Architect John Portman was famous for building modern skyscrapers with soaring atriums, including Detroit's Renaissance Center and Atlanta's Peachtree Center. The structures were often built as part of urban renewal efforts, but many critics say they did little to draw people to struggling downtowns. Portman died Friday at age 93.
Artists Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas strive to change perceptions of "bad neighborhoods" by arming locals with paintbrushes and a vision: to turn their neighborhoods into open-air art galleries.
This week's terror attack in Manhattan prompts a question: Can a city do anything to stop a truck attack? NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with architect Thomas Vonier about how we can better design big cities to make it harder for terrorists to harm people.
NPR's Melissa Block talks with Leonard Pickel, who is a haunted house architect. For more than 40 years he's designed and worked on these fear factories.
Jason De León, Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Derek Peterson are among the 24 winners of this year's MacArthur Fellowship, which honors "extraordinarily talented and creative individuals."
Founded in 1855, St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., grew from 250 patients to 8,000. A new exhibit at the National Building Museum explores the links between architecture and mental health.