1 00:00:01,201 --> 00:00:04,080 [Male narrator] How do you build a 34-story tower block 2 00:00:04,104 --> 00:00:07,650 that won't cast a shadow over its neighbours? 3 00:00:07,674 --> 00:00:10,953 My first reaction to seeing this was, "Wow". 4 00:00:10,977 --> 00:00:13,489 [Narrator] What happens when a national opera house is built 5 00:00:13,513 --> 00:00:17,793 into the sea alongside a major shipping lane? 6 00:00:17,817 --> 00:00:21,664 Cruise ships, cargo vessels, and ferries passing right by. 7 00:00:21,688 --> 00:00:24,133 The last thing you want is one traveling up 8 00:00:24,157 --> 00:00:27,670 and interrupting a performance of Madame Butterfly. 9 00:00:27,694 --> 00:00:29,805 [Narrator] And what do you call a building that incorporates 10 00:00:29,829 --> 00:00:35,144 an aquarium, a planetarium, and a four-story tropical rainforest 11 00:00:35,168 --> 00:00:37,446 under one roof? 12 00:00:37,470 --> 00:00:41,450 If you think of a museum as a place full of old dead things, 13 00:00:41,474 --> 00:00:45,020 then this place will blow your mind. 14 00:00:45,044 --> 00:00:49,892 [music] 15 00:00:49,916 --> 00:00:52,452 [Narrator] This is the age of the extraordinary. 16 00:00:54,888 --> 00:00:57,767 [Hayley] It's like one of those insect-eating plants, 17 00:00:57,791 --> 00:01:00,269 only enormous and white. 18 00:01:00,293 --> 00:01:02,772 [Narrator] Where ingenious engineers have unleashed 19 00:01:02,796 --> 00:01:05,708 unchecked creativity. 20 00:01:05,732 --> 00:01:10,146 Now their secrets are revealed as we discover 21 00:01:10,170 --> 00:01:13,249 the inside stories of their construction. 22 00:01:13,273 --> 00:01:16,810 This is an incredible feat of planning and engineering. 23 00:01:19,312 --> 00:01:22,258 [Narrator] To try and understand, 24 00:01:22,282 --> 00:01:24,184 "How did they build that?" 25 00:01:26,653 --> 00:01:29,832 For our first architectural marvel, we head down under 26 00:01:29,856 --> 00:01:33,202 to a world-beating tower that raises many questions. 27 00:01:33,226 --> 00:01:36,472 For example, how do you make a vast living garden grow 28 00:01:36,496 --> 00:01:38,574 on the side of a huge building? 29 00:01:38,598 --> 00:01:41,544 And what exactly is a heliostat that uses over 30 00:01:41,568 --> 00:01:45,815 300 intelligent mirrors to banish shadows? 31 00:01:45,839 --> 00:01:48,417 This Sydney landmark may raise a lot of questions, 32 00:01:48,441 --> 00:01:52,488 but as you'll see, it has all the answers. 33 00:01:52,512 --> 00:01:55,157 [music] 34 00:01:55,181 --> 00:01:56,592 [Narrator] The state of New South Wales 35 00:01:56,616 --> 00:01:58,861 in southeastern Australia is famed 36 00:01:58,885 --> 00:02:00,796 for its endless golden beaches, 37 00:02:00,820 --> 00:02:04,166 2,500 hours of sunshine every year, 38 00:02:04,190 --> 00:02:07,603 and one very iconic opera house. 39 00:02:07,627 --> 00:02:10,406 When it comes to architecture, the residents of the capital, 40 00:02:10,430 --> 00:02:13,342 Sydney, are used to bold design. 41 00:02:13,366 --> 00:02:16,512 But in the city centre, planners faced a problem: 42 00:02:16,536 --> 00:02:19,582 how to build a colossal new tower block without blocking out 43 00:02:19,606 --> 00:02:23,018 the sun from the surrounding historic neighbourhood. 44 00:02:23,042 --> 00:02:24,253 [Corina] Living in a city apartment, 45 00:02:24,277 --> 00:02:26,388 high up, means lots of light, 46 00:02:26,412 --> 00:02:28,190 great views for you. 47 00:02:28,214 --> 00:02:31,885 But those down below are living in your shadow. 48 00:02:33,253 --> 00:02:35,831 [Narrator] This is what happened when architects pushed engineers 49 00:02:35,855 --> 00:02:37,366 to their limits... 50 00:02:37,390 --> 00:02:40,336 Wanting to bring the sun back into the inner city 51 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,639 by hanging it from the top of a tower block. 52 00:02:43,663 --> 00:02:46,809 My first reaction to seeing it was, "Wow." 53 00:02:46,833 --> 00:02:50,779 I mean, out of this world and something that's never been seen 54 00:02:50,803 --> 00:02:52,882 before in Sydney. 55 00:02:52,906 --> 00:02:56,118 Pretty much at every turn of the design development, 56 00:02:56,142 --> 00:02:59,579 there was somebody saying, "Are we really gonna do this?" 57 00:03:01,848 --> 00:03:06,228 [Narrator] Comprising of an intelligent 110-ton mirror, 58 00:03:06,252 --> 00:03:07,897 flanked by the world's then-tallest 59 00:03:07,921 --> 00:03:13,402 120,000-square-foot living wall, and in the part of the city 60 00:03:13,426 --> 00:03:18,007 near impossible to build on, this is One Central Park, 61 00:03:18,031 --> 00:03:20,976 Sydney, Australia. 62 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:23,269 So, how did they build it? 63 00:03:27,473 --> 00:03:30,886 Tucked away just two miles from Sydney's iconic harbour 64 00:03:30,910 --> 00:03:33,822 is the gentrified suburb of Chippendale, 65 00:03:33,846 --> 00:03:39,628 a mix of 19th-century terraced housing, and for 170 years, 66 00:03:39,652 --> 00:03:42,388 one of Australia's biggest and oldest breweries. 67 00:03:44,490 --> 00:03:48,137 When the brewery closes in 2005, it releases to market 68 00:03:48,161 --> 00:03:53,642 a large plot of inner-city land ripe for development. 