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Today on Impossible Engineering, the
biggest construction project in the
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of New York City.
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When you think about all the things that
we had to do on this site to make it
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possible, I mean the project is just
astounding.
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Over 16 million square feet of space
conjured out of thin air. Every week we
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come up with challenges that I've never
faced as an engineer.
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And the pioneering historic innovations.
That flame gets pulled into the
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cylinder. It causes an explosion.
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And that throws the ocean up.
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These boats are gigantic.
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And these are concrete boats. Can you
believe that?
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That made the impossible possible.
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Manhattan.
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26 square miles of some of the most
valuable land in the world.
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Demand for space is high.
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But surrounded by water, spreading out
is not an option.
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The only way is up.
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It's extremely difficult to get a large
plot in Manhattan because everything's
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been spoken for for over 100 years.
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So basically, when you do find a large
plot, chances are it's because it's a
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railroad yard.
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These vast expanses may be free of
buildings, but they're strewn with
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Any construction seems impossible.
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But now on the west side of Manhattan,
ambitious engineers are taking that
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challenge on.
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Hudson Yards, America's largest real
estate development, is being built
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on top of a working rail yard.
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The engineering on this site is
incredible.
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But it's not one individual piece,
right?
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There's a whole series of these things
added together.
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I mean, not just you're designing a
building, but then you're designing a
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complete specialty underlying structure
to be able to support that. And unless
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you look out at the Western Rail Yards
and see the trains there, you have no
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idea what's underneath us.
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Changing the skyline is not just one new
skyscraper, but six.
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With more towers to come, Jeff Butler is
the senior project manager on site.
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Each of these buildings is an amazing
building.
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We have over a million square feet of
retail space. We have almost 5 million
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square feet of residential space, 10
million square feet of commercial space.
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It has no comparison in scale.
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There have been some great developments
in New York, but I'm very excited that
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this is the biggest and best.
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Built almost entirely over a giant base
platform above a working rail yard,
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Hudson Yards covers a 28 -acre site on
the west side of Manhattan.
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Multiple megastructures are being
constructed simultaneously, including
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third tallest tower in New York, an arts
venue that can appear from nowhere, and
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a brand new park constructed from
scratch.
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When Hudson Yards is complete, we'll
have 125 ,000 people here working,
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and playing every day. It's an entire
city within a city.
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But this ambitious $25 billion project
poses immense engineering challenges.
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How do you build New York's highest
external observation deck?
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We're about 1 ,050 feet up. So the
combination of engineering and
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the construction sequence was really
complicated.
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In a city where blackouts can be
catastrophic, how do engineers keep
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Yards running 24 -7?
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The firms at Hudson Yards absolutely
cannot live with the threat of power
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outages.
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But it's the specific site that poses
the biggest problem of all.
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Jay Cross has masterminded the project
from the start.
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The actual plot of land is highly
valuable because there's just only so
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it. There's rivers all around us.
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But the West Side Yards was always like
the hole in the donut because it was all
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train tracks.
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Spanning seven city blocks, the West
Side Yard was used solely as railway
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sightings for Penn Station.
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The audacious plan to construct on top
of the tracks while the trains continue
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to run.
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The engineering challenges were
significant, not least of which we have
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over an operating rail yard. That
logistically is a challenge unlike any
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How is it possible to build directly
over 30 active train tracks?
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Part of the answer is to be found 715
miles west of Manhattan.
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Architect Marty Sandberg is in Chicago.
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Discovering how ambitious engineering
helped a newspaper company overcome the
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confines of this crammed city.
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In the 1920s, the Chicago Daily News was
one of the best -selling papers in the
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city, and as a result, they had outgrown
their current building and were on the
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search for a new home.
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Unfortunately, there was just simply no
open land left at that time.
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The problem was the same as that faced
by the Hudson Yards team, the railways.
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At the beginning of the 20th century,
Chicago was the busiest railroad hub in
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North America, with more lines radiating
out than any other city.
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The downside to being such a rail hub
was, at the time, Chicago was literally
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choked off by rail yards on every side
of the city.
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But the Daily News decided to attempt an
extraordinary engineering feat.
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So this is the Daily News building.
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I'm a sucker for a gorgeous old
limestone building, and this is a great
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of it.
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In a city hemmed in by train lines, how
did they manage to find the space to
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build this?
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It was down to a new law known as air
rights.
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The Daily News had bought from the rail
company the right to build in the air
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above their tracks.
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Essentially, the trains were only so
high and they weren't really getting any
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higher, so they recognized that they
were wasting a whole lot of space up
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and they saw this as a pile of money
just waiting to be had.
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Pouncing on this opportunity were
architects John A. Holabird and John
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Root, Jr.
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Incredibly, they built the 26 -story
tower block directly on top of active
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tracks. So when we look at the building
now, you can't tell there's still a mess
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of train lines running back and forth
underneath.
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Everyone coming in there day to day
would never have any idea that they're
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sitting over an active rail line.
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This is what the engineers at Hudson
Yards need to achieve.
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So how is it done here?
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This is our sandbox of Chicago right
here.
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All we need are areas where we can sink
a couple of key foundations in between
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the trains.
