1 00:00:01,101 --> 00:00:03,412 [Narrator] How do you create a brand-new park 2 00:00:03,436 --> 00:00:06,315 without any land to build it on? 3 00:00:06,339 --> 00:00:07,616 When you first look at it, you're like, 4 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:09,285 this looks pretty scary. 5 00:00:09,309 --> 00:00:11,187 [Narrator] What happens when mountains inspire a cutting-edge 6 00:00:11,211 --> 00:00:14,123 design for an extraordinary art gallery? 7 00:00:14,147 --> 00:00:17,226 When I first saw the watercolor my first thought is, 8 00:00:17,250 --> 00:00:20,262 that's not a building. That's just a sketch. 9 00:00:20,286 --> 00:00:22,898 [Narrator] And how do you turn an artist's sculpture 10 00:00:22,922 --> 00:00:26,235 into a working office building? 11 00:00:26,259 --> 00:00:29,438 It's like it could topple over at any time. 12 00:00:29,462 --> 00:00:31,631 [Narrator] And keep it standing? 13 00:00:35,402 --> 00:00:38,638 This is the age of the extraordinary. 14 00:00:41,875 --> 00:00:44,720 [Hayley] It's like one of those insect eating plants, 15 00:00:44,744 --> 00:00:47,623 only enormous and white. 16 00:00:47,647 --> 00:00:50,393 [Narrator] Where ingenious engineers have unleashed 17 00:00:50,417 --> 00:00:52,685 unchecked creativity. 18 00:00:53,586 --> 00:00:55,655 Now their secrets are revealed. 19 00:00:57,824 --> 00:01:01,670 As we discover the amazing stories of their construction. 20 00:01:01,694 --> 00:01:06,599 This is an incredible feat of planning and engineering. 21 00:01:08,168 --> 00:01:10,804 [Narrator] To try and understand, 22 00:01:11,104 --> 00:01:13,373 "How Did They Build That?" 23 00:01:15,842 --> 00:01:19,889 Hey, yeah. I'd like to place an insane architecture order. 24 00:01:19,913 --> 00:01:23,392 All right, can I get a 100,000 square foot public park 25 00:01:23,416 --> 00:01:25,528 with landscaped hills and I don't know, 26 00:01:25,552 --> 00:01:30,332 maybe 350 species of trees, shrubs and flowers? 27 00:01:30,356 --> 00:01:33,169 Oh, oh, and can you make the whole thing, like, 28 00:01:33,193 --> 00:01:34,804 float above a river? 29 00:01:34,828 --> 00:01:36,939 Yeah, cool. Thanks. 30 00:01:36,963 --> 00:01:40,142 Now I'm not sure the genius who dreamed up this idea 31 00:01:40,166 --> 00:01:41,677 was thinking too much about the builders 32 00:01:41,701 --> 00:01:43,846 who'd actually have to make their dream reality, 33 00:01:43,870 --> 00:01:46,372 but boy, did they deliver! 34 00:01:49,809 --> 00:01:52,254 [Narrator] Parks and green spaces are always at a premium 35 00:01:52,278 --> 00:01:54,223 in the world's cities. 36 00:01:54,247 --> 00:01:58,318 And that's especially true on Manhattan Island. 37 00:02:00,687 --> 00:02:04,967 With 1.6 million people packed into 22 square miles, 38 00:02:04,991 --> 00:02:07,494 more was desperately desired. 39 00:02:09,896 --> 00:02:11,574 [Corina] Uptown has Central Park. 40 00:02:11,598 --> 00:02:13,576 Midtown Manhattan, it's a little short 41 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,135 on green space. Where would you squeeze it in? 42 00:02:17,604 --> 00:02:20,516 [Narrator] That's exactly the challenge that the city faced. 43 00:02:20,540 --> 00:02:23,576 So it decided the answer was to create something... 44 00:02:25,912 --> 00:02:27,881 out of nothing. 45 00:02:29,048 --> 00:02:31,660 The pier doesn't really look like prime real estate. 46 00:02:31,684 --> 00:02:34,396 It's basically just a patch of freezing cold water 47 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:36,131 with some rotten wooden posts 48 00:02:36,155 --> 00:02:38,491 where the pier once was. 49 00:02:39,592 --> 00:02:42,905 [Narrator] The plan was extraordinary. 50 00:02:42,929 --> 00:02:46,709 To take the site of two derelict piers on the Hudson River 51 00:02:46,733 --> 00:02:49,536 and create a fantasy island to float above them, 52 00:02:50,970 --> 00:02:56,886 growing out of 132 giant plant pots held up on 280 stilts 53 00:02:56,910 --> 00:02:59,379 driven into the river bed below. 54 00:03:01,648 --> 00:03:05,552 It would be like nothing engineers had ever seen. 55 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:08,364 You look at it and you're like, is that going to work? 56 00:03:08,388 --> 00:03:11,500 [Narrator] And would push the team to its very limits 57 00:03:11,524 --> 00:03:15,862 We were sort of clawing our way up these slopes. 58 00:03:17,797 --> 00:03:19,842 [Narrator] This is Little Island, 59 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:24,413 a huge idea that took 17 specialized teams of engineers, 60 00:03:24,437 --> 00:03:28,541 fabricators and gardeners 10 years to complete. 61 00:03:30,076 --> 00:03:32,512 So how did they build it? 62 00:03:34,347 --> 00:03:36,792 Manhattan's concrete jungle, 63 00:03:36,816 --> 00:03:42,131 deep urban canyons created by ever more dense development. 64 00:03:42,155 --> 00:03:45,234 In a city where one block of real estate can be worth up 65 00:03:45,258 --> 00:03:47,927 to a billion dollars. 66 00:03:48,428 --> 00:03:51,774 Opportunities for new green space are not only rare, 67 00:03:51,798 --> 00:03:54,901 they come with high expectations. 68 00:03:56,469 --> 00:03:58,213 If you want to create an outstanding attraction 69 00:03:58,237 --> 00:03:59,682 in Manhattan these days, 70 00:03:59,706 --> 00:04:02,809 it's going to have to be pretty special. 71 00:04:03,743 --> 00:04:06,288 [Narrator] Up until now that has usually meant converting 72 00:04:06,312 --> 00:04:09,325 something that's no longer used... 73 00:04:09,349 --> 00:04:12,194 like this stretch of railroad viaduct. 74 00:04:12,218 --> 00:04:15,497 Built on a mile and a half of old tracks and bridges, 75 00:04:15,521 --> 00:04:18,591 the High Line linear park has been a huge hit. 76 00:04:20,026 --> 00:04:22,171 Eight million visitors wander High Line's 77 00:04:22,195 --> 00:04:25,307 elevated walkways each year. 78 00:04:25,331 --> 00:04:27,142 While on the nearby Hudson River, 79 00:04:27,166 --> 00:04:31,347 some of Manhattan's oldest piers are getting similar treatment, 80 00:04:31,371 --> 00:04:35,274 having been abandoned after a glorious past. 81 00:04:36,743 --> 00:04:38,854 During the first half of the 20th century, 82 00:04:38,878 --> 00:04:41,056 the western stretch of Manhattan shoreline 83 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,952 was the gateway to the international superhighway. 84 00:04:46,352 --> 00:04:49,331 Huge ocean liners steamed in from abroad 85 00:04:49,355 --> 00:04:51,658 or prepared for great voyages. 