Rising from Destruction" at Rome's Colosseum.

Replicas Of Artifacts Destroyed By ISIS 'Rising From Destruction' In Rome

1:09pm October 10, 2016

by Sylvia Poggioli

An exhibit at the Colosseum features life-size reconstructions of ancient works that ISIS damaged or destroyed in Iraq and Syria. "It is a universal heritage," says curator Francesco Rutelli.

Queue Listen Now

National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Mission Of African-American Museum Writ Large In Its Very Design

8:00pm September 15, 2016

The "dark presence" of the bronze and brooding National Museum of African American History and Culture illuminates black history, and by extension, the history of America itself.

How An Architect Used Striking Design To Capture New Smithsonian's Meaning

5:09pm September 12, 2016

by Ari Shapiro

As the Smithsonian prepares to open its National Museum of African American History and Culture in a couple weeks, NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with the museum's architect, David Adjaye.

Queue Listen Now

People gather to watch the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show from Brooklyn Bridge Park, one of the newer developments along the East River, in 2015.

National

How New York City Rebuilt Anew After Its Darkest Day

6:32pm September 08, 2016

by Alina Selyukh

When disaster struck in 2001, New York City hadn't had a comprehensive city planning vision in decades. An exceptional flurry of urban strategizing — beyond ground zero — ensued.

The Chichu Art Museum, designed by celebrated Japanese architect Tadao Anda, is built mostly underground. Open courtyards and skylights bring in natural light. The island is internationally known for its works of modern art and architecture.

How Art Transformed A Remote Japanese Island

9:00am August 27, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

The population of Naoshima has fallen to 3,000. But this year, its art will attract 800,000 tourists from around the world. "The level of our sophistication has gone up considerably," says a resident.

Members of the National Museum Building Committee stand in an unfinished doorway of the U.S. National Museum, now the Arts and Industries Building, in 1880. (From left: Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Peter Parker, Spencer Fullert

Arts

Belle Of The Mall: Saving Smithsonian's Jewel-Like Arts And Industries Building

3:09pm August 25, 2016

by Elizabeth Blair

With its spires, rotunda and colorful facade, the Arts and Industries Building is a festive relief compared with its neighbors. But restoring the Smithsonian's first museum hasn't been easy.