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So we start by seeking out a couple of
areas where we can sink these deep
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foundations down, trying to aim for the
bedrock if possible.
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From there, we go ahead,
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drill our foundations down nice and
steady, and all of a sudden ground level
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no longer down here. We're up here 20
feet above.
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The building could then be constructed
on top of this platform, with the weight
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being supported directly by the pillars.
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And we've just turned a train yard into
some of the most valuable and useful
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land in Chicago.
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The city is happy.
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The railroad is happy. The person
walking down the street is no longer
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next to a train. It really turned into a
great solution for everybody.
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Holabird and Root's incredible
achievement led to an explosion in air
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Railroad plots, once shunned by
developers, were now worth millions.
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In New York City, the Hudson Yards
development is thought to be the biggest
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rights deal ever.
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A billion dollars paid for fresh air
above Manhattan's Western Rail Yard.
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Tracks covering 28 acres must somehow be
straddled to build multiple
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skyscrapers, a supersized steel
sculpture,
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an assortment of public buildings, and
14 acres of open space.
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And throughout construction, the trains
below have to keep running.
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We work basically at the mercy of rail
traffic.
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So think of it as they own the basement
and you own everything above the
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basement. And so of the 30 tracks, we
are only allowed to close four tracks at
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time for the purposes of construction.
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What we had to then do is weave all of
the foundations for the buildings
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the track to go down to rock.
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The foundations for this massive 28
-acre site draw on techniques used in
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Chicago over 90 years ago.
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The first step is to drill holes nearly
150 feet deep into the bedrock, which is
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78 feet below the ground.
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Then, insert the supersized steel and
concrete support column known as
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300 caissons support the entire
development, carefully located between
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tracks. They take the weight of the
steel frames for the tower blocks, as
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as the giant 430 ,000 square foot base
platform that surrounds the buildings.
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This concrete and steel platform creates
a new ground level above the tracks.
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The platform doesn't support anything
except the open space where we're
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right now.
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Where the platform is underneath the
buildings, the buildings go right down
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between the tracks. They go all the way
to rock. So the trick is in the
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foundation. That's where all the load
transfer goes.
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The platform just fills in the space in
between.
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But while boxing in the active rail yard
creates acres of new usable space, the
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incoming trains below are now confined
underground, creating a fresh challenge.
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When the trains come and bring commuters
in, they drop them off in Penn Station
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and they park here for the day. We have
engines running and just all the train
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activity is creating heat below us. It
can get up to 150 degrees Fahrenheit,
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which is very hot.
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The team had to find a way to keep the
rail yards ventilated.
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To utilize the record airspace above,
they will need a solution to keep the
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city's commuters cool.
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Building on top of a major
transportation hub yields serious
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challenges, but it also presents the
problem of temperature control.
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If the heavy train traffic were left
unchecked, the temperature below the
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Yards project could reach up to 150
degrees.
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Below you right now are about five jet
engines.
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They're about 40 feet long, maybe five
feet in diameter.
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They're actually lined up right like
this, and they exhaust through that
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It's pretty exciting to be in here and
to be able to see that this is something
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that nobody ever gets to see and to
experience when we go down here, right?
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actually see down into here and be
within the structure and to see the fan
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systems that are operating on either
side.
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Twin ventilation shafts at the plaza
connect to 15 giant fans sandwiched
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the tallest sections of the platform.
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Principal engineer Eli Gottlieb has
special access to the restricted area
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the platform itself.
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The fans are installed at the plaza
directly above the trains.
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Welcome to the central fan plant
underneath the yards.
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This is one of three fan plants that are
actually down here.
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These fans are really part of the lungs
of the facility that actually allow it
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to breathe.
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So these fans allow us to exhaust.
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any of the heat generated by the trains
out and pull in new, fresh, cooler air
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to maintain a tenable client for
everybody who's down there.
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These fans can fully exhaust the entire
facility in seven minutes with all the
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air that's here and completely replenish
it.
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But for Hudson Yards engineers, more
impossible problems could jeopardize the
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project.
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Six skyscrapers will provide 18 million
square feet of commercial and
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residential space, including a school,
over 200 -room hotel, and retractable
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center, all perched on 300 caissons
squeezed between a network of train
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But in one critical section, this isn't
possible, where the tracks converge in
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an area called the throat.
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Engineer Eli Gottlieb is one of the team
charged with solving the problem.
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From here, you can actually see that
there's going through a lot of
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and this switching allows them to fan
out from the four tracks that they come
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at to the 30 storage tracks. And you can
imagine that if the tracks are spaced
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far apart, there's space in between them
to be able to build a caisson and a
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column coming up. But as the tracks
converging together, you can just
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that you're just running out of space in
between the two of them to actually be
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able to install anything.
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This area of the development is
earmarked to have a tower block and a
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mall built on top of it.
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If engineers can't span the 148 -foot
wide gap and support the buildings
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Hudson Yards will be left with a massive
hole in its plans.
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This is really a key problem on the
site.
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All of that underneath us really narrows
down the number of possibilities of
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what we can do to be able to support
everything above.