86 00:04:53,159 --> 00:04:57,906 Their excited passengers would come and go from huge jetties. 87 00:04:57,930 --> 00:05:01,200 Among them was Pier 54. 88 00:05:01,601 --> 00:05:03,579 Before the jet age, this pier and its neighbors 89 00:05:03,603 --> 00:05:06,873 bustled with activity. 90 00:05:07,774 --> 00:05:12,321 But by 2000, Pier 54 and many others have become disused 91 00:05:12,345 --> 00:05:14,947 or damaged beyond repair. 92 00:05:16,983 --> 00:05:19,862 A few years later, the Hudson River Park Trust 93 00:05:19,886 --> 00:05:24,223 starts turning some of them into simple public spaces. 94 00:05:24,691 --> 00:05:28,570 Putting grass and trees on an existing pier makes sense. 95 00:05:28,594 --> 00:05:30,773 It's budget friendly. 96 00:05:30,797 --> 00:05:33,175 [Narrator] But if the pier barely exists, 97 00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:35,768 where do you start? 98 00:05:36,636 --> 00:05:40,683 In 2010, the trust decides the site of Pier 54, 99 00:05:40,707 --> 00:05:44,186 and its neighboring piers are next on the list. 100 00:05:44,210 --> 00:05:47,780 And bring in British architects, Heatherwick Studios. 101 00:05:49,615 --> 00:05:54,430 Among their recent projects are 1,000 trees in Shanghai, 102 00:05:54,454 --> 00:05:57,066 a shopping center styled as a mountain covered 103 00:05:57,090 --> 00:06:00,869 with 250,000 plants. 104 00:06:00,893 --> 00:06:02,037 And The Hive, 105 00:06:02,061 --> 00:06:04,606 a hyper-efficient, educational building 106 00:06:04,630 --> 00:06:08,410 for the University of Singapore. 107 00:06:08,434 --> 00:06:11,104 In 2012, they first visit the site. 108 00:06:11,804 --> 00:06:13,248 [Matt] Looking at all these piers, 109 00:06:13,272 --> 00:06:15,050 the ones that had fallen into disrepair 110 00:06:15,074 --> 00:06:17,820 created these pile fields sticking up out of the water, 111 00:06:17,844 --> 00:06:19,588 which were very serene and beautiful. 112 00:06:19,612 --> 00:06:20,989 And that's what inspired us. 113 00:06:21,013 --> 00:06:23,258 Why are we trying to invent something different 114 00:06:23,282 --> 00:06:24,593 that goes on there? 115 00:06:24,617 --> 00:06:26,662 Take what's already there and beautiful, the piles 116 00:06:26,686 --> 00:06:30,099 and extend them to create the platforms to hold the landscape. 117 00:06:30,123 --> 00:06:32,601 It was a really exciting moment because they thought, brilliant. 118 00:06:32,625 --> 00:06:34,470 We don't have to just create a pavilion on top 119 00:06:34,494 --> 00:06:35,637 of a normal pier. 120 00:06:35,661 --> 00:06:37,940 We can create a new type of pier. 121 00:06:37,964 --> 00:06:39,408 [Narrator] Over the next few weeks, 122 00:06:39,432 --> 00:06:41,710 the new design idea is refined. 123 00:06:41,734 --> 00:06:44,780 Then in October 2012, the Heatherwick team 124 00:06:44,804 --> 00:06:47,616 flies into New York to meet its clients. 125 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,753 Just as the city is hit by Hurricane Sandy. 126 00:06:50,777 --> 00:06:53,088 [Matt] One of our final concept presentations was 127 00:06:53,112 --> 00:06:54,423 when Hurricane Sandy hit. 128 00:06:54,447 --> 00:06:56,558 So the team were actually in Manhattan during that moment, 129 00:06:56,582 --> 00:06:58,961 which kind of made it all incredibly real. 130 00:06:58,985 --> 00:07:01,930 [Narrator] The largest Atlantic storm ever to hit New York, 131 00:07:01,954 --> 00:07:04,666 Sandy arrives at high tide causing the subway 132 00:07:04,690 --> 00:07:07,026 and road tunnels to flood. 133 00:07:08,795 --> 00:07:10,973 It shows Matt and the team what the new park 134 00:07:10,997 --> 00:07:14,000 will have to be able to deal with. 135 00:07:16,335 --> 00:07:20,807 So how do we design something to last for the next 100 years? 136 00:07:21,908 --> 00:07:23,652 [Narrator] Their solution is a design 137 00:07:23,676 --> 00:07:27,747 that redefines how a park looks, is used, and is built. 138 00:07:29,182 --> 00:07:32,060 280 pillars will rise up out of the Hudson 139 00:07:32,084 --> 00:07:36,088 to support the futuristic new park. 140 00:07:37,356 --> 00:07:41,537 132 of them topped with a series of unique and highly engineered 141 00:07:41,561 --> 00:07:43,996 interlinking pots. 142 00:07:44,897 --> 00:07:47,142 By altering the height and shape of each one, 143 00:07:47,166 --> 00:07:50,770 they will create a landscape that rises and falls. 144 00:07:52,004 --> 00:07:56,718 114 large trees and over 200,000 other plants 145 00:07:56,742 --> 00:07:59,145 will be planted in the pots. 146 00:08:00,146 --> 00:08:03,725 Weaving amongst them will be a third of a mile of walkways 147 00:08:03,749 --> 00:08:07,820 and a 687-seat amphitheater for live performance. 148 00:08:09,188 --> 00:08:13,192 It will be unlike any waterside park on the planet. 149 00:08:16,062 --> 00:08:18,774 This is a classic Heatherwick Studios design. 150 00:08:18,798 --> 00:08:23,035 It's original, it's elegant, and it's not obviously buildable. 151 00:08:25,638 --> 00:08:27,416 [Narrator] But it was Celine Armstrong's job 152 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:29,985 to do just that. 153 00:08:30,009 --> 00:08:32,287 [Celine] I looked at the design and said, uh-uh. 154 00:08:32,311 --> 00:08:35,891 Go one more pass at simplifying it and then let's do this. 155 00:08:35,915 --> 00:08:38,393 But people had already fallen in love with it, and it was, 156 00:08:38,417 --> 00:08:40,019 let's figure it out. 157 00:08:43,856 --> 00:08:47,093 [Narrator] In 2014, the project is green lit. 158 00:08:48,427 --> 00:08:51,039 The first challenge for the engineers is figuring out how 159 00:08:51,063 --> 00:08:54,810 to make the 2.5 acres of man-made park, 160 00:08:54,834 --> 00:08:57,446 weighing tens of thousand of tons, 161 00:08:57,470 --> 00:08:59,872 float above the Hudson River. 162 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:03,185 [Nehemiah] If you don't want your building to collapse, 163 00:09:03,209 --> 00:09:06,955 you need to make sure the foundations are solid. 164 00:09:06,979 --> 00:09:09,992 And the best way to do that is to anchor the building 165 00:09:10,016 --> 00:09:12,194 to bedrock. 166 00:09:12,218 --> 00:09:15,254 [Narrator] That though, is going to be far from easy. 167 00:09:16,522 --> 00:09:18,767 [Celine] So building in federal waters, 168 00:09:18,791 --> 00:09:23,338 the United States in an old shipping area is a nightmare. 169 00:09:23,362 --> 00:09:26,408 You don't know what's beneath the sub-surface layer. 