69 00:03:53,666 --> 00:03:55,544 [Mick] The site was an old brewery. 70 00:03:55,568 --> 00:03:57,846 It was the old Carlton United Brewery, 71 00:03:57,870 --> 00:04:01,817 and it was two kilometres from the central business district 72 00:04:01,841 --> 00:04:04,987 of Sydney and a six-hectare site. 73 00:04:05,011 --> 00:04:09,725 There was a lot of community concern about the challenges 74 00:04:09,749 --> 00:04:14,663 of creating increased urban density and still maintaining 75 00:04:14,687 --> 00:04:17,433 liveable environments for people. 76 00:04:17,457 --> 00:04:19,635 [Narrator] The plan is to develop the six-hectare site 77 00:04:19,659 --> 00:04:23,238 as a mixed residential, office, and retail precinct 78 00:04:23,262 --> 00:04:26,008 with two parks. 79 00:04:26,032 --> 00:04:29,278 To make it financially viable, developers need to build 80 00:04:29,302 --> 00:04:31,680 two apartment towers. 81 00:04:31,704 --> 00:04:34,583 But planning regulations here restrict them to a maximum 82 00:04:34,607 --> 00:04:38,487 of 10 stories, to limit the shade it creates. 83 00:04:38,511 --> 00:04:41,190 The designers propose building taller towers, 84 00:04:41,214 --> 00:04:44,460 but away from the neighbours to the north of the site. 85 00:04:44,484 --> 00:04:47,496 That creates another problem. 86 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:50,032 Normally, you would open up your development 87 00:04:50,056 --> 00:04:54,003 to the northern sunlight, in a temperate climate like Sydney. 88 00:04:54,027 --> 00:04:57,673 So we tried to come up with a creative way 89 00:04:57,697 --> 00:05:01,477 to celebrate the sunlight that 90 00:05:01,501 --> 00:05:04,246 really counteracted the fact 91 00:05:04,270 --> 00:05:08,651 that we put all the massing of these buildings to the north. 92 00:05:08,675 --> 00:05:10,853 [Narrator] Their proposed solution is a radical 93 00:05:10,877 --> 00:05:15,724 reimagining of an ancient technology called a heliostat 94 00:05:15,748 --> 00:05:19,194 on a scale never tried before. 95 00:05:19,218 --> 00:05:23,065 A heliostat is actually a really old piece of technology 96 00:05:23,089 --> 00:05:26,402 that uses carefully positioned mirrors to bounce light 97 00:05:26,426 --> 00:05:28,103 into shaded areas. 98 00:05:28,127 --> 00:05:31,473 Now, in ancient Egypt, they used to use slaves 99 00:05:31,497 --> 00:05:34,109 to hold these mirrors, but luckily nowadays we have 100 00:05:34,133 --> 00:05:38,414 computer programs linked to motors that can control them. 101 00:05:38,438 --> 00:05:40,015 [Narrator] They're also determined to make sure 102 00:05:40,039 --> 00:05:44,820 this development has some seriously green credentials. 103 00:05:44,844 --> 00:05:46,422 [Corina] The problem with building 104 00:05:46,446 --> 00:05:48,824 high-density residential blocks in inner cities 105 00:05:48,848 --> 00:05:53,429 is how to avoid taking up valuable green space. 106 00:05:53,453 --> 00:05:56,823 One answer is to make that green space vertical. 107 00:06:00,993 --> 00:06:03,305 [Narrator] They come up with a pioneering design 108 00:06:03,329 --> 00:06:04,907 that they hope will overcome the problem 109 00:06:04,931 --> 00:06:08,210 of shading their neighbours while still making the scheme 110 00:06:08,234 --> 00:06:11,146 financially viable. 111 00:06:11,170 --> 00:06:13,615 At its heart will be two towers. 112 00:06:13,639 --> 00:06:16,819 The west tower will be 17 floors, while the east 113 00:06:16,843 --> 00:06:20,780 will be 34-stories high, casting a large shadow over the park. 114 00:06:22,915 --> 00:06:26,261 But on its 29th floor, this tower will have a huge 115 00:06:26,285 --> 00:06:30,599 cantilevered sky garden onto which a giant array of mirrors 116 00:06:30,623 --> 00:06:34,603 will be attached to bounce sunlight down to the ground, 117 00:06:34,627 --> 00:06:38,407 bringing sunshine into the shade. 118 00:06:38,431 --> 00:06:42,644 Finally, nearly 100,000 plants will be added to the side 119 00:06:42,668 --> 00:06:46,048 of the buildings, creating over a million square feet 120 00:06:46,072 --> 00:06:49,818 of vertical hanging gardens to help integrate the towers 121 00:06:49,842 --> 00:06:52,178 effortlessly into the surroundings. 122 00:06:55,581 --> 00:06:58,827 In 2010, work begins on the towers, 123 00:06:58,851 --> 00:07:01,430 and it's straightforward enough. 124 00:07:01,454 --> 00:07:06,668 But then, engineers need to find a way to attach a 110-ton 125 00:07:06,692 --> 00:07:12,508 bank of mirrors 148 feet from the building, 300 feet up, 126 00:07:12,532 --> 00:07:14,376 in mid air. 127 00:07:14,400 --> 00:07:17,579 They planned to do so using a tried-and-tested engineering 128 00:07:17,603 --> 00:07:21,216 method known as a cantilever. 129 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,887 The giant cantilever on this building not only defies gravity 130 00:07:24,911 --> 00:07:27,914 but it hovers over prime residential real estate below. 131 00:07:30,049 --> 00:07:32,661 [Narrator] This allows the overhanging heliostat 132 00:07:32,685 --> 00:07:36,431 to only be supported at one end, giving the appearance 133 00:07:36,455 --> 00:07:39,234 that it is floating on air. 134 00:07:39,258 --> 00:07:42,971 It relies on a series of huge steel trusses. 