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Can a game -changing innovation from the
British railway boom be the missing
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piece of the puzzle for the team at
Hudson Yards?
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Almost there now.
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Wow.
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It's a long way down.
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Physicist Dr.
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Andrew Steele is getting up close with
the Worcester Railway Bridge in order to
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find out.
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Wow.
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What a beautiful view.
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In the early 20th century, the UK
railway system was undergoing a huge
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expansion. Not only were there more
tracks, but there were also more trains,
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these trains were much faster.
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00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,820
And as they were getting faster, they
were also getting heavier, and that
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that bridges on the railway network were
being put under increasingly large
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strains.
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Like the team in New York, engineers
needed to find something strong and
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reliable to bridge the gap.
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James Warren was a merchant with no
formal training in engineering.
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In 1848, he registered a patent that
would revolutionize bridge design, the
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Warren Trust.
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This is Warren's design, this repeating
pattern entirely made of equilateral
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triangles, so triangles which are the
same length along each side.
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00:16:30,170 --> 00:16:33,450
Now, triangles like that have the
advantage that they're incredibly
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00:16:34,540 --> 00:16:38,360
The railway track is above my head right
now. And what that means is that as a
231
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:42,200
train passes over the top of us, then
its weight is distributed through all
232
00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:46,360
these different struts. And every single
one of them can share that load. That
233
00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:50,540
means that all these individual beams
are either in tension, so being pulled,
234
00:16:50,540 --> 00:16:52,160
compression, so being squashed.
235
00:16:59,700 --> 00:17:03,300
Previously, many bridge engineers had
used vertical struts.
236
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,819
So how much stronger was the triangle?
237
00:17:07,460 --> 00:17:08,980
So they can both take one brick.
238
00:17:10,020 --> 00:17:14,240
Two model bridges are being tested to
the braking point. So in this simple
239
00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,540
design, all that load is mainly going
through, honestly, just this vertical
240
00:17:17,540 --> 00:17:18,219
strut here.
241
00:17:18,220 --> 00:17:21,640
Whereas on the Warren truss over here,
all of that load with this triangular
242
00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:25,260
pattern of struts is being spread
throughout the whole bridge.
243
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,760
We're going to go for brick number
three.
244
00:17:29,860 --> 00:17:31,140
All right, brick number four.
245
00:17:32,330 --> 00:17:33,850
Bit nervous about this one, to be
honest.
246
00:17:34,750 --> 00:17:36,730
The question is, can it take a fifth?
247
00:17:40,850 --> 00:17:42,610
But a sixth. I think this is going to be
it.
248
00:17:42,930 --> 00:17:43,930
Surely this time.
249
00:17:45,830 --> 00:17:46,830
Oh!
250
00:17:47,510 --> 00:17:51,090
Total structural failure there. You can
see there's lollipop sticks everywhere.
251
00:17:51,370 --> 00:17:55,010
But the Warren Trust, it's still
supporting that load pretty strongly.
252
00:17:55,230 --> 00:17:58,210
Because no individual lollipop stick is
taking that much weight. And so,
253
00:17:58,350 --> 00:18:00,850
incredibly, it can hold all of that
mass.
254
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,840
The Warren Trust really was an
incredible engineering innovation.
255
00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:10,700
And, of course, it's not just bridges.
Wherever a weight needs to be borne and
256
00:18:10,700 --> 00:18:14,900
spread over a structure, you'll see
these equilateral triangles holding them
257
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,180
This incredibly time -tested design.
258
00:18:19,300 --> 00:18:25,400
So how can engineers at Hudson Yards
supersize this 170 -year -old creation
259
00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:27,060
support their mammoth project?
260
00:18:47,620 --> 00:18:53,820
Engineers at Hudson Yards are
supersizing a 170 -year -old creation to
261
00:18:53,820 --> 00:18:56,880
part of their seven -story shopping mall
and skyscraper.
262
00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:05,400
Where piled foundations are impossible,
sandwiched between the retail space
263
00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:10,640
above and the converging rail tracks
below, lie a series of 13 -foot -high
264
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:11,680
Warren trusses.
265
00:19:12,780 --> 00:19:16,300
So we're inside the platform underneath
retail.
266
00:19:16,980 --> 00:19:21,440
Over all the switching of Long Island
Railroad, we're standing basically
267
00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:24,280
a bridge structure, right, where we're
standing on the bottom of the bridge and
268
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,000
there's the top of the bridge above us,
and these warrant trusses are those main
269
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,580
elements of the bridge that are spanning
across.
270
00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:35,240
In total, 14 giant trusses are used to
span the crucial 148 -foot gap.
271
00:19:35,940 --> 00:19:40,720
By being able to use this truss
structure and build a nice stiff bridge
272
00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:44,020
that's actually really efficient for
being able to support the buildings
273
00:19:47,310 --> 00:19:51,850
The tower supported by the truss is not
only the highest on the project, but
274
00:19:51,850 --> 00:19:56,050
once it's complete, will be the second
tallest office building in New York.
275
00:19:57,190 --> 00:20:02,310
Engineer Jay Cross has special access to
its most incredible feature on the
276
00:20:02,310 --> 00:20:06,810
100th floor, a 10 -minute ride away in
the temporary lift elevator.