170 00:09:26,432 --> 00:09:27,509 When people didn't want something, 171 00:09:27,533 --> 00:09:29,435 they just threw it over the edge. 172 00:09:30,503 --> 00:09:32,881 [Narrator] Once the engineers have surveyed the riverbed 173 00:09:32,905 --> 00:09:34,883 and cleared obstructions, 174 00:09:34,907 --> 00:09:37,452 the enormous job of creating a solid base 175 00:09:37,476 --> 00:09:39,545 for the new park begins. 176 00:09:40,546 --> 00:09:45,861 First, a marine crane brings a concrete pile into position. 177 00:09:45,885 --> 00:09:49,731 Each is three feet in diameter, up to 200 feet long, 178 00:09:49,755 --> 00:09:52,158 and tipped with a steel spike. 179 00:09:55,094 --> 00:09:58,540 The piledriver then hammers it down into the riverbed 180 00:09:58,564 --> 00:10:00,700 until it pierces the bedrock below. 181 00:10:04,937 --> 00:10:09,384 The success of the complex build to come depends on the accuracy 182 00:10:09,408 --> 00:10:12,311 of this pile-driving process. 183 00:10:13,412 --> 00:10:14,856 When you're driving piles next to each other with pots 184 00:10:14,880 --> 00:10:17,392 that sit on them, if they deflect, 185 00:10:17,416 --> 00:10:19,594 they're gonna be too far apart or they're going to be too close 186 00:10:19,618 --> 00:10:21,096 to each other. 187 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:23,332 And so making sure those piles are driven as vertically 188 00:10:23,356 --> 00:10:25,667 as possible is really important. 189 00:10:25,691 --> 00:10:27,336 [Celine] We had the best equipment where you drive 190 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:31,239 the pile using GPS, double-leader system. 191 00:10:31,263 --> 00:10:32,674 We know it's spot on. 192 00:10:32,698 --> 00:10:34,776 The engineer operating that equipment is like, 193 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,703 these are fantastic. Move on. Do more. 194 00:10:38,904 --> 00:10:41,783 [Narrator] Then as the forest of columns is growing, 195 00:10:41,807 --> 00:10:43,943 they discover a major problem. 196 00:10:45,244 --> 00:10:46,755 There are a lot of checks and balances throughout the entire 197 00:10:46,779 --> 00:10:48,657 process of this project. 198 00:10:48,681 --> 00:10:50,892 And one of them was double surveying, 199 00:10:50,916 --> 00:10:53,662 and we found, wait a minute, this survey doesn't match 200 00:10:53,686 --> 00:10:56,756 your survey. What is going on? 201 00:10:59,658 --> 00:11:00,869 [Narrator] Next. 202 00:11:00,893 --> 00:11:03,796 What's causing the columns to move? 203 00:11:05,534 --> 00:11:07,446 [Narrator] On the construction site of a new park 204 00:11:07,470 --> 00:11:10,649 floating over New York's Hudson River, 205 00:11:10,673 --> 00:11:14,953 engineers discover the concrete island's huge supporting pillars 206 00:11:14,977 --> 00:11:18,781 have moved from where they were originally installed. 207 00:11:19,315 --> 00:11:21,059 [Hayley] With a project this exact and expensive, 208 00:11:21,083 --> 00:11:23,228 you can't afford surprises. 209 00:11:23,252 --> 00:11:25,831 But the columns were deviating from the plan 210 00:11:25,855 --> 00:11:27,733 and no one knew why. 211 00:11:27,757 --> 00:11:30,168 [David] We eventually realized that it's like sticking 212 00:11:30,192 --> 00:11:32,537 sticks in in a bowl of Jell-O. 213 00:11:32,561 --> 00:11:34,973 And as you stick more sticks in that bowl of Jell-O, 214 00:11:34,997 --> 00:11:36,675 it pushes the Jell-O. 215 00:11:36,699 --> 00:11:39,177 And the Jell-O is pushing the piles that were already 216 00:11:39,201 --> 00:11:41,847 installed, you know, further east. 217 00:11:41,871 --> 00:11:45,117 [Celine] Luckily, we built the project east to west, 218 00:11:45,141 --> 00:11:46,752 and so they all kind of just danced. 219 00:11:46,776 --> 00:11:49,621 So our project was maybe just six inches further east 220 00:11:49,645 --> 00:11:54,216 than anticipated. And it worked out. 221 00:11:55,284 --> 00:11:57,396 [Narrator] With piledriving underway, 222 00:11:57,420 --> 00:12:00,232 the next step is to create the tulip-shaped pots 223 00:12:00,256 --> 00:12:03,802 that will sit on top of the pillars. 224 00:12:03,826 --> 00:12:09,131 They need to make 132 of them and no two are the same. 225 00:12:11,801 --> 00:12:13,979 [Matt] Because of the complexity and the need for kind 226 00:12:14,003 --> 00:12:17,282 of accuracy that meant that we could actually create a geometry 227 00:12:17,306 --> 00:12:19,818 in the computer and test it, make sure it worked. 228 00:12:19,842 --> 00:12:22,888 Then we could actually give it to a CNC machine at Fort Miller, 229 00:12:22,912 --> 00:12:24,523 which was the fabricators, 230 00:12:24,547 --> 00:12:28,126 and it would literally cut out exactly what's in the computer. 231 00:12:28,150 --> 00:12:30,686 And then you then cast the concrete against it. 232 00:12:31,821 --> 00:12:34,332 [David] Each of these pots are made up of six different pieces, 233 00:12:34,356 --> 00:12:37,660 and they were all prefabricated up at upstate New York. 234 00:12:38,861 --> 00:12:41,673 Six different pieces are then brought together in Albany, 235 00:12:41,697 --> 00:12:44,576 where they go from being kind of petals and column heads, 236 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,635 and they get assembled into a whole pot. 237 00:12:49,605 --> 00:12:51,883 [Narrator] The next challenge to overcome is getting 238 00:12:51,907 --> 00:12:56,712 the huge pots 130 miles from the factory to the pier site. 239 00:12:57,980 --> 00:13:01,193 By road they'd need to be moved one at a time, 240 00:13:01,217 --> 00:13:03,819 causing chaos in the city. 241 00:13:04,753 --> 00:13:08,357 So the team turns to an age, old mode of transportation 242 00:13:09,758 --> 00:13:11,903 [Matt] We were interested in using the river 243 00:13:11,927 --> 00:13:14,306 to deliver materials to the site 244 00:13:14,330 --> 00:13:16,241 because from a sustainability perspective, 245 00:13:16,265 --> 00:13:18,767 it stops trucks going to the middle of Manhattan. 246 00:13:19,635 --> 00:13:21,480 [Narrator] The Hudson River takes the load, 247 00:13:21,504 --> 00:13:24,282 just as it once did for the building of the original piers 248 00:13:24,306 --> 00:13:26,509 during the 19th century. 249 00:13:27,610 --> 00:13:31,289 Each barge effortlessly transporting up to four pots 250 00:13:31,313 --> 00:13:35,494 or 280 tons of concrete to the site. 251 00:13:35,518 --> 00:13:39,865 In fact the barges prove crucial for the whole construction. 252 00:13:39,889 --> 00:13:41,766 [David] They bring materials in via barge. 