135 00:07:42,995 --> 00:07:44,907 [Mike] There's a lot of engineering solutions 136 00:07:44,931 --> 00:07:49,711 in designing the trusses to support the cantilever. 137 00:07:49,735 --> 00:07:54,716 And we're talking truss panels that are 75-ton to 90-ton 138 00:07:54,740 --> 00:07:56,242 in weight, lifting those up. 139 00:07:58,344 --> 00:08:00,956 [Narrator] With the huge steel trusses craned up 140 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:05,360 to the 29th floor, then fixed to four rods on the opposite side 141 00:08:05,384 --> 00:08:09,755 of the building, the team turns its attention to the heliostat. 142 00:08:11,858 --> 00:08:15,838 Helios is the Greek god of the sun and status means 143 00:08:15,862 --> 00:08:19,041 a particular position at a give moment in time. 144 00:08:19,065 --> 00:08:23,178 So a heliostat is a mirror device that can compensate 145 00:08:23,202 --> 00:08:26,239 for the sun's movement across the sky and make it static. 146 00:08:28,341 --> 00:08:31,119 [Narrator] Modern large-scale heliostats are used 147 00:08:31,143 --> 00:08:35,057 the world over to generate renewable energy. 148 00:08:35,081 --> 00:08:38,293 Hundreds of static mirrors are arranged in a circle 149 00:08:38,317 --> 00:08:40,662 so that at least one of them will catch the sun 150 00:08:40,686 --> 00:08:45,200 throughout the day and bounce it to a central point. 151 00:08:45,224 --> 00:08:49,271 In Sydney, they don't have the space for all those mirrors. 152 00:08:49,295 --> 00:08:51,373 And they need to work out how to bounce sunlight 153 00:08:51,397 --> 00:08:56,044 around the building and light up the park on the other side. 154 00:08:56,068 --> 00:09:01,049 It took a while to understand how we're gonna deliver this. 155 00:09:01,073 --> 00:09:04,486 When you saw the sketches of the design, I thought, 156 00:09:04,510 --> 00:09:06,021 "Who does this work? 157 00:09:06,045 --> 00:09:08,190 "There's not someone you can go around the corner and say 158 00:09:08,214 --> 00:09:11,460 "can you do this?" It's a very difficult task. 159 00:09:11,484 --> 00:09:14,086 [Narrator] Designers come up with a groundbreaking solution. 160 00:09:16,355 --> 00:09:20,102 By using mirrors on the roof of the west tower to bounce the sun 161 00:09:20,126 --> 00:09:23,639 up to more mirrors on the overhang of the east tower, 162 00:09:23,663 --> 00:09:25,807 they can reflect light into the shaded areas 163 00:09:25,831 --> 00:09:27,233 around the buildings. 164 00:09:29,435 --> 00:09:31,880 But there isn't space on the west tower for enough 165 00:09:31,904 --> 00:09:36,485 static mirrors to catch the sun as it moves through the day. 166 00:09:36,509 --> 00:09:40,422 Their simple but ingenious solution is to motorize the ones 167 00:09:40,446 --> 00:09:44,660 they've got, and link them to a computer-controlled program 168 00:09:44,684 --> 00:09:46,728 to track the sun. 169 00:09:46,752 --> 00:09:49,998 The computer on this heliostat is ingenious. 170 00:09:50,022 --> 00:09:52,234 Not only does it calculate the position of the mirrors 171 00:09:52,258 --> 00:09:55,671 relative to the sun at any time on any day, 172 00:09:55,695 --> 00:10:00,175 it then moves and angles them to continually track the sun, 173 00:10:00,199 --> 00:10:03,312 bouncing its power up into the static mirror array, 174 00:10:03,336 --> 00:10:08,283 which then reflects the light down to the shaded areas below. 175 00:10:08,307 --> 00:10:11,219 [Narrator] The result solves the problem of creating light 176 00:10:11,243 --> 00:10:12,888 where there is shade. 177 00:10:12,912 --> 00:10:15,457 But it creates another one in its wake... 178 00:10:15,481 --> 00:10:19,294 How do you lift and suspend a 110-ton structure 179 00:10:19,318 --> 00:10:22,130 with 320 mirrors? 180 00:10:22,154 --> 00:10:24,900 We had to think about how could we build the most 181 00:10:24,924 --> 00:10:27,936 of this structure on the ground, and then lift it 182 00:10:27,960 --> 00:10:31,840 into its final position in pre-assembled elements. 183 00:10:31,864 --> 00:10:33,875 The main challenge in being able to do that 184 00:10:33,899 --> 00:10:36,845 is when you preassemble the building elements, 185 00:10:36,869 --> 00:10:39,848 they become really heavy. 186 00:10:39,872 --> 00:10:42,117 [Narrator] The solution is one of the world's largest 187 00:10:42,141 --> 00:10:46,121 tower cranes called Tinkerbell, which they transport 188 00:10:46,145 --> 00:10:50,292 thousands of miles from a mine in western Australia. 189 00:10:50,316 --> 00:10:53,362 It costs six times more than a normal crane 190 00:10:53,386 --> 00:10:55,030 and can cope with the enormous weight 191 00:10:55,054 --> 00:10:57,799 of the pre-assembled framework. 192 00:10:57,823 --> 00:11:00,902 But this creates yet another problem... 193 00:11:00,926 --> 00:11:06,174 Colossal cranes and dense downtowns don't mix well. 194 00:11:06,198 --> 00:11:08,443 One of the other major challenges was the fact 195 00:11:08,467 --> 00:11:11,580 that there's a major arterial road called Broadway 196 00:11:11,604 --> 00:11:14,016 immediately below the site, 197 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:16,852 which is taking thousands of cars in each direction 198 00:11:16,876 --> 00:11:20,055 while we're undertaking this task. 199 00:11:20,079 --> 00:11:21,556 We definitely couldn't close off the road 200 00:11:21,580 --> 00:11:24,893 to undertake this activity. 