277
00:20:07,930 --> 00:20:11,090
They need to change it so dramatically
as you get higher and higher.
278
00:20:11,390 --> 00:20:12,390
It's amazing.
279
00:20:13,220 --> 00:20:17,400
And it's the view from the top that
inspired another phenomenal piece of
280
00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:18,400
engineering.
281
00:20:28,940 --> 00:20:31,440
At first we designed the building
without an observation deck.
282
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,340
And we realized how high we're going to
be.
283
00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:38,840
So we challenged the architects to say,
come up with the idea of an observation
284
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,480
deck. We, of course, thought they were
going to come up with something that was
285
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:42,480
inside the tower.
286
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,400
Instead, they came up with a protrusion,
which was pretty darn dramatic.
287
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:54,400
This is the highest man -made outdoor
observation area in the Western
288
00:20:54,400 --> 00:20:55,400
Hemisphere.
289
00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:01,880
Almost 1 ,100 feet up, it offers a brand
-new bird's -eye view of the city
290
00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:02,880
below.
291
00:21:07,269 --> 00:21:11,790
But constructing a platform in the air
calls for more impossible engineering.
292
00:21:12,750 --> 00:21:15,110
At first, we weren't quite sure how to
construct it.
293
00:21:15,490 --> 00:21:19,470
We thought maybe it would be like a
bridge where you just kind of build a
294
00:21:19,470 --> 00:21:21,270
and you inch your way out from the
building.
295
00:21:22,210 --> 00:21:24,950
But the problem was we felt that we
would have to have a lot of supporting
296
00:21:24,950 --> 00:21:26,250
scaffolding to do that.
297
00:21:29,750 --> 00:21:34,270
So our steel fabricator came up with the
idea of making 14 pieces.
298
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,960
that would come up pre -assembled, and
you would just bolt them on as you go
299
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:39,960
out.
300
00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:49,160
Built out from the building, section by
giant section, some weighing up to 50
301
00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:50,160
tons.
302
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,680
The result is an 800 square foot sky
deck.
303
00:21:55,420 --> 00:22:00,320
But the final piece of the puzzle will
be an immense triangle made of
304
00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:01,320
glass.
305
00:22:04,899 --> 00:22:08,700
We felt that in addition to walking
towards the peak, which I think will be
306
00:22:08,700 --> 00:22:12,500
exciting enough, we thought, why not
make it a little bit more exciting and
307
00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:13,500
create a glass floor?
308
00:22:14,500 --> 00:22:18,520
Right now, there's nothing there.
There's no glass. We're just looking
309
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:19,439
,000 feet.
310
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,840
And it's pretty exciting, don't you
think?
311
00:22:22,340 --> 00:22:25,900
It felt a lot more comfortable when the
orange netting was across here. Now that
312
00:22:25,900 --> 00:22:29,240
it's down to like two or three wires,
there's no need to get too close.
313
00:22:31,260 --> 00:22:36,160
Four 1 ,200 -pound triangular sections
of glass will complete the sky deck.
314
00:22:37,980 --> 00:22:42,720
Two and a quarter inches thick, it will
allow visitors to take in the vertigo
315
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:45,780
-inducing views from this mind -blowing
vantage point.
316
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:51,660
I'll walk on it, I'm sure. I'll be
goaded onto it, but I'll be nervous
317
00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:04,180
But this impossible project is
attempting more audacious engineering,
318
00:23:04,180 --> 00:23:05,400
further challenges.
319
00:23:06,480 --> 00:23:10,520
We're moving the equivalent of about 600
elephants stacked up on top of each
320
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:12,280
other, wearing eight roller skates.
321
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:16,380
Can their innovative construction be
taken to the next level?
322
00:23:16,600 --> 00:23:20,940
It's very difficult to figure out that
solution from an engineering standpoint.
323
00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:44,580
New York's biggest ever impossible
engineering challenge.
324
00:23:49,180 --> 00:23:55,040
Hudson Yards is a 17 million square foot
real estate project constructed over a
325
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:56,580
fully functioning rail yard.
326
00:24:00,660 --> 00:24:05,600
Perched on a specially constructed base
platform above the tracks, this is a
327
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:06,980
multi -tower mini -city.
328
00:24:08,020 --> 00:24:13,840
Multiple skyscrapers, a super -sized
mall, 14 acres of public land, all
329
00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:14,980
to life simultaneously.
330
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:21,500
But perhaps the most inventive
engineering on site is a unique arts
331
00:24:21,500 --> 00:24:22,620
as The Shed.
332
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,040
Engineer Eli Gottlieb is overseeing its
build.
333
00:24:30,420 --> 00:24:32,420
The Shed is built up of two parts.
334
00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,220
One is what we've always thought of as
the fixed building, which is the
335
00:24:36,220 --> 00:24:37,500
that we're standing in right now.
