TED Talks
Aziza Chaouni: How I brought a river, and my city, back to life
The Fez River winds through the medina of Fez, Morocco—a mazelike medieval city that's a World Heritage site. Once considered the "soul" of this celebrated city, the river succumbed to sewage and pollution, and in the 1950s was covered...
TED Talks
Shigeru Ban: Emergency shelters made from paper
Long before sustainability was a buzzword, architect Shigeru Ban was using ecologically sound building materials such as cardboard tubes. He uses them to build remarkable temporary structures for disaster-struck nations such as Haiti,...
TED Talks
TED: Architecture that's built to heal | Michael Murphy
Architecture is more than a clever arrangement of bricks. In this eloquent talk, Michael Murphy shows how he and his team look far beyond the blueprint when they're designing. Considering factors from airflow to light, theirs is a...
TED Talks
TED: How we can design timeless cities for our collective future | Vishaan Chakrabarti
There's a creeping sameness in many of our newest urban buildings and streetscapes, says architect Vishaan Chakrabarti. And this physical homogeneity -- the result of regulations, mass production, safety issues and cost considerations,...
TED Talks
TED: A vision of sustainable housing for all of humanity | Vishaan Chakrabarti
By 2100, the UN estimates that the world's population will grow to just over 11 billion people. Architect Vishaan Chakrabarti wants us to start thinking about how we'll house all these people -- and how new construction can fight climate...
TED Talks
TED: Your kids might live on Mars. Here's how they'll survive | Stephen Petranek
It sounds like science fiction, but journalist Stephen Petranek considers it fact: within 20 years, humans will live on Mars. In this provocative talk, Petranek makes the case that humans will become a spacefaring species and describes...
TED-Ed
How one design flaw almost toppled a skyscraper | Alex Gendler
In 1978, Diane Hartley was writing her undergraduate architecture thesis when she made a shocking discovery. After weeks of poring over the Citicorp Center's building plans, she'd stumbled on an oversight that threatened to topple the...
SciShow
Filippo Brunelleschi: Great Minds
Hank talks about Renaissance architect, engineer, and professional cranky guy Filippo Brunelleschi in this "Great Minds" dose.
TED Talks
Anupam Mishra: The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting
With wisdom and wit, Anupam Mishra talks about the amazing feats of engineering built centuries ago by the people of India's Golden Desert to harvest water. These ancient aqueducts and stepwells are still used today -- and are often...
TED Talks
TED: The rise of boring architecture -- and the case for radically human buildings | Thomas Heatherwick
Where did all the lumps and bumps on buildings go? When did city architecture become so ... dull? Here to talk about why cities need inspiring architecture, designer Thomas Heatherwick offers a path out of the doldrums of urban monotony...
TED Talks
Marcus du Sautoy: Symmetry, reality's riddle
The world turns on symmetry -- from the spin of subatomic particles to the dizzying beauty of an arabesque. But there's more to it than meets the eye. Here, Oxford mathematician Marcus du Sautoy offers a glimpse of the invisible numbers...
Crash Course Kids
Architecture Adventure
If we want to build a place for us to live, or to hang out, or do eat dinner with our friends, we're going to need a special kind of engineering called architecture. In this episode of Crash Course Kids, Sabrina gets us to help her build...
TED Talks
TED: The genius behind some of the world's most famous buildings | Renzo Piano
Legendary architect Renzo Piano -- the mind behind such indelible buildings as The Shard in London, the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the new Whitney Museum of Art in New York City -- takes us on a stunning tour through his life's work....
TED Talks
Wolfgang Kessling: How to air-condition outdoor spaces
During the hot summer months, watching an outdoor sports match or concert can be tantamount to baking uncomfortably in the sun -- but it doesn't have to be. At the TEDxSummit in Doha, physicist Wolfgang Kessling reveals sustainable...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: A day in the life of an ancient Greek architect | Mark Robinson
The year is 432 BCE. As dawn breaks over Athens, Pheidias is already late for work. He is the chief builder for the Parthenon — Athens' newest and largest temple— and when he arrives onsite, city officials accuse him of embezzling gold...
SciShow
Awesome Inventions by African Americans
Who invented microphones, PCs, and video game consoles? In honor of Black History Month, Hank talks about some African Americans scientist/inventors who've helped make all our lives more awesome.
Crash Course Kids
The End Is Only The Beginning
It's the end of this first year of Crash Course Kids and we've learned so many things. In this episode, Sabrina takes us on a tour of some of the ideas we've talked about and how they fit into our lives. Also, what all of these ideas...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Epic Engineering: Building the Brooklyn Bridge | Alex Gendler
In the mid-19th century, suspension bridges were collapsing all across Europe. Their industrial cables frayed and snapped under the weight of their decks. So when German American engineer John Roebling proposed building the largest and...
TED Talks
William McDonough: Cradle to cradle design
Green-minded architect and designer William McDonough asks what our buildings and products would look like if designers took into account "all children, all species, for all time."
TED Talks
John La Grou: A plug for smart power outlets
John La Grou unveils an ingenious new technology that will smarten up the electrical outlets in our homes, using microprocessors and RFID tags. The invention, Safeplug, promises to prevent deadly accidents like house fires -- and to...
TED Talks
John Hodgman: Design, explained.
Resident expert John Hodgman "explains" the design of three iconic modern objects. Or does he. (From The Design Studio session at TED2012, guest-curated by Chee Pearlman and David Rockwell.)
Curated Video
The Ancient Ruins and Historic Sites of Mexico City
Exploring Mexico City, Mexico:Our journey concludes in the historic streets of Mexico City, where we'll embark on a quest to uncover the remnants of ancient civilizations, including the Aztec Empire. Explore the fascinating ruins and...
Curated Video
Lisbon: History and Landmarks
Lisbon, Portugal:From the depths of the ocean to the top of the hill on which the Castle of San Jorge sits, we will land in Lisbon, Portugal to experience everything that this ancient city has to offer. Its culture, its customs, temples,...
Curated Video
Exploring the Ancient Ruins and Natural Wonders of the Yucatan Peninsula
Yucatan, Mexico:"We head to Yucatan, the land where the ancient Mayans flourished to visit its majestic pyramids and discover this ancient civilization."