253 00:13:41,790 --> 00:13:44,936 They work from the barge. They have a crane on the barge. 254 00:13:44,960 --> 00:13:48,406 You know, so it really is full marine construction. 255 00:13:48,430 --> 00:13:51,276 [Narrator] Even as the pots are craned into position, 256 00:13:51,300 --> 00:13:54,012 the job of driving the pillars into the bedrock 257 00:13:54,036 --> 00:13:57,582 continues to throw up problems. 258 00:13:57,606 --> 00:13:59,050 [Celine] Okay. There is a boulder here. 259 00:13:59,074 --> 00:14:01,920 We're just going to move the pile over, which also means 260 00:14:01,944 --> 00:14:03,522 we need to redesign this pot. 261 00:14:03,546 --> 00:14:05,524 So if your engineers could expedite that, 262 00:14:05,548 --> 00:14:08,260 so by the time we're actually piledriving 263 00:14:08,284 --> 00:14:12,454 and ready to install that pot, it's ready. 264 00:14:13,122 --> 00:14:17,502 [Narrator] With the 132 pots in place on the pillars, 265 00:14:17,526 --> 00:14:21,506 the team focuses on turning the concrete island 266 00:14:21,530 --> 00:14:24,843 into a mature riverside oasis. 267 00:14:24,867 --> 00:14:27,312 [Matt] This thing is a park for New Yorkers. 268 00:14:27,336 --> 00:14:28,747 That's what it's for. 269 00:14:28,771 --> 00:14:31,616 In order to that, we wanted to put trees. 270 00:14:31,640 --> 00:14:35,644 Not just like little trees, proper trees, proper landscape. 271 00:14:36,478 --> 00:14:37,956 [Narrator] To oversee the design, 272 00:14:37,980 --> 00:14:41,960 they bring in landscape architect, Signe Nielson 273 00:14:41,984 --> 00:14:46,331 who has no idea what she's letting herself into. 274 00:14:46,355 --> 00:14:48,633 I was a bit naive, I would say. 275 00:14:48,657 --> 00:14:52,270 And so I wasn't aware of all the challenges that arose, 276 00:14:52,294 --> 00:14:54,873 but I was quickly aware that the topography, 277 00:14:54,897 --> 00:14:57,809 the slopes that we had to accommodate in order 278 00:14:57,833 --> 00:15:00,603 to create this undulation were going to be challenging. 279 00:15:02,204 --> 00:15:04,716 [Narrator] By using 3D-computer modeling, 280 00:15:04,740 --> 00:15:08,153 Signe could design a plan that would be nearly impossible 281 00:15:08,177 --> 00:15:11,089 to fully visualize in her head. 282 00:15:11,113 --> 00:15:13,959 One of the things that I would have my staff do is 283 00:15:13,983 --> 00:15:18,630 literally walk me up every path and every curve, 284 00:15:18,654 --> 00:15:21,633 so I could see what the slope was next to me, 285 00:15:21,657 --> 00:15:23,969 the slope going down away from me, 286 00:15:23,993 --> 00:15:26,371 where I wanted views directed. 287 00:15:26,395 --> 00:15:29,774 It was a brilliant way to work. 288 00:15:29,798 --> 00:15:32,644 [Hayley] While a 3D model is great for the designers 289 00:15:32,668 --> 00:15:35,847 to visualize where they're going to put trees and plants, 290 00:15:35,871 --> 00:15:38,783 crucially, it means the engineers could calculate 291 00:15:38,807 --> 00:15:43,254 all of the loads to ensure that the columns could take it. 292 00:15:43,278 --> 00:15:47,792 [Narrator] One cubic yard of dry soil weighs around 2,000 pounds, 293 00:15:47,816 --> 00:15:51,096 3,000 when wet. 294 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:56,167 Add in several tons of trees and plants and it adds up fast. 295 00:15:56,191 --> 00:15:58,069 [David] In our load calculations, 296 00:15:58,093 --> 00:16:02,674 we figured that we could get about 300 and 350 tons per pile. 297 00:16:02,698 --> 00:16:05,777 And we knew about how much each of these pots was gonna weigh, 298 00:16:05,801 --> 00:16:08,680 and how much soil was necessary to carry the plants 299 00:16:08,704 --> 00:16:11,040 and the trees that were needed. 300 00:16:13,509 --> 00:16:15,320 [Narrator] With the engineers happy that the structure 301 00:16:15,344 --> 00:16:17,589 will support the landscaping, 302 00:16:17,613 --> 00:16:20,425 the race is on to get everything planted 303 00:16:20,449 --> 00:16:25,497 before New York's bitter winter arrives. 304 00:16:25,521 --> 00:16:27,899 [Singe] The 15th of December is generally our 305 00:16:27,923 --> 00:16:32,137 climatological cutoff. And could we make it? 306 00:16:32,161 --> 00:16:34,339 [Celine] A lot of the materials on the top side of our park 307 00:16:34,363 --> 00:16:35,974 are temperature sensitive. 308 00:16:35,998 --> 00:16:38,877 It got a bit tense over who was more important 309 00:16:38,901 --> 00:16:41,279 given the clouds that we see rolling in. 310 00:16:41,303 --> 00:16:43,548 We really need these guys to get done, 311 00:16:43,572 --> 00:16:46,475 so clear out, so they can finish their work. 312 00:16:47,076 --> 00:16:49,287 [Narrator] Another massive crane is brought in 313 00:16:49,311 --> 00:16:54,149 to plant the huge trees in their individually-engineered pots. 314 00:16:54,783 --> 00:16:58,730 [Signe] We modelled the root balls exactly to their size. 315 00:16:58,754 --> 00:17:01,232 But the most challenging area of the park 316 00:17:01,256 --> 00:17:03,702 was what we call the southwest. 317 00:17:03,726 --> 00:17:06,938 It was the last area that we had access to. 318 00:17:06,962 --> 00:17:09,507 Winter was breathing down our neck 319 00:17:09,531 --> 00:17:11,776 and we had to get the plants in quickly. 320 00:17:11,800 --> 00:17:14,603 And it is the steepest slopes. 321 00:17:15,504 --> 00:17:17,882 [Narrator] Along with 35 species of tree, 322 00:17:17,906 --> 00:17:22,620 the design involves planting 260 different varieties of plants, 323 00:17:22,644 --> 00:17:25,414 and 66,000 bulbs. 324 00:17:27,216 --> 00:17:30,361 [Signe] When it came to planting the perennials and the grasses, 325 00:17:30,385 --> 00:17:32,697 this was done by hand. 326 00:17:32,721 --> 00:17:36,125 We were sort of clawing our way up these slopes. 327 00:17:40,529 --> 00:17:42,140 [Narrator] In 2021, 328 00:17:42,164 --> 00:17:46,344 nine years after a new pier park was first discussed, 329 00:17:46,368 --> 00:17:49,772 Little Island is ready for its debut. 330 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,643 And it's a huge hit with visitors. 331 00:17:55,677 --> 00:17:57,856 The architecture is pretty nice. 332 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,191 I've never seen anything like it before. 333 00:18:00,215 --> 00:18:03,461 The structure is amazing. Just like little like, pea pods 334 00:18:03,485 --> 00:18:06,264 that it's built up on. It looks so cool. 335 00:18:06,288 --> 00:18:08,900 It's like you are in New York, but you're floating. 