336
00:24:37,870 --> 00:24:42,950
And then it has the sleeve that slides
over the fixed building so that when
337
00:24:42,950 --> 00:24:47,590
not in use, it's actually retracted. But
then when they have larger events and
338
00:24:47,590 --> 00:24:51,390
they need the space, they'll be able to
roll the shed out to enclose the plaza
339
00:24:51,390 --> 00:24:55,710
and turn it into this larger venue that
we can see here in front of us. There's
340
00:24:55,710 --> 00:24:56,990
really no other places like this.
341
00:24:59,310 --> 00:25:03,890
The team is using a special inflated
plastic to keep the shell as lightweight
342
00:25:03,890 --> 00:25:04,890
possible.
343
00:25:05,070 --> 00:25:07,830
so the power required to move it is kept
to a minimum.
344
00:25:10,550 --> 00:25:14,490
The drive system on the roof generates
just 180 horsepower.
345
00:25:15,570 --> 00:25:19,630
So we're up on the roof of the fixed
building of the shed. You can see here
346
00:25:19,630 --> 00:25:24,430
the main teeth from the drive mechanism
that the actual shed motors will then
347
00:25:24,430 --> 00:25:27,430
roll against and drive the assembly back
and forth.
348
00:25:27,970 --> 00:25:31,810
We're moving the equivalent of about 600
elephants stacked up on top of each
349
00:25:31,810 --> 00:25:34,770
other. In this case, wearing eight
roller skates.
350
00:25:35,730 --> 00:25:40,150
The roller skates are, in fact, eight
pairs of six -and -a -half -foot -high
351
00:25:40,150 --> 00:25:42,590
wheels running along heavy -duty rails.
352
00:25:44,770 --> 00:25:51,730
And in 2016, this retractable building
was put to the
353
00:25:51,730 --> 00:25:53,090
test for the first time.
354
00:25:55,190 --> 00:26:00,250
To see the shed move was actually
fantastic, but it was also really
355
00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:01,650
because it is so quiet.
356
00:26:02,030 --> 00:26:05,130
And in fact, a whole number of people
actually kind of missed it because it
357
00:26:05,130 --> 00:26:08,270
happened and they sort of didn't hear it
or realize that it was going on in that
358
00:26:08,270 --> 00:26:09,270
moment.
359
00:26:11,590 --> 00:26:16,790
The vast 28 -acre Hudson Yards is a
series of separate construction
360
00:26:17,170 --> 00:26:21,570
With many being built over an active
rail yard, the challenges are
361
00:26:21,570 --> 00:26:22,570
huge.
362
00:26:25,840 --> 00:26:30,560
Although the site's southwest corner is
clear of the main tracks, it posed an
363
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:31,980
equally challenging problem.
364
00:26:32,220 --> 00:26:37,900
A massive tower had to be perched
directly on top of a $2 .4 billion
365
00:26:37,900 --> 00:26:39,260
transportation hub.
366
00:26:40,020 --> 00:26:45,260
Just three years old, the 34th Street
Hudson Yard Station is one of the city's
367
00:26:45,260 --> 00:26:50,040
newest. With one and a half million
commuters coming into Manhattan every
368
00:26:50,220 --> 00:26:52,480
it's a key selling point for the
development.
369
00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:55,600
but it presented the engineers with a
challenge.
370
00:26:58,820 --> 00:27:03,900
We've limited opportunities to put
weight on the subway station and limited
371
00:27:03,900 --> 00:27:08,620
footprint to put weight outside the
subway station. So we're looking for
372
00:27:08,620 --> 00:27:13,000
putting as big a building as we can with
the limited options we have at the
373
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:14,000
foundation.
374
00:27:15,870 --> 00:27:20,970
Lack of space for new foundations meant
40 % of the tower block's weight had to
375
00:27:20,970 --> 00:27:24,070
be carried by the foundations of the
subway station itself.
376
00:27:27,050 --> 00:27:28,710
Overloading was a real danger.
377
00:27:29,010 --> 00:27:32,990
The tower had to shed some weight
without shrinking in size.
378
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:39,080
Our building is 51 stories of office
space, and that's a lot of building to
379
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:40,400
on limited foundations.
380
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:45,640
So the engineers needed to find
solutions to lighten up the building as
381
00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:51,200
possible. It seems impossible, but can
engineers of the past shed any light on
382
00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:52,220
lightweight materials?
383
00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:02,620
It's beautiful.
384
00:28:04,460 --> 00:28:06,640
Kip to Peak State Park in Virginia.
385
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:12,160
Engineer Megan Hart is off to discover
how a material used to solve a wartime
386
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,500
problem could help the team in New York.
387
00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:21,300
During World War I and World War II,
there was a massive manufacturing
388
00:28:21,300 --> 00:28:23,680
and that took a lot of raw material.
389
00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:25,420
The main one was steel.
390
00:28:27,340 --> 00:28:30,660
Steel production went into overdrive to
supply the military.
391
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,460
This led to a shortage.
392
00:28:33,390 --> 00:28:34,410
But the U .S.
393
00:28:34,730 --> 00:28:36,930
Navy needed to build a fleet of supply
ships.
394
00:28:37,630 --> 00:28:39,230
So how did they manage it?
395
00:28:42,830 --> 00:28:48,070
These are the inspired solution, made
out of an innovative version of a
396
00:28:48,070 --> 00:28:49,150
surprising material.
