architecture

A.Savin via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

With these buildings, form trumps function.

The brilliant colors for which the cathedral is known weren't part of the original design.

Wouter Biegelaar's "Iceberg" // Icehotel

Spend the night in a hotel room built from straw, salt, sand, snow—or chocolate.

Paris' love locks are far from the world's only bridge-related tradition.

Some cost less than a Manhattan apartment.

Once the largest cathedrals in the world, this 1,500-year-old landmark has had quite the history.

Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain // Getty Images

The famed Catalan designer was well-known in Barcelona, but he died a pauper's death when no one recognized the injured old man on the street.

A new book offers an absorbing account of the obelisk’s place in human civilization.

This could be what Martian colonies of the future are made of.

The Chenab Bridge in India will stand at 1178 feet tall.

Wally Gobetz via Flickr // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

New uses for old asylums, including museums, arts centers, and a luxury hotel.

Here are seven of the most picturesque and historically fascinating catacombs open for visits around the world.

Architects from New York City to Sydney are working on designing skyscrapers that won’t cast a shadow.

Marco Beck via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Take a virtual tour of some gorgeous German history.

The project from MIT is meant to demonstrate how Easter Island's statues were transported.

The American College of the Building Arts is the country’s only college to offer a bachelor's degree in traditional building trades.

The marble slab once marked the entrance to an important building in the ancient town of Calleva Atrebatum.

Dona Yu via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

This $2.5 million mansion in the middle of Death Valley is no mirage.

Now's your chance to own—and live inside—a piece of rock 'n' roll history.

After 133 years of construction, the Sagrada Familia is still only 70 percent finished.

The structure's facade is less than ten feet wide—and it's even more cramped inside.

One man's dream to build a 16th century castle came true—just outside of Cincinnati.

Don't you wish you went to school in one of these multi-hued, modernist paradises?

Sure you can buy books on Amazon, but there’s something about going to a bookstore and picking the right title out by hand. Here are some unique bookstores that have almost as much charm as they have books.

10 Extravagant Examples of Folly Architecture

12 Facts About Saint Basil’s Cathedral

6 Amazing Hotels Constructed From Natural Materials

10 Bridge Traditions From Around the World

This Brokerage Firm Only Lists Castles and Historic Buildings

13 Sage Facts About the Hagia Sophia

Gaudí’s Accidental Death: Why The Great Architect Was Mistaken For A Beggar

7 Fascinating Facts About Obelisks

Scientists Say They've Found a Way to Make Martian Concrete

The Eiffel Tower Would Be Able to Fit Under the World’s Tallest Railway Arch Bridge

7 Second Lives for Converted Mental Hospitals

7 of the World’s Most Fascinating and Beautiful Catacombs

Architects are Designing Skyscrapers That Won't Cast a Shadow

9 Breathtaking German Castles

This 2000-Pound Sculpture Can Be Moved With a Fingertip

This Liberal Arts College Teaches You to Work With Your Hands

Two Pieces of a Shattered Roman Sign Were Reunited After 2000 Years

The “Castle” in the Middle of Death Valley

The Home Where Bruce Springsteen Wrote Born to Run Is Now for Sale

Barcelona's Sagrada Família Begins Final Stage of Construction

The Expansive History of New York City's Narrowest House

Ohio's Loveland Castle Was Hand-Built By a Midwestern Medievalist

French Architect Designs Schools That Are Works of Art

11 Unusual Bookstores You Can Visit