336 00:18:08,924 --> 00:18:11,827 Floating in the river or the sea. 337 00:18:12,995 --> 00:18:15,940 [Narrator] New York has a completely unique new park 338 00:18:15,964 --> 00:18:17,208 for its people 339 00:18:17,232 --> 00:18:21,346 created by incredible design and engineering. 340 00:18:21,370 --> 00:18:23,648 That's something you know, that I will forever be proud of. 341 00:18:23,672 --> 00:18:26,718 And I'm just so fortunate to have the trust of the team 342 00:18:26,742 --> 00:18:28,944 to do such crazy things. 343 00:18:30,979 --> 00:18:32,524 [Narrator] In a city renowned 344 00:18:32,548 --> 00:18:35,393 for its amazing architecture and engineering, 345 00:18:35,417 --> 00:18:38,730 Little Island is proof that New York still holds a torch 346 00:18:38,754 --> 00:18:41,056 for radical design. 347 00:18:42,224 --> 00:18:45,270 This latest addition to the center of the Hudson is truly 348 00:18:45,294 --> 00:18:49,832 raising the bar on what people can expect from a public space. 349 00:18:55,871 --> 00:19:00,318 Next. A wild rocky mountain of titanium rips up the rule book 350 00:19:00,342 --> 00:19:02,644 in downtown Denver. 351 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,244 Typically, when you visit a museum, 352 00:19:05,268 --> 00:19:07,647 you just want to get inside quick as you can to see all 353 00:19:07,671 --> 00:19:10,583 the amazing treasures they've got on show in there. 354 00:19:10,607 --> 00:19:13,419 But this next building, it ain't no typical museum. 355 00:19:13,443 --> 00:19:16,689 Its design is so radical and so mind-blowing, 356 00:19:16,713 --> 00:19:19,759 I'd gladly pay the price of admission to just stand outside 357 00:19:19,783 --> 00:19:21,518 and look at it. 358 00:19:25,255 --> 00:19:27,767 [Daniel] The museum directors told me, Mr. Libeskind, 359 00:19:27,791 --> 00:19:29,769 just don't give us a box. 360 00:19:29,793 --> 00:19:32,772 [Narrator] Instead they got a design that would stretch 361 00:19:32,796 --> 00:19:35,541 its engineers to their limit. 362 00:19:35,565 --> 00:19:37,643 [Justin] I couldn't believe that something could be designed 363 00:19:37,667 --> 00:19:39,011 in such a manner. 364 00:19:39,035 --> 00:19:42,281 It looked like a piece of origami. 365 00:19:42,305 --> 00:19:44,384 [Narrator] It's a building so unprecedented, 366 00:19:44,408 --> 00:19:48,187 it took pioneering new technology to build it. 367 00:19:48,211 --> 00:19:49,889 Absolutely mind-blowing. 368 00:19:49,913 --> 00:19:53,292 It's like a spaceship has landed in the middle of Denver. 369 00:19:53,316 --> 00:19:56,396 [Narrator] This is the Denver Museum of Art. 370 00:19:56,420 --> 00:20:00,767 146,000 square feet of galleries. 371 00:20:00,791 --> 00:20:04,370 At its core a structural skeleton as complex 372 00:20:04,394 --> 00:20:07,440 as it was tough to assemble. 373 00:20:07,464 --> 00:20:11,544 Not a right-angled corner or symmetrical wall in sight 374 00:20:11,568 --> 00:20:15,238 and all the time gravity trying to pull it apart. 375 00:20:15,939 --> 00:20:18,442 So how did they build it? 376 00:20:23,680 --> 00:20:25,391 It's the year 2000. 377 00:20:25,415 --> 00:20:27,860 And the city of Denver's art curators 378 00:20:27,884 --> 00:20:30,096 have got a growing problem. 379 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:32,198 [Andrea] We were really driving in crowds. 380 00:20:32,222 --> 00:20:33,766 We were over capacity. 381 00:20:33,790 --> 00:20:35,835 We were building collections like crazy. 382 00:20:35,859 --> 00:20:37,170 We were really growing. 383 00:20:37,194 --> 00:20:38,905 And we were out of space. 384 00:20:38,929 --> 00:20:42,766 So our board and our city decided that we should expand. 385 00:20:44,501 --> 00:20:47,380 [Narrator] The existing museum, in Denver's civic district 386 00:20:47,404 --> 00:20:52,452 sits among a classic urban grid of rectangles and cubes. 387 00:20:52,476 --> 00:20:55,888 It's here the city agrees to put a completely new building, 388 00:20:55,912 --> 00:21:00,126 and to design it, chooses one of the world's foremost architects, 389 00:21:00,150 --> 00:21:02,552 Daniel Liebeskind. 390 00:21:03,353 --> 00:21:05,865 To answer his anything, but a box brief, 391 00:21:05,889 --> 00:21:10,269 Liebeskind takes his inspiration from the natural skyscrapers 392 00:21:10,293 --> 00:21:12,071 beyond Denver, 393 00:21:12,095 --> 00:21:15,575 the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains. 394 00:21:15,599 --> 00:21:17,276 [Daniel] I think a museum has to be as interesting 395 00:21:17,300 --> 00:21:20,246 as walking on those valleys or slopes. 396 00:21:20,270 --> 00:21:22,281 As you look at Denver, you see the mountain peaks, 397 00:21:22,305 --> 00:21:24,984 you see the snow, you see the valley. 398 00:21:25,008 --> 00:21:27,353 My design was inspired to connect people as the way 399 00:21:27,377 --> 00:21:30,690 they're connected when they climb those mountains, 400 00:21:30,714 --> 00:21:34,660 to have that sense of space, to have the sense of light, 401 00:21:34,684 --> 00:21:36,820 that sense of wow. 402 00:21:39,389 --> 00:21:42,168 [Narrator] Libeskind takes a rather unusual approach 403 00:21:42,192 --> 00:21:45,662 to convince his clients of his idea. 404 00:21:46,530 --> 00:21:49,509 When I first saw the watercolor that he did of the sort of 405 00:21:49,533 --> 00:21:51,511 spiky building, my first thought is, 406 00:21:51,535 --> 00:21:53,913 that's not a building. That's just a sketch. 407 00:21:53,937 --> 00:21:55,805 That's a piece of art. 408 00:21:58,975 --> 00:22:01,087 [Narrator] Over the next two and a half years, 409 00:22:01,111 --> 00:22:05,015 the design is worked into a full-scale, detailed proposal. 410 00:22:06,116 --> 00:22:09,762 Inside Denver's new art museum will be a series of zigzagging 411 00:22:09,786 --> 00:22:13,099 gallery spaces all flowing through huge openings 412 00:22:13,123 --> 00:22:15,234 and stairways. 413 00:22:15,258 --> 00:22:18,871 This will be supported by a series of internal steel beams 414 00:22:18,895 --> 00:22:21,574 that are interconnected with one another to create 415 00:22:21,598 --> 00:22:25,811 an angular structure reminiscent of a ship's hull, 416 00:22:25,835 --> 00:22:28,915 And tipped with a huge 100-foot prow 417 00:22:28,939 --> 00:22:32,475 that stretches out over the neighboring 13th Street. 418 00:22:35,645 --> 00:22:39,492 The building will feature 20 vast inwardly sloping panes, 419 00:22:39,516 --> 00:22:43,963 all different and clad with 9,000 shimmering plates. 