Architecture

What Is a Gargoyle? The Test Is Whether It Drains

A gargoyle is a working waterspout. Here is the test that separates one from a grotesque, why Notre-Dame’s famous monsters fail it, and where the form began.

Frank Lloyd Wright: The Cantilever That Nearly Failed

Frank Lloyd Wright's engineer forgot the reinforcing steel in Fallingwater's cantilevers. They sagged for 65 years before an $11.5 million repair finally held them still.

St. Peter's Basilica: The 120-Year Design Fight

Five chief architects took turns reversing each other's plans for St. Peter's Basilica, from Bramante's circle to Maderno's cross, across 120 years of construction.

Sagrada Família: A 2026 Finish Engineered a Century Earlier

Sagrada Família reached its final height in February 2026. The catenary-arch system that made it possible was tested first at a smaller church Gaudí never finished.