201 00:11:24,917 --> 00:11:27,596 We had to develop a lifting plan that would consider 202 00:11:27,620 --> 00:11:30,799 the conditions that would be most appropriate to undertake 203 00:11:30,823 --> 00:11:33,468 such a high-risk lift. 204 00:11:33,492 --> 00:11:37,806 [music] 205 00:11:37,830 --> 00:11:40,933 [Narrator] Next, can the team pull it off? 206 00:11:43,134 --> 00:11:45,579 [Narrator] In Sydney, Australia, in the early hours 207 00:11:45,603 --> 00:11:48,582 of the morning, work starts on getting the steel frame 208 00:11:48,606 --> 00:11:51,151 for the mirrors into the air. 209 00:11:51,175 --> 00:11:54,321 To do it, they brought in Tinkerbell, one of the world's 210 00:11:54,345 --> 00:11:56,824 tallest tower cranes. 211 00:11:56,848 --> 00:12:00,661 Now all they can do is hope things go to plan. 212 00:12:00,685 --> 00:12:02,763 One of our key enemies when we're working at height 213 00:12:02,787 --> 00:12:06,166 is wind, so you know, we had to make sure that we were, 214 00:12:06,190 --> 00:12:10,604 you know, carrying out the task in the appropriate conditions. 215 00:12:10,628 --> 00:12:12,906 [Narrator] Any sudden gusts while lifting the frame 216 00:12:12,930 --> 00:12:15,133 into the air will be disastrous. 217 00:12:18,136 --> 00:12:21,815 But after months of meticulous planning and organization, 218 00:12:21,839 --> 00:12:25,119 the structure is finally attached to the building. 219 00:12:25,143 --> 00:12:29,156 Incredibly, it's done in under two hours. 220 00:12:29,180 --> 00:12:32,092 And there was a sense of relief when the load was lifted 221 00:12:32,116 --> 00:12:35,095 in position and eventually bolted onto the building 222 00:12:35,119 --> 00:12:37,464 and released from the hook of the tower crane. 223 00:12:37,488 --> 00:12:39,299 I think a few of the boys definitely went 224 00:12:39,323 --> 00:12:40,858 and had a beer after that one. 225 00:12:43,828 --> 00:12:45,439 [Narrator] With the framework in place, 226 00:12:45,463 --> 00:12:49,777 the 320 mirrors are hung, and the team turns its attention 227 00:12:49,801 --> 00:12:55,048 to maximizing the building's green credentials. 228 00:12:55,072 --> 00:13:00,921 The plan is to build the world's then-largest living wall. 229 00:13:00,945 --> 00:13:03,056 [Jock] Nothing like this project had ever been done anywhere 230 00:13:03,080 --> 00:13:04,625 in the world. 231 00:13:04,649 --> 00:13:06,760 The green wall's on here by a French guy, Patrick Blanc. 232 00:13:06,784 --> 00:13:09,062 He's very well known for his green walls. 233 00:13:09,086 --> 00:13:11,198 He was the pioneer of green walls in the world. 234 00:13:11,222 --> 00:13:13,500 He has green hair, he has green fingernails. 235 00:13:13,524 --> 00:13:16,270 And he doesn't drink water, he only drinks champagne 236 00:13:16,294 --> 00:13:19,907 'cause water's for the plants, is what we were told. 237 00:13:19,931 --> 00:13:22,609 [Narrator] Creating the largest vertical garden the world 238 00:13:22,633 --> 00:13:26,346 has ever seen is a serious challenge. 239 00:13:26,370 --> 00:13:29,883 [Ellie] A living wall might seem like a really simple idea, 240 00:13:29,907 --> 00:13:32,486 but if you think about what it takes to just plant up 241 00:13:32,510 --> 00:13:36,523 a simple garden or yard, and now you do that on a vertical plane 242 00:13:36,547 --> 00:13:41,929 hundreds of feet up in the air, it gets a lot more complicated. 243 00:13:41,953 --> 00:13:44,264 [Narrator] The engineers need a framework big enough 244 00:13:44,288 --> 00:13:49,670 to house the plants, and strong enough to remain upright. 245 00:13:49,694 --> 00:13:52,840 The weight of the planter boxes was a key consideration 246 00:13:52,864 --> 00:13:56,443 because they had soil for the plants to grow in. 247 00:13:56,467 --> 00:13:58,879 When it was wet, that added weight. 248 00:13:58,903 --> 00:14:03,717 So we had to engineer these boxes to attach to the building 249 00:14:03,741 --> 00:14:06,053 and cope with the loads. 250 00:14:06,077 --> 00:14:08,655 [Narrator] To pull it off, the team has to create 251 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:10,491 a unique system. 252 00:14:10,515 --> 00:14:14,194 [Adam] We undertook a number of prototypes to try and develop 253 00:14:14,218 --> 00:14:17,698 our solution, and we finally arrived at a rotomold... 254 00:14:17,722 --> 00:14:21,635 A polyethylene tub, if you like. 255 00:14:21,659 --> 00:14:25,172 This tub had to be overclad with the building fabric 256 00:14:25,196 --> 00:14:28,942 so that these planter boxes looked integral as part 257 00:14:28,966 --> 00:14:31,378 of the building. 258 00:14:31,402 --> 00:14:35,082 [Narrator] The planting takes 2,000 man hours and injects 259 00:14:35,106 --> 00:14:37,518 over a million square feet of greenery 260 00:14:37,542 --> 00:14:39,653 into the urban landscape. 