420 00:22:43,987 --> 00:22:46,632 This is architecture that will pioneer a new vision 421 00:22:46,656 --> 00:22:49,893 for a public art gallery. 422 00:22:51,628 --> 00:22:55,174 It will be like nothing the city has ever seen. 423 00:22:55,198 --> 00:22:58,878 [Corina] Architecturally, Denver has been pretty rectangular, 424 00:22:58,902 --> 00:23:01,847 but this building doesn't just break the mold, 425 00:23:01,871 --> 00:23:03,773 it melts it down. 426 00:23:04,975 --> 00:23:07,386 [Daniel] The Denver Art Museum is an unprecedented building. 427 00:23:07,410 --> 00:23:08,721 That's what it is. 428 00:23:08,745 --> 00:23:10,585 There's never been a building like this before. 429 00:23:11,548 --> 00:23:14,226 [Narrator] Unprecedented designs come 430 00:23:14,250 --> 00:23:16,462 with unprecedented challenges. 431 00:23:16,486 --> 00:23:21,167 And this, with its sheer angles and jutting overhangs, 432 00:23:21,191 --> 00:23:23,502 has the engineers already wondering 433 00:23:23,526 --> 00:23:25,838 how they're going to build it. 434 00:23:25,862 --> 00:23:28,608 [Carla] The biggest challenge for the project was 435 00:23:28,632 --> 00:23:31,577 the complexity of the geometry. There is no doubt. 436 00:23:31,601 --> 00:23:34,847 And it would have been next to impossible to build 437 00:23:34,871 --> 00:23:37,273 if we were drawing everything by hand, 438 00:23:37,941 --> 00:23:40,052 [Narrator] It's 2000, and lead structural engineer, 439 00:23:40,076 --> 00:23:43,489 Atila Zekioglu turns to technology that is still 440 00:23:43,513 --> 00:23:45,625 in its infancy to help, 441 00:23:45,649 --> 00:23:48,694 the latest 3D computer-aided design. 442 00:23:48,718 --> 00:23:51,964 [Atila] We decided that we were going to use a revolutionary 443 00:23:51,988 --> 00:23:54,767 step into using 3D, 444 00:23:54,791 --> 00:23:58,037 not only documenting the structural system in 3D, 445 00:23:58,061 --> 00:24:00,373 but actually conceiving it in 3D, analyzing it, 446 00:24:00,397 --> 00:24:01,931 designing it in 3D. 447 00:24:03,433 --> 00:24:05,211 [Narrator] This cutting-edge software can solve 448 00:24:05,235 --> 00:24:09,706 hugely complex geometric problems that humans cannot. 449 00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:14,120 The result is a series of computer-generated models 450 00:24:14,144 --> 00:24:17,423 that reveal the scale of the challenge the engineers face 451 00:24:17,447 --> 00:24:20,016 in building it. 452 00:24:20,750 --> 00:24:22,662 [Atila] It's like our moment in the candy store 453 00:24:22,686 --> 00:24:24,196 and we were just looking at this model, 454 00:24:24,220 --> 00:24:26,065 spinning it around, dissecting it. 455 00:24:26,089 --> 00:24:29,869 And it became very clear that the slanted walls 456 00:24:29,893 --> 00:24:31,728 were not symmetrical. 457 00:24:32,796 --> 00:24:34,573 [Narrator] The lack of symmetry means 458 00:24:34,597 --> 00:24:37,843 balancing the gravitational forces within the structure 459 00:24:37,867 --> 00:24:41,180 will be impossible using conventional building methods, 460 00:24:41,204 --> 00:24:43,649 such as concrete form work. 461 00:24:43,673 --> 00:24:45,718 So the engineers come up with a slimline, 462 00:24:45,742 --> 00:24:49,679 but very strong solution. 463 00:24:54,484 --> 00:24:56,395 Concrete will be used, 464 00:24:56,419 --> 00:25:00,423 but only to create a hugely strong base pad. 465 00:25:00,790 --> 00:25:02,735 In an idea borrowed from ship building, 466 00:25:02,759 --> 00:25:06,772 huge girders will be placed in the concrete floors, 467 00:25:06,796 --> 00:25:09,408 then linked to beams in the slanted walls 468 00:25:09,432 --> 00:25:12,135 to stop them from pushing out. 469 00:25:12,702 --> 00:25:15,981 It will take more than 2,700 tons of steel beams 470 00:25:16,005 --> 00:25:20,219 bolted together to create the precise and unique skeleton 471 00:25:20,243 --> 00:25:22,988 for the entire building. 472 00:25:23,012 --> 00:25:25,825 This will be very complex to build, 473 00:25:25,849 --> 00:25:30,019 but will solve all of their major problems at once. 474 00:25:31,688 --> 00:25:34,533 [J.R.] The steel framework, the beams and the girders 475 00:25:34,557 --> 00:25:37,903 make up one resisting system for the building. 476 00:25:37,927 --> 00:25:40,906 [Atila] This was something that had not been done to date 477 00:25:40,930 --> 00:25:44,968 and it is an elegant solution to achieve the mission. 478 00:25:46,269 --> 00:25:49,348 [Narrator] Or at least it looked like an elegant solution. 479 00:25:49,372 --> 00:25:53,252 But J.R. Barker who hails from a proud family of iron workers, 480 00:25:53,276 --> 00:25:55,321 could see there was a problem. 481 00:25:55,345 --> 00:25:57,389 [J.R.] They started to look at the construction documents 482 00:25:57,413 --> 00:25:58,858 and they got a little nervous. 483 00:25:58,882 --> 00:26:01,794 The problem we had was like building a house of cards. 484 00:26:01,818 --> 00:26:04,096 At any given moment, it wants to fall flat on you. 485 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:06,823 They said, we don't think we can build this. 486 00:26:08,792 --> 00:26:11,895 [Narrator] Next. Can the team pull it off? 487 00:26:14,034 --> 00:26:15,678 [Narrator] In Denver the construction team 488 00:26:15,702 --> 00:26:19,649 has a blueprint for an extraordinary new art museum, 489 00:26:19,673 --> 00:26:22,852 but no blueprint for how to build it. 490 00:26:22,876 --> 00:26:25,188 The engineers realize the computer model gives no 491 00:26:25,212 --> 00:26:27,790 information on which order to assemble 492 00:26:27,814 --> 00:26:31,594 the 3,100 pieces of steel. 493 00:26:31,618 --> 00:26:34,388 Or how to support it while they put it together. 494 00:26:34,988 --> 00:26:36,699 [Justin] Your traditional building methods of just 495 00:26:36,723 --> 00:26:40,327 building from the ground up did not work for this job. 496 00:26:41,061 --> 00:26:42,939 [Narrator] Justin Mitchell is one of the engineers 497 00:26:42,963 --> 00:26:46,876 on the ground working out how to build it. 498 00:26:46,900 --> 00:26:48,378 [Justin] From an engineering aspect, 499 00:26:48,402 --> 00:26:49,779 we had to figure out, 500 00:26:49,803 --> 00:26:52,648 how do we keep this thing from falling over 501 00:26:52,672 --> 00:26:56,552 and leaning outward as we're constructing it? 502 00:26:56,576 --> 00:26:59,155 [Narrator] Their solution is to bring in specially designed 503 00:26:59,179 --> 00:27:03,650 shoring towers to prop up each section as it's built. 