397
00:28:50,930 --> 00:28:53,450
These are concrete boats. Can you
believe that?
398
00:28:53,930 --> 00:28:55,990
And they actually float.
399
00:28:56,290 --> 00:28:59,750
Not only do they float, but they carried
supplies during the war effort.
400
00:29:02,760 --> 00:29:05,460
The man behind it is Stephen J. Haidt.
401
00:29:06,020 --> 00:29:11,240
He was working in the Kansas City
building trade in the early 1900s when
402
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:12,240
a eureka moment.
403
00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:19,620
He noticed that shale stones left too
close to the kiln during the firing
404
00:29:19,620 --> 00:29:22,120
process would bloat up when they
overheated.
405
00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:28,200
The heat caused air bubbles to form in a
honeycomb -like structure inside the
406
00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:29,920
stones, making them lightweight.
407
00:29:32,170 --> 00:29:36,970
So Haidt added them to cement and water
to create his revolutionary new
408
00:29:36,970 --> 00:29:41,310
concrete, an invention that could help
out Hudson Yard's engineers.
409
00:29:42,450 --> 00:29:47,570
So Stephen J. Haidt, instead of using
traditional aggregate, which is heavy,
410
00:29:47,710 --> 00:29:53,990
it's just rock, he used an expanded
shale. And that expanded shale is much
411
00:29:53,990 --> 00:29:54,990
dense.
412
00:29:56,890 --> 00:30:03,820
During World War II, 24 of these 330
-foot -long concrete ships were made,
413
00:30:03,820 --> 00:30:06,700
unexpected solution to the Navy's
problem at sea.
414
00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:24,240
In New York, engineers draw on Hayes'
discovery to solve a skyscraper's
415
00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:25,240
weight issue.
416
00:30:26,220 --> 00:30:33,100
55 Hudson Yards is a whopping 780 feet
high, and its sizable mass bears down on
417
00:30:33,100 --> 00:30:34,460
a major transport hub.
418
00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:39,500
To avoid overloading, the team had to
save weight on the inside.
419
00:30:41,820 --> 00:30:48,020
We're on the 47th floor of 55 Hudson
Yards, and lightweight concrete helped
420
00:30:48,020 --> 00:30:52,860
achieve a light building to go over the
limited foundation we had around the
421
00:30:52,860 --> 00:30:53,860
subway station.
422
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:59,740
So if we look above and below us, slab
above, slab below, every floor on this
423
00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:01,400
building is made out of lightweight
concrete.
424
00:31:02,220 --> 00:31:06,440
And we saved about 20 to 30 percent in
weight overall.
425
00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:09,040
It made a huge difference.
426
00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:13,260
If we save 20 percent in weight, we can
make the building 20 percent higher. So
427
00:31:13,260 --> 00:31:14,980
20 percent more buildings, quite a bit.
428
00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:20,100
The concrete floors are also lightweight
because they're only nine inches thick.
429
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:25,360
But spanning the tower's vast open plan
areas is problematic for such a thin
430
00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:30,860
floor. To keep floor weight down, meet
the expectation of vast open floor
431
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:35,880
and maintain structural integrity,
engineers must employ a revolutionary
432
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:37,620
innovation from the past.
433
00:31:54,900 --> 00:31:59,820
Engineers must find a way to maintain
the lightweight qualities of Hudson
434
00:31:59,820 --> 00:32:04,620
concrete floors while also preventing
deflection or bowing under pressure.
435
00:32:04,860 --> 00:32:09,640
The team's solution is a pioneering
technique known as post -tensioning.
436
00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:14,740
Historically, post -tension technology
in New York City specifically hasn't
437
00:32:14,740 --> 00:32:19,820
used regularly. And this is the first
building where it was used regularly in
438
00:32:19,820 --> 00:32:20,809
the slabs.
439
00:32:20,810 --> 00:32:25,270
So overhead we can see white painted
areas that say PT zone.
440
00:32:25,510 --> 00:32:27,430
That's where we're using post -tension
concrete.
441
00:32:27,690 --> 00:32:32,670
Simply put, it's a high -strength cable
that's pulled through the concrete that
442
00:32:32,670 --> 00:32:33,870
helps limit deflection.
443
00:32:35,650 --> 00:32:39,470
A network of steel cables are threaded
through liquid concrete.
444
00:32:40,490 --> 00:32:43,830
Hydraulic jacks apply massive tension to
pull them taut.
445
00:32:45,010 --> 00:32:46,170
Anchored in place.
446
00:32:46,410 --> 00:32:52,070
The compressive force of the concrete is
increased from 7 ,000 to 8 ,500 PSI,
447
00:32:52,210 --> 00:32:56,750
reducing deflection, allowing a thinner,
lighter slab.
448
00:32:59,210 --> 00:33:03,410
With our high -strength lightweight
concrete and using the post -tension
449
00:33:03,510 --> 00:33:07,450
it makes for the most robust system we
can for a thin slab.
450
00:33:07,690 --> 00:33:12,110
And while post -tensioning allows the
team to build bigger and higher over the
451
00:33:12,110 --> 00:33:16,050
east side of the project, they have yet
to break ground to the west.