261 00:14:39,677 --> 00:14:42,956 [Jock] There is 1,120 square metres of green walls, 262 00:14:42,980 --> 00:14:45,158 and it's 5.5 kilometres of planter boxes 263 00:14:45,182 --> 00:14:46,627 if you put them end to end. 264 00:14:46,651 --> 00:14:49,129 So overall, I think there's about 98,000 plants 265 00:14:49,153 --> 00:14:51,865 on the project. 266 00:14:51,889 --> 00:14:55,068 [Narrator] Even the watering system that feeds over 3 miles 267 00:14:55,092 --> 00:14:58,839 of planter boxes is sustainable. 268 00:14:58,863 --> 00:15:02,042 All of the water is actually from treated sewage. 269 00:15:02,066 --> 00:15:04,578 They actually have blackwater treatment plant on site 270 00:15:04,602 --> 00:15:07,814 that manages the sewage, turns it into A-grade drinking water, 271 00:15:07,838 --> 00:15:09,983 which we then get to use on the project. 272 00:15:10,007 --> 00:15:13,387 So a very water-efficient project at the same time. 273 00:15:13,411 --> 00:15:19,393 [music] 274 00:15:19,417 --> 00:15:21,662 [Narrator] Finally, in 2013, 275 00:15:21,686 --> 00:15:24,398 after 6 years of planning and building, 276 00:15:24,422 --> 00:15:26,500 One Central Park is finished 277 00:15:26,524 --> 00:15:30,628 and opens to residents, workers and members of the public. 278 00:15:37,034 --> 00:15:40,747 So it gained two World Awards for this site 279 00:15:40,771 --> 00:15:43,350 that we started off just wanting to do a good job. 280 00:15:43,374 --> 00:15:46,954 Well, it was recognised as being a good job. 281 00:15:46,978 --> 00:15:48,288 [Mike] A couple of the people 282 00:15:48,312 --> 00:15:50,524 in the department's planning department 283 00:15:50,548 --> 00:15:55,629 nicknamed it the diving board, but there's absolutely no doubt 284 00:15:55,653 --> 00:15:59,199 that people will recognise the green building 285 00:15:59,223 --> 00:16:02,836 with the reflectors on the giant cantilever, 286 00:16:02,860 --> 00:16:06,406 and everybody knows the building you're talking about. 287 00:16:06,430 --> 00:16:09,009 [Narrator] Combined with sustainable architecture, 288 00:16:09,033 --> 00:16:12,813 it showcases how living walls can bring greenery and life 289 00:16:12,837 --> 00:16:17,618 to the urban jungle, both inside and out. 290 00:16:17,642 --> 00:16:19,620 [Man] I've got the hanging gardens 291 00:16:19,644 --> 00:16:21,254 just right outside my balcony. 292 00:16:21,278 --> 00:16:25,216 It makes me feel as though I have a garden apartment. 293 00:16:30,154 --> 00:16:32,733 Every now and then, I do drive past this building 294 00:16:32,757 --> 00:16:34,801 or drive on a road where I can 295 00:16:34,825 --> 00:16:36,269 see the building in the distance. 296 00:16:36,293 --> 00:16:39,806 And you know, I always look at it with great pride 297 00:16:39,830 --> 00:16:43,243 and satisfaction, knowing that I was able to play a part 298 00:16:43,267 --> 00:16:46,580 in, you know, creating this great building. 299 00:16:46,604 --> 00:16:50,851 [Narrator] One Central Park not only changes the Sydney skyline, 300 00:16:50,875 --> 00:16:56,023 it alters the perception of what urban living can be... 301 00:16:56,047 --> 00:16:59,726 Exceeding the expectations of the people of the city 302 00:16:59,750 --> 00:17:00,961 and flying the flag for 303 00:17:00,985 --> 00:17:03,954 world class engineering and design. 304 00:17:06,290 --> 00:17:11,929 [music] 305 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:17,944 From Down Under to the top of the world 306 00:17:17,968 --> 00:17:20,414 and the Norwegian capital of Oslo. 307 00:17:20,438 --> 00:17:24,017 Now, when you're asked to design a monumental new home 308 00:17:24,041 --> 00:17:26,453 for your nation's opera and ballet productions, 309 00:17:26,477 --> 00:17:30,190 there are a few things you must obviously include. 310 00:17:30,214 --> 00:17:32,325 An excellent stage for performers, 311 00:17:32,349 --> 00:17:36,163 a comfortable auditorium for visitors, and of course, 312 00:17:36,187 --> 00:17:38,999 an enormous under-the-sea barrier due to 313 00:17:39,023 --> 00:17:41,768 the unacceptably high risk of a ship colliding 314 00:17:41,792 --> 00:17:44,604 with the building. I made that last one up, right? 315 00:17:44,628 --> 00:17:45,972 Nope. 316 00:17:45,996 --> 00:17:47,398 Titanic the opera anyone? 317 00:17:49,967 --> 00:17:53,213 [Narrator] The Scandinavian country of Norway is renowned 318 00:17:53,237 --> 00:17:57,217 for its stunning 35,000 miles of coastline 319 00:17:57,241 --> 00:18:00,754 and the 1,700 fjords, or flooded sea valleys, 320 00:18:00,778 --> 00:18:03,457 carved along it. 321 00:18:03,481 --> 00:18:06,426 These breathtaking natural wonders attract tourists 322 00:18:06,450 --> 00:18:08,995 by the millions. 323 00:18:09,019 --> 00:18:13,533 Then in 1999, one fjord became the setting and inspiration 324 00:18:13,557 --> 00:18:16,603 for an attraction of its own... One of the country's 325 00:18:16,627 --> 00:18:19,506 most ambitious cultural buildings. 326 00:18:19,530 --> 00:18:23,276 It's this giant marble wedge that looks like it's slipping 327 00:18:23,300 --> 00:18:25,245 into the fjord. 