Buildings
Fortresses, cathedrals, palaces, and civic monuments built at civilization scale.
20 articlesLatest in Buildings
Japan's Gargantuan Flood Defences
From Tokyo's underground cathedral of floodwater to the Great Wall of Japan's tsunami defences, discover how Japan out-engineers disaster with some of the most staggering civil engineering projects on Earth.
Dubai is Building the Largest Airport on the Planet.
Dubai is constructing Al Maktoum International Airport, a colossal $35 billion aviation hub designed to handle 260 million passengers annually. Discover the five runways, 400 gates, AI-powered systems, and the new "aerotropolis" rising from the desert.
China Is Building the World's Largest Dam
China is constructing the Medog dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo river in Tibet, set to become the world's largest hydropower station at 60 gigawatts. Explore the engineering challenges, geopolitical tensions, and environmental concerns surrounding this trillion-yuan megaproject.
America's Infrastructure is Being Neglected and Hurricanes Show Us How
Hurricane Helene revealed catastrophic failures in American infrastructure, from crumbling dams and washed-out interstates to overwhelmed emergency response systems, exposing how decades of neglect left communities unprepared for climate-supercharged disasters.
Where Will the Next Nuclear Meltdown Happen?
Corruption, tsunamis, and war all threaten the world's 400+ reactors. We trace the three scenarios most likely to cause the next nuclear meltdown
Kelvedon Hatch: The UK's "Secret" Nuclear Bunker
Inside Kelvedon Hatch, the Cold War bunker built to keep the British government alive 38 meters underground through nuclear war.
Project Pulse
The engineering briefing that explains why nothing gets built on time — or on budget.
More in Buildings
The Mosul Dam: Iraq's Catastrophe Waiting to Happen
Iraq's Mosul Dam sits on soluble gypsum that's been dissolving for decades. If it fails, a 45-meter wave could reach Baghdad and kill up to a million
Pioneering Spirit: The Largest Construction Ship in the World
Discover the Pioneering Spirit, the biggest, heaviest vehicle ever made. This twin-hulled behemoth can lift 48,000 metric tons and is revolutionizing offshore oil rig installation and removal.
A Chinese Maglev Revolution is Coming...
China is building thousands of kilometers of maglev rail lines and developing 600 kph trains that could transform intercity travel. Here's everything we know about the coming revolution.
The Mushroom Motherboard: The Fungal Computers That Might Change Everything
Inside Bristol's Unconventional Computing Lab, where mushrooms grow out of motherboards and mycelium might out-think binary computers
The Rockefeller Empire: The Dynasty That Changed America
From a con-artist patriarch to Standard Oil and a fortune that outlasted the Gilded Age, how the Rockefellers built and kept a dynasty
Shanghai Tower: China's Tallest Skyscraper and the Megatall Problem
Shanghai Tower solved soft soil, typhoon winds, elevators, and double-skin design at 632 meters. The harder problem was making a megatall icon work.