504 00:27:03,917 --> 00:27:05,995 [Justin] We had 54 of them out here. 505 00:27:06,019 --> 00:27:09,499 Some of them went through the middle of the structure. 506 00:27:09,523 --> 00:27:12,301 We had them leaning in or out. 507 00:27:12,325 --> 00:27:16,129 They were the elements that kept this thing from falling over. 508 00:27:16,863 --> 00:27:19,342 [Carla] They were holding up these angles until we had 509 00:27:19,366 --> 00:27:21,277 the connecting piece. 510 00:27:21,301 --> 00:27:24,614 So we literally broke the building down into elements 511 00:27:24,638 --> 00:27:27,741 and built it kind of like an erector set. 512 00:27:30,811 --> 00:27:33,990 [Narrator] Each bespoke joint has to be individually made 513 00:27:34,014 --> 00:27:37,260 and has to be exact, but incredibly, 514 00:27:37,284 --> 00:27:39,128 despite this complexity, 515 00:27:39,152 --> 00:27:42,198 building using the computer modeling in harness with 516 00:27:42,222 --> 00:27:46,293 human engineering experience, seems to be working. 517 00:27:47,494 --> 00:27:49,639 [J.R.] These are rough ironworker guys. 518 00:27:49,663 --> 00:27:53,176 They were planning their day on the computer screen and saying, 519 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,545 this is what we're going to build today. 520 00:27:55,569 --> 00:27:57,246 All the partners working together. 521 00:27:57,270 --> 00:28:00,116 It worked so well that, that was the biggest surprise, 522 00:28:00,140 --> 00:28:02,185 not on how difficult it was to build this, 523 00:28:02,209 --> 00:28:06,012 but how smoothly and well the process actually worked. 524 00:28:07,013 --> 00:28:09,459 [Narrator] Then, as the building is coming together, 525 00:28:09,483 --> 00:28:10,851 they hit a problem. 526 00:28:11,852 --> 00:28:14,263 One day we got a connection that didn't fit. 527 00:28:14,287 --> 00:28:17,834 And it really freaked out the entire construction team. 528 00:28:17,858 --> 00:28:19,202 How in the world did this happen? 529 00:28:19,226 --> 00:28:21,170 It's been going so well. 530 00:28:21,194 --> 00:28:24,574 [Narrator] It's a serious issue, but some on-site detective work 531 00:28:24,598 --> 00:28:27,868 soon identifies the cause, human error. 532 00:28:29,135 --> 00:28:30,947 [J.R.] They actually traced that right back to an individual 533 00:28:30,971 --> 00:28:33,950 in the fabrication shop who on a trimmed corner 534 00:28:33,974 --> 00:28:35,918 of a piece of plate, they had trimmed an inch off 535 00:28:35,942 --> 00:28:38,020 the corner to make it fit just right. 536 00:28:38,044 --> 00:28:40,313 And so everything was off one inch. 537 00:28:41,281 --> 00:28:42,959 [Narrator] Having discovered the error, 538 00:28:42,983 --> 00:28:47,263 the plate is remade and construction continues. 539 00:28:47,287 --> 00:28:49,866 Barker and his team can't afford any mistakes 540 00:28:49,890 --> 00:28:52,068 with the next installation, 541 00:28:52,092 --> 00:28:56,429 the steel that will become the building's signature feature. 542 00:28:57,197 --> 00:28:58,708 [J.R.] One of them would have been what we call 543 00:28:58,732 --> 00:29:00,510 the prow of the ship, which the largest piece 544 00:29:00,534 --> 00:29:04,680 of steel in the entire project, it was that massive center spire 545 00:29:04,704 --> 00:29:08,041 that went from there out over the street. 546 00:29:09,042 --> 00:29:11,187 [Narrator] The 85-foot steel gives crucial 547 00:29:11,211 --> 00:29:15,758 strength to the prow and leads up to the razor sharp tip 548 00:29:15,782 --> 00:29:20,396 as it juts out 167 feet out and 100 feet high 549 00:29:20,420 --> 00:29:24,024 over a busy 13th Street. 550 00:29:24,424 --> 00:29:27,069 I think the most nerve-wracking moment might have been 551 00:29:27,093 --> 00:29:30,806 the construction over the street of that space, 552 00:29:30,830 --> 00:29:33,767 and how it supports itself. 553 00:29:35,168 --> 00:29:37,513 [Narrator] The huge beam must be cantilevered, 554 00:29:37,537 --> 00:29:39,448 or supported at just one end 555 00:29:39,472 --> 00:29:43,276 to receive the bolts which will hold it in position. 556 00:29:44,611 --> 00:29:47,423 [Justin] We had shoring towers leaning out away from the road, 557 00:29:47,447 --> 00:29:50,626 but yet still holding part of the prow of the ship 558 00:29:50,650 --> 00:29:53,153 or the prow of the structure here. 559 00:29:54,988 --> 00:29:57,934 [Narrator] After a whole year spent assembling the steel frame 560 00:29:57,958 --> 00:30:00,770 using over 50,000 bolts, 561 00:30:00,794 --> 00:30:03,839 the construction supports are taken away. 562 00:30:03,863 --> 00:30:06,342 It's a huge moment for the team, 563 00:30:06,366 --> 00:30:09,211 when they see whether the computer-generated design 564 00:30:09,235 --> 00:30:12,739 built by humans will stand up on its own. 565 00:30:13,773 --> 00:30:14,984 [J.R.] When we removed those shores, 566 00:30:15,008 --> 00:30:16,986 there were no corrective actions required. 567 00:30:17,010 --> 00:30:20,413 It fell right into place. It was just elation. 568 00:30:24,217 --> 00:30:26,329 [Narrator] The framework is in place, 569 00:30:26,353 --> 00:30:31,167 but now it needs a skin to cover the 200,000 square feet. 570 00:30:31,191 --> 00:30:34,170 They consider concrete, and stone laminate, 571 00:30:34,194 --> 00:30:36,606 but they're dismissed as either too heavy 572 00:30:36,630 --> 00:30:39,032 or too dull to look at. 573 00:30:39,566 --> 00:30:42,945 Finally, the engineers turn to a cutting-edge material 574 00:30:42,969 --> 00:30:47,083 that can be found glinting off satellites, 575 00:30:47,107 --> 00:30:49,885 integrated into warships, 576 00:30:49,909 --> 00:30:53,422 and their attack aircraft, 577 00:30:53,446 --> 00:30:55,315 titanium alloy. 578 00:30:56,316 --> 00:30:59,061 Titanium is used on the underside of spacecrafts 579 00:30:59,085 --> 00:31:02,164 because it's significantly lighter than steel, 580 00:31:02,188 --> 00:31:04,634 but at the same time, just as strong. 581 00:31:04,658 --> 00:31:08,237 And it doesn't corrode as easily. 582 00:31:08,261 --> 00:31:11,007 [Narrator] This extraordinary material can also cope with 583 00:31:11,031 --> 00:31:13,500 Denver's high-desert weather. 584 00:31:14,067 --> 00:31:16,078 [Carla] Denver's climate is incredibly varied. 585 00:31:16,102 --> 00:31:18,147 You can have snow one morning, 586 00:31:18,171 --> 00:31:21,250 and by the afternoon it's 70 degrees and sunny. 587 00:31:21,274 --> 00:31:24,954 [Ellie] Unlike steel, titanium doesn't expand or contract 588 00:31:24,978 --> 00:31:27,990 when it gets hot or cold, so it's absolutely, 589 00:31:28,014 --> 00:31:31,861 ideally suited to Denver's extreme temperatures. 