452
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,540
the other half of the $25 billion Hudson
Yards development.
453
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:28,580
A second, even bigger steel and concrete
platform will be built above the tracks
454
00:33:28,580 --> 00:33:31,400
on the other side of the 11th Avenue
viaduct.
455
00:33:31,860 --> 00:33:34,460
Eight colossal buildings will be
created.
456
00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:37,760
This city within a city will double in
size.
457
00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:45,360
We have six giant buildings around us,
and we have a lot more coming in very
458
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:46,239
short order.
459
00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:49,920
We're bringing more office space to New
York City than there is in downtown San
460
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:50,920
Diego.
461
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:56,200
But the engineers of this brand new
neighborhood face another hurdle.
462
00:33:57,100 --> 00:34:01,160
They must defy New York's notoriously
unpredictable weather.
463
00:34:03,580 --> 00:34:10,040
To be a success, Manhattan's newest
business quarter must stay online 365
464
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:11,040
year.
465
00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:17,159
But maintaining a steady power supply in
New York is a huge challenge.
466
00:34:18,699 --> 00:34:23,320
Hurricane Sandy caused the latest and
most devastating in a long history of
467
00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:24,840
power cuts affecting the city.
468
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:31,260
When we lose power here in Manhattan,
it's eerie, right? It's a large city.
469
00:34:31,260 --> 00:34:36,800
We're used to seeing it lit up, and
we're used to seeing the city alive 24
470
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:37,800
a day.
471
00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:43,239
Frank Norcross is in charge of Hudson
Yards Energy Supply Team.
472
00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:48,139
He needs to find a way to protect the
new development from power cuts.
473
00:34:49,620 --> 00:34:55,500
The customers that will call Hudson
Yards home can absolutely not afford to
474
00:34:55,500 --> 00:34:56,639
power at any moment.
475
00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:02,980
The things that we maintain to keep
safety and security in a large city are
476
00:35:02,980 --> 00:35:04,520
under threat when we lose power.
477
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:09,420
So, in the face of hurricanes or other
disasters, how do you keep the power
478
00:35:09,420 --> 00:35:10,420
supply running?
479
00:35:10,660 --> 00:35:15,420
The team needs to turn to the past to
prevent history from repeating itself.
480
00:35:21,470 --> 00:35:22,470
Physicist Dr.
481
00:35:22,730 --> 00:35:27,930
Andrew Steele is at the Anson Engine
Museum in the north of England in search
482
00:35:27,930 --> 00:35:31,250
a historic innovation that would blow
steam power away.
483
00:35:33,870 --> 00:35:39,290
It was Nicholas Otto, a German salesman
with a passion for engineering, who came
484
00:35:39,290 --> 00:35:42,470
up with an invention that transformed
the 19th century.
485
00:35:47,279 --> 00:35:51,440
This is what Otto came up with. It's
called an atmospheric gas engine, and
486
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:54,760
got a number of advantages over the
steam engines that existed at the time.
487
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,860
Firstly, you don't need a huge supply of
water to run this thing.
488
00:35:58,140 --> 00:36:00,780
Secondly, you don't need a team of
people. You can do it with just one
489
00:36:01,340 --> 00:36:04,240
And thirdly, you can have a load of
these small engines scattered around the
490
00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:08,260
factory to operate individual machines,
rather than having one massive steam
491
00:36:08,260 --> 00:36:10,500
engine to drive all the equipment in the
whole place.
492
00:36:13,300 --> 00:36:16,920
More powerful for its size than its
steam engine counterpart.
493
00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,380
Sorry, that's a bit of physical labor.
494
00:36:20,860 --> 00:36:22,600
It's not like starting your car.
495
00:36:23,500 --> 00:36:26,560
This new breed was fueled by natural
gas.
496
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:28,740
Oh wow, there we go.
497
00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:37,840
The way this atmospheric gas engine
works is it's got a massive piston
498
00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:38,840
this cylinder.
499
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:42,880
So then when that piston starts moving
upwards, it draws in a mixture of gas
500
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,380
air. And when it gets to a certain
point, somewhere around here, that pilot
501
00:36:46,380 --> 00:36:49,020
light, a little bit of that flame gets
pulled into the cylinder.
502
00:36:49,540 --> 00:36:53,360
It causes an explosion, and that throws
the piston up through the cylinder.
503
00:36:56,020 --> 00:37:00,620
Essentially a miniature power station,
Otto's single -acting cylinder was
504
00:37:00,620 --> 00:37:01,620
successful.
505
00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:07,940
But it was his newly improved gas
-powered model that could provide the
506
00:37:07,940 --> 00:37:10,080
for the engineers of Hudson Yards.
507
00:37:27,730 --> 00:37:32,510
19th century German engineer Nicholas
Otto had a stroke of genius while
508
00:37:32,510 --> 00:37:34,590
on the early atmospheric gas engine.
509
00:37:35,510 --> 00:37:39,710
This is the next iteration of Otto's
design, and it's truly revolutionary.
510
00:37:40,050 --> 00:37:42,770
It uses something called the four
-stroke cycle.