328 00:18:25,269 --> 00:18:28,181 [Narrator] Built both on land and under water, 329 00:18:28,205 --> 00:18:31,418 this extraordinary feat of design and engineering 330 00:18:31,442 --> 00:18:36,323 is supported by 17 miles of steel piling, driven deep 331 00:18:36,347 --> 00:18:38,291 into the icy North Sea. 332 00:18:38,315 --> 00:18:42,062 It looks like they've carved up a glacier or an iceberg. 333 00:18:42,086 --> 00:18:44,431 [Narrator] Featuring a 32,000-square-foot 334 00:18:44,455 --> 00:18:49,002 wave-shaped wall, crafted from white American oak, 335 00:18:49,026 --> 00:18:53,340 and finished off with a rooftop piazza made from 35,000 336 00:18:53,364 --> 00:18:58,945 hand-cut slabs of soft white Italian Carrera marble, 337 00:18:58,969 --> 00:19:02,349 this is Oslo Opera House, a worthy home 338 00:19:02,373 --> 00:19:05,986 for Norway's National Opera and Ballet. 339 00:19:06,010 --> 00:19:08,846 So, how did they build it? 340 00:19:11,968 --> 00:19:15,047 [Narrator] The 60-mile-long Oslo fjord on Norway's 341 00:19:15,071 --> 00:19:19,285 southeastern coast is breathtakingly beautiful. 342 00:19:19,309 --> 00:19:21,420 And it's clearly a massive challenge 343 00:19:21,444 --> 00:19:22,722 to create anything as stunning 344 00:19:22,746 --> 00:19:25,181 as Mother Nature has done herself. 345 00:19:27,250 --> 00:19:29,295 But at the end of the 20th century, 346 00:19:29,319 --> 00:19:33,499 the Norwegian government sets itself that challenge. 347 00:19:33,523 --> 00:19:38,304 It had a bold new vision for Oslo's industrial harbour front. 348 00:19:38,328 --> 00:19:43,209 This includes their first national opera house. 349 00:19:43,233 --> 00:19:46,846 The opera house was announced as a big international architecture 350 00:19:46,870 --> 00:19:50,483 competition, there were about 320 different projects 351 00:19:50,507 --> 00:19:51,917 being delivered. 352 00:19:51,941 --> 00:19:54,420 It was a jury working for a year, and finally, 353 00:19:54,444 --> 00:19:58,524 at the end of this, they chose our project. 354 00:19:58,548 --> 00:20:02,261 [Narrator] The winning design is by Norwegian firm Snohetta, 355 00:20:02,285 --> 00:20:08,134 renowned for their futuristic Le Monde Group HQ in Paris, 356 00:20:08,158 --> 00:20:11,737 and another underwater building, the radical Under Restaurant, 357 00:20:11,761 --> 00:20:14,907 built in the North Sea. 358 00:20:14,931 --> 00:20:17,276 They approach the design of the opera house 359 00:20:17,300 --> 00:20:19,145 with a bold vision. 360 00:20:19,169 --> 00:20:21,947 [Kjetil] The building became this negotiator between the sky 361 00:20:21,971 --> 00:20:23,416 and the water. 362 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:28,788 So it wasn't a building per se. It was a public plaza 363 00:20:28,812 --> 00:20:32,091 on top of the opera functions. 364 00:20:32,115 --> 00:20:34,360 [Narrator] The idea translates into a vision 365 00:20:34,384 --> 00:20:38,030 that looks great in blueprints, but gives the engineers 366 00:20:38,054 --> 00:20:41,167 some sleepless nights. 367 00:20:41,191 --> 00:20:44,303 One half of the building will sit on an area of unstable 368 00:20:44,327 --> 00:20:47,506 contaminated land at the harbour's edge. 369 00:20:47,530 --> 00:20:50,500 The other half will dive in and under the sea. 370 00:20:53,203 --> 00:20:56,515 Covering an area equivalent to four football fields, 371 00:20:56,539 --> 00:20:58,951 the plan is for the opera house to be divided 372 00:20:58,975 --> 00:21:03,222 into three main zones over four floors. 373 00:21:03,246 --> 00:21:06,358 Outside, the plaza, which includes the roof, 374 00:21:06,382 --> 00:21:09,562 will be laid with 215,000 square feet 375 00:21:09,586 --> 00:21:14,533 of Italian white marble, all accessible to the public. 376 00:21:14,557 --> 00:21:18,437 The rear of the building will sink 53 feet below sea level 377 00:21:18,461 --> 00:21:24,310 and house the stages and an incredible 1,100 rooms, 378 00:21:24,334 --> 00:21:26,803 including workshops and rehearsal spaces. 379 00:21:29,339 --> 00:21:33,552 Finally, a huge wall of white American oak, called the wave, 380 00:21:33,576 --> 00:21:37,122 will divide the land from the sea, and the public spaces 381 00:21:37,146 --> 00:21:39,382 from the 1,400-seat auditorium. 382 00:21:45,622 --> 00:21:49,034 But before the first foundation stone can be laid, 383 00:21:49,058 --> 00:21:53,372 the team has to deal with an ancient problem. 384 00:21:53,396 --> 00:21:57,443 Norway dominated Europe's timber trade. 385 00:21:57,467 --> 00:22:01,580 Sawmills lined the country's rivers and waterways, 386 00:22:01,604 --> 00:22:06,185 including the Akerselva, which runs into the harbour. 387 00:22:06,209 --> 00:22:10,356 For centuries it carried sawdust and industrial pollution 388 00:22:10,380 --> 00:22:11,614 with it. 389 00:22:15,718 --> 00:22:18,797 [Corina] First, they're building below the waterline, 390 00:22:18,821 --> 00:22:20,900 in water that will freeze in winter. 391 00:22:20,924 --> 00:22:22,701 Then they're dealing with heavily polluted 392 00:22:22,725 --> 00:22:24,503 centuries-old dock waste. 393 00:22:24,527 --> 00:22:27,006 And then they're drilling down to the bedrock. 394 00:22:27,030 --> 00:22:30,476 It's not an ideal location. 395 00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:33,045 [Kjell] So that was a big challenge, to build something 396 00:22:33,069 --> 00:22:35,748 out in this area, with the sawdust conditions 397 00:22:35,772 --> 00:22:37,416 and the very soft clay conditions 398 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:39,609 and the large depth, the bedrock. 399 00:22:42,645 --> 00:22:44,590 [Narrator] Rather than trying to build under water 400 00:22:44,614 --> 00:22:49,461 on the soft sea bed, the team decides to create a cofferdam, 401 00:22:49,485 --> 00:22:54,667 a circular perimeter fence using 129,000 square feet 402 00:22:54,691 --> 00:22:59,238 of steel sheet pile, before pumping the water out. 403 00:22:59,262 --> 00:23:02,508 Build a structure in water is always challenging. 404 00:23:02,532 --> 00:23:05,477 But when that water freezes every single winter, 405 00:23:05,501 --> 00:23:07,980 the structure needs to be not only watertight, 406 00:23:08,004 --> 00:23:10,649 but incredible strong. 407 00:23:10,673 --> 00:23:14,086 [Kjell] The cylindrical shape is essential here. 408 00:23:14,110 --> 00:23:16,622 The cylinder is, in its shape, 409 00:23:16,646 --> 00:23:20,626 able to take up much larger pressures from the outside 410 00:23:20,650 --> 00:23:24,530 than a box, because the forces go in very nicely 411 00:23:24,554 --> 00:23:26,432 into the cylinder walls. 412 00:23:26,456 --> 00:23:30,569 And this is why we make lots of structures with cylinders. 413 00:23:30,593 --> 00:23:33,939 Why are the big platforms he put in the North Sea cylinders 414 00:23:33,963 --> 00:23:35,441 and not the not square boxes? 415 00:23:35,465 --> 00:23:38,077 It's because the cylinder has this great capacity 416 00:23:38,101 --> 00:23:41,747 to take external forces. 417 00:23:41,771 --> 00:23:45,451 [Narrator] With the cofferdam in place and the water pumped out, 418 00:23:45,475 --> 00:23:49,288 the excavation begins to create a basement big enough 419 00:23:49,312 --> 00:23:53,125 to house 16 elevators, a rotating stage, 420 00:23:53,149 --> 00:23:56,295 two side stages, and a background stage, 421 00:23:56,319 --> 00:23:58,187 53 feet below sea level. 422 00:24:00,456 --> 00:24:04,403 As they dig down, the circle of sheet pile needs a series 423 00:24:04,427 --> 00:24:09,475 of concrete ring beams to hold it all in place. 424 00:24:09,499 --> 00:24:13,412 [Kjell] When we cast a concrete ring beam, you create a support 425 00:24:13,436 --> 00:24:18,550 of the sheet pile that allows it to perform as it should. 426 00:24:18,574 --> 00:24:22,121 Then we excavated down to a certain level, 427 00:24:22,145 --> 00:24:24,223 cast the concrete ring beam. 428 00:24:24,247 --> 00:24:27,226 Excavated further down, cast a new concrete ring beam, 429 00:24:27,250 --> 00:24:30,453 until the final depth 16 meters below sea level 430 00:24:32,755 --> 00:24:35,634 [Narrator] Although they've overcome the physics of water 431 00:24:35,658 --> 00:24:39,371 and created a dry space to work on the foundations, 432 00:24:39,395 --> 00:24:43,308 completing those isn't going to be easy either. 433 00:24:43,332 --> 00:24:46,269 The bedrock is up to 180 feet down. 434 00:24:48,337 --> 00:24:52,685 We have, if I recall correctly, 700 piles. 435 00:24:52,709 --> 00:24:56,522 And the total pilings of 28 kilometres. 436 00:24:56,546 --> 00:25:02,428 So it's quite a bit of steel piles under this building, yes. 437 00:25:02,452 --> 00:25:04,897 [Narrator] Creating firm foundations takes 438 00:25:04,921 --> 00:25:08,567 an extraordinary 17 miles of piling. 439 00:25:08,591 --> 00:25:11,870 But the opera house's location still has another headache 440 00:25:11,894 --> 00:25:13,672 to overcome. 441 00:25:13,696 --> 00:25:16,208 What is the probability that some of the large ferries 442 00:25:16,232 --> 00:25:19,411 that use this part of the harbour area 443 00:25:19,435 --> 00:25:22,981 could have loss of control? 444 00:25:23,005 --> 00:25:25,651 [Narrator] A large part of the opera house will be hidden 445 00:25:25,675 --> 00:25:30,456 underwater with two ferry terminals nearby. 446 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:34,893 Experts decide the risk of a collision is unacceptably high. 447 00:25:34,917 --> 00:25:40,566 [music] 448 00:25:40,590 --> 00:25:43,760 [Narrator] Next, can engineers make it safe? 449 00:25:46,835 --> 00:25:48,979 [Narrator] Every year, cruise ships make around 450 00:25:49,003 --> 00:25:53,808 35,000 in-port manoeuvres, almost all without incident. 451 00:25:55,477 --> 00:26:01,092 But when they do go wrong, the consequences can be disastrous. 452 00:26:01,116 --> 00:26:05,019 A collision with the Oslo Opera House could be catastrophic. 453 00:26:06,988 --> 00:26:09,967 You've got cruise ships, cargo vessels, and ferries passing 454 00:26:09,991 --> 00:26:11,369 right by. 455 00:26:11,393 --> 00:26:14,238 The last thing you want is one traveling up that slope 456 00:26:14,262 --> 00:26:17,842 and interrupting a performance of Madame Butterfly. 457 00:26:17,866 --> 00:26:21,011 [Narrator] Planners decide the solution is to build something 458 00:26:21,035 --> 00:26:22,947 called a berm. 459 00:26:22,971 --> 00:26:26,016 [Hayley] A berm is a manmade bank of earth and rocks. 460 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,652 On land, it could be used structurally to hold back 461 00:26:28,676 --> 00:26:30,988 a slope or to create a barrier. 462 00:26:31,012 --> 00:26:35,893 Here though, it's got to hold back an entire ship. 463 00:26:35,917 --> 00:26:38,963 [Kjell] The only solution was to build an artificial barrier 464 00:26:38,987 --> 00:26:42,066 into the sea in front of the opera. 465 00:26:42,090 --> 00:26:44,959 And this, this barrier is made of rockfill. 466 00:26:48,029 --> 00:26:51,842 [Narrator] Creating an underwater berm 230 feet wide 467 00:26:51,866 --> 00:26:56,147 and 27 feet high is an enormous job. 468 00:26:56,171 --> 00:26:58,916 This is a ship and here is a barrier. 469 00:26:58,940 --> 00:27:01,919 And the ship comes in here, and it hits the barrier, 470 00:27:01,943 --> 00:27:04,922 and it will start to lift out of the sea, the front. 471 00:27:04,946 --> 00:27:07,458 It's like a collision with a rock, right? 472 00:27:07,482 --> 00:27:09,593 Where it starts raising up. 473 00:27:09,617 --> 00:27:14,965 When you start to lift the ship out of the sea, you use energy. 474 00:27:14,989 --> 00:27:19,670 So this lifting energy takes out the energy, moving energy, 475 00:27:19,694 --> 00:27:21,129 of the ship. 476 00:27:24,966 --> 00:27:28,946 [Narrator] 110,000 tons of rock are blasted and dropped 477 00:27:28,970 --> 00:27:32,750 overboard to create the berm seven feet below the surface 478 00:27:32,774 --> 00:27:34,175 of the sea. 479 00:27:37,212 --> 00:27:41,592 Now, having finished dropping rocks outside, 480 00:27:41,616 --> 00:27:46,297 they have to follow the plan for the inside to the millimetre. 481 00:27:46,321 --> 00:27:48,332 The devil is in the detail. 482 00:27:48,356 --> 00:27:50,701 It's a fairly complex building when it comes 483 00:27:50,725 --> 00:27:53,037 to functionalities. 484 00:27:53,061 --> 00:27:55,339 [Narrator] At its heart is the main stage, 485 00:27:55,363 --> 00:27:59,276 which will serve both the national opera and ballet. 486 00:27:59,300 --> 00:28:03,347 We have about 300 different computerized electro models 487 00:28:03,371 --> 00:28:06,851 which are running all of the operations inside the stage. 488 00:28:06,875 --> 00:28:11,088 So you can shift with turning things and sinking things. 489 00:28:11,112 --> 00:28:13,557 You can push it in from the top, you can push it in 490 00:28:13,581 --> 00:28:15,392 from the sides. 491 00:28:15,416 --> 00:28:17,495 [Narrator] The main auditorium is designed to hold 492 00:28:17,519 --> 00:28:20,231 almost 1,400 people. 493 00:28:20,255 --> 00:28:23,434 The traditional horseshoe-shape guarantees clear views 494 00:28:23,458 --> 00:28:25,503 of the stage. 495 00:28:25,527 --> 00:28:26,971 But it also needs to be engineered 496 00:28:26,995 --> 00:28:29,473 to provide perfect sound. 497 00:28:29,497 --> 00:28:32,209 [Kjetil] We have to deep dive into the elements of acoustics 498 00:28:32,233 --> 00:28:34,845 and understand what type of acoustics. 499 00:28:34,869 --> 00:28:37,515 You know, it depends on the education of opera singers. 500 00:28:37,539 --> 00:28:40,918 Do you have a pressure voice or do you have a soft voice? 501 00:28:40,942 --> 00:28:43,888 What is your preferred kind of style? 502 00:28:43,912 --> 00:28:47,191 Or do you have language understandability, 503 00:28:47,215 --> 00:28:50,785 or do you have more on the music side of filling the room? 504 00:28:54,289 --> 00:28:56,066 [Narrator] The key measurement is called 505 00:28:56,090 --> 00:29:00,504 the room's reverberation time, the time it takes for sound 506 00:29:00,528 --> 00:29:06,176 from the stage to reach the rest of the hall and then diminish. 507 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,548 Usually, a reverberation time of between 1.5 and 2.5 seconds 508 00:29:10,572 --> 00:29:15,686 hits the sweet spot, quick enough for vocal clarity, 509 00:29:15,710 --> 00:29:20,257 long enough for musical tones to develop. 510 00:29:20,281 --> 00:29:22,226 [Kjetil] The singers should hear themselves. 511 00:29:22,250 --> 00:29:25,696 You should hear the orchestra without any pre delay. 512 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:28,165 When the singer opens his or her mouth, 513 00:29:28,189 --> 00:29:30,858 you should hear the sound immediately. 514 00:29:33,494 --> 00:29:35,806 [Narrator] The team's solution partly comes down 515 00:29:35,830 --> 00:29:38,742 to the materials they pick. 516 00:29:38,766 --> 00:29:42,279 They line the auditorium with American oak, 517 00:29:42,303 --> 00:29:45,649 which looks beautiful and has great acoustic 518 00:29:45,673 --> 00:29:47,041 and reflective properties. 519 00:29:49,944 --> 00:29:53,090 When they test it, the auditorium's reverberation time 520 00:29:53,114 --> 00:29:57,461 is measured at 1.8 seconds, perfect for a room 521 00:29:57,485 --> 00:29:58,953 of its size and shape. 522 00:30:03,491 --> 00:30:04,868 [Randi] The sound is amazing. 523 00:30:04,892 --> 00:30:08,105 Actually, the acoustics is brilliant in this house. 524 00:30:08,129 --> 00:30:12,176 It's one of the best I've ever had in an opera house. 525 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:17,247 [music] 526 00:30:17,271 --> 00:30:20,684 [Narrator] Since its opening in 2008, ahead of schedule 527 00:30:20,708 --> 