590 00:31:31,885 --> 00:31:33,195 [Narrator] It's also significantly 591 00:31:33,219 --> 00:31:35,765 more expensive than most alternatives. 592 00:31:35,789 --> 00:31:37,833 And hadn't been budgeted for. 593 00:31:37,857 --> 00:31:39,301 Quite honestly, I didn't choose it. 594 00:31:39,325 --> 00:31:41,170 We didn't have enough money to choose that material, 595 00:31:41,194 --> 00:31:45,074 but we had a great donor who donated the titanium. 596 00:31:45,098 --> 00:31:48,477 And that was such a fantastic thing to have in those shapes 597 00:31:48,501 --> 00:31:51,580 that I built. Brings that light to the city. 598 00:31:51,604 --> 00:31:56,385 And remarkably fits the new city that it's built in. 599 00:31:56,409 --> 00:31:58,320 [Narrator] It also hides the crucial, 600 00:31:58,344 --> 00:32:01,991 but not so pretty insulation underneath, 601 00:32:02,015 --> 00:32:04,894 essential for protecting the building from Denver's 602 00:32:04,918 --> 00:32:09,432 huge variations in humidity and temperature. 603 00:32:09,456 --> 00:32:13,869 Each layer behind the titanium has a special job to do. 604 00:32:13,893 --> 00:32:15,938 On the outside, we have the titanium panel, 605 00:32:15,962 --> 00:32:19,208 two layers of insulation, and we have a mesh that 606 00:32:19,232 --> 00:32:21,944 separates it from the insulation on the building, 607 00:32:21,968 --> 00:32:24,780 so that air is allowed to flow behind the panels. 608 00:32:24,804 --> 00:32:28,050 This allows the panels to breathe with the summer heating 609 00:32:28,074 --> 00:32:31,253 of the building or the cooling in the winter. 610 00:32:31,277 --> 00:32:34,557 And then behind that, you have a foam. 611 00:32:34,581 --> 00:32:37,460 And then that's covered with a fire resistant, 612 00:32:37,484 --> 00:32:41,921 spray-on concrete, which provides the final layer. 613 00:32:46,092 --> 00:32:48,804 [Narrator] The cladding is installed ahead of time, 614 00:32:48,828 --> 00:32:52,274 and thanks to the computer-aided design and build process, 615 00:32:52,298 --> 00:32:56,236 the project is finished three months ahead of schedule. 616 00:32:57,504 --> 00:33:01,484 In 2006, three years after construction began, 617 00:33:01,508 --> 00:33:04,587 the ground-breaking new Denver Art Museum 618 00:33:04,611 --> 00:33:06,913 opens to the public. 619 00:33:09,115 --> 00:33:11,627 [Carla] It was certainly exciting on the opening days 620 00:33:11,651 --> 00:33:16,398 of the project when people came in and looked up. 621 00:33:16,422 --> 00:33:19,659 And you could see their imagination run wild. 622 00:33:22,195 --> 00:33:23,839 When it was first built, people weren't sure. 623 00:33:23,863 --> 00:33:25,641 Some people didn't love it. 624 00:33:25,665 --> 00:33:27,877 And now it's just a part of the fabric of who we are 625 00:33:27,901 --> 00:33:29,512 and how we identify ourselves. 626 00:33:29,536 --> 00:33:32,972 That's when you know that it's been embraced 627 00:33:34,174 --> 00:33:37,019 [Daniel] When I built it, they said maximum 200,000 people 628 00:33:37,043 --> 00:33:38,254 will come to the building. 629 00:33:38,278 --> 00:33:42,424 Now we have figures of over a million. 630 00:33:42,448 --> 00:33:45,094 [Narrator] While the Denver public enjoys the experience 631 00:33:45,118 --> 00:33:47,663 of the new museum, the experience of creating the 632 00:33:47,687 --> 00:33:52,234 building itself remains powerful in the team who built it. 633 00:33:52,258 --> 00:33:53,969 [J.R.] My father was an ironworker, 634 00:33:53,993 --> 00:33:55,905 but he died when I was in high school. 635 00:33:55,929 --> 00:33:57,807 He never got to see what I do. 636 00:33:57,831 --> 00:34:01,544 He never got to see that I was the epitome of what he himself 637 00:34:01,568 --> 00:34:03,245 longed to be in his life. 638 00:34:03,269 --> 00:34:05,848 And I was able to bring my mother to the site 639 00:34:05,872 --> 00:34:08,384 and show her what I'd been able to do. 640 00:34:08,408 --> 00:34:12,288 It was a remarkable moment. I'm sorry. 641 00:34:12,312 --> 00:34:14,023 [Justin] We were at the forefront of what was possible 642 00:34:14,047 --> 00:34:15,624 with 3D modelling. 643 00:34:15,648 --> 00:34:19,728 Also on the forefront of what's possible with architecture. 644 00:34:19,752 --> 00:34:23,189 We proved that we could construct it and build it. 645 00:34:38,504 --> 00:34:42,051 Regular viewers of this show know that architects just love 646 00:34:42,075 --> 00:34:43,586 to break the rules. 647 00:34:43,610 --> 00:34:46,222 In this next ahead-of-its-time building, 648 00:34:46,246 --> 00:34:48,257 they're going to have thousands of book borrowers 649 00:34:48,281 --> 00:34:49,992 breaking the rules too. 650 00:34:50,016 --> 00:34:51,894 Because no matter how much you shush folks, 651 00:34:51,918 --> 00:34:53,429 this is one library building, 652 00:34:53,453 --> 00:34:56,422 everyone will want to shout about. 653 00:34:56,656 --> 00:34:58,191 - [Man] Shh. - Sorry. 654 00:34:59,292 --> 00:35:01,203 [Narrator] It's the 1990s. 655 00:35:01,227 --> 00:35:04,306 And in the city of Nice in the south of France, 656 00:35:04,330 --> 00:35:08,301 something strange is about to happen. 657 00:35:08,568 --> 00:35:10,279 They needed a new office for the staff 658 00:35:10,303 --> 00:35:12,615 who worked at the city library. 659 00:35:12,639 --> 00:35:15,618 And they want something that was, well, 660 00:35:15,642 --> 00:35:17,753 out of the ordinary. 661 00:35:17,777 --> 00:35:22,782 And it would be fair to say that is what they got. 662 00:35:28,154 --> 00:35:30,299 [Nehemiah] It's such an unusual shape for building. 663 00:35:30,323 --> 00:35:33,026 It's like it can topple over at any time. 664 00:35:33,493 --> 00:35:36,338 [Narrator] This is La Tete Carree. 665 00:35:36,362 --> 00:35:41,143 Or as it's also known, Thinking Inside the Box, 666 00:35:41,167 --> 00:35:44,613 the product of an artist's fevered imagination 667 00:35:44,637 --> 00:35:48,450 that was a real pain in the neck to build. 668 00:35:48,474 --> 00:35:51,820 [Corina] It's not easy for a building to also be a sculpture. 669 00:35:51,844 --> 00:35:53,889 [Narrator] It needed to be strong enough to hold up 670 00:35:53,913 --> 00:35:56,258 four floors of office space, 671 00:35:56,282 --> 00:35:59,194 and still appear to be an elegant sculpture 672 00:35:59,218 --> 00:36:03,432 that looked solid while still letting in the light. 673 00:36:03,456 --> 00:36:05,725 So how did they build it?