511
00:37:43,310 --> 00:37:47,670
Unlike his previous engine, this makes
four strokes of the piston for each
512
00:37:47,670 --> 00:37:48,670
ignition.
513
00:37:50,430 --> 00:37:54,930
First, the piston moves downwards,
sucking air and gas into the chamber.
514
00:37:55,610 --> 00:37:59,610
Secondly, as the piston rises, the air
and gas are compressed.
515
00:38:00,270 --> 00:38:03,290
Thirdly, it's ignited and the piston
forced down.
516
00:38:04,510 --> 00:38:08,150
And on the fourth stroke, the exhaust
gases are pushed out.
517
00:38:09,970 --> 00:38:14,310
The result is an incredibly efficient,
reliable and quiet engine.
518
00:38:17,350 --> 00:38:21,530
The principle behind this engine, the
four -stroke cycle, is also known as the
519
00:38:21,530 --> 00:38:23,770
Otto cycle after the man who invented
it.
520
00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:29,240
Engines like this were quickly deployed
in factories, but they also rapidly
521
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:32,980
found much more widespread use,
particularly in the emerging automobile
522
00:38:32,980 --> 00:38:33,980
industry.
523
00:38:43,580 --> 00:38:47,400
Nicholas Auto's innovation found its
fame in light industry.
524
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:52,500
Engineers at Hudson Yards are using his
game -changing design to provide an
525
00:38:52,500 --> 00:38:54,260
immense power backup system.
526
00:38:58,670 --> 00:39:04,710
In 2015, four of the biggest four
-stroke gas engines in the world arrived
527
00:39:04,710 --> 00:39:05,710
site in Manhattan.
528
00:39:07,070 --> 00:39:11,670
44 -ton, 20 -cylinder, 4 ,600
-horsepower beams.
529
00:39:17,480 --> 00:39:21,940
What we're looking at here is very
comparable to what you'd find in the
530
00:39:21,940 --> 00:39:23,540
end of any souped -up hot rod.
531
00:39:23,780 --> 00:39:28,500
It's an internal combustion engine that
operates on a four -stroke cycle. It
532
00:39:28,500 --> 00:39:31,620
just happens to be about 30 feet long
and 10 feet tall.
533
00:39:31,820 --> 00:39:35,900
This is really the beating heart of the
energy infrastructure here at Hudson
534
00:39:35,900 --> 00:39:41,080
Yards. If New York's electricity fails
and the city is plunged into darkness...
535
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,900
The natural gas supply will kick in, and
these monumental machines will take
536
00:39:45,900 --> 00:39:48,820
over the job of running the Hudson Yards
power plant.
537
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:55,440
This plant protects Hudson Yards from
power outages because it has the ability
538
00:39:55,440 --> 00:39:57,900
to operate in microgrid mode.
539
00:39:58,180 --> 00:40:02,660
What that means very simply is if there
were an issue out on the utility grid,
540
00:40:02,900 --> 00:40:07,500
we could simply disconnect from the
grid, then start restoring power that we
541
00:40:07,500 --> 00:40:08,840
source from our plant here.
542
00:40:13,130 --> 00:40:18,530
When called upon, these monster engines
will produce over 13 megawatts of power.
543
00:40:19,810 --> 00:40:23,890
It is exciting to hear one of these
engines fire up.
544
00:40:31,590 --> 00:40:37,570
It is the same sort of teenage boy
excitement that you would find, you
545
00:40:37,730 --> 00:40:39,270
turning over any engine.
546
00:40:43,100 --> 00:40:45,880
several fold because of the size of
these engines.
547
00:40:48,600 --> 00:40:50,280
This engine has a heartbeat.
548
00:40:50,580 --> 00:40:56,840
This engine breathes. This engine
creates energy, and you get a very
549
00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:58,460
sense of that when the plant is running.
550
00:41:11,820 --> 00:41:16,660
The Hudson Yards project represents
impossible engineering on a staggering
551
00:41:16,660 --> 00:41:17,660
scale.
552
00:41:18,140 --> 00:41:22,800
A brand new 28 -acre neighborhood built
over a working rail yard.
553
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:27,800
Everybody knows the Manhattan skyline of
New York, so when you change it, that's
554
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:30,740
actually in some ways the most exciting
thing. All of a sudden there's this
555
00:41:30,740 --> 00:41:32,760
monumental cathedral in the middle.
556
00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:43,740
Every stage of this trailblazing
enterprise poses extraordinary
557
00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:49,500
The engineering on this site is such an
example of incredible teamwork and
558
00:41:49,500 --> 00:41:53,800
incredible vision from so many people to
be able to bring this to fruition.
559
00:41:55,600 --> 00:42:02,560
Inspired by the work of the pioneers of
the past, supersizing and breaking
560
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:03,560
the mold themselves.
561
00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:11,540
The engineers are succeeding in making
the impossible possible.
562
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:16,160
Coming on to the construction site, you
get to appreciate it every day.
563
00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:19,520
But still, every single day, it's a wow
moment.
564
00:42:20,240 --> 00:42:21,660
I love this project.
565
00:42:21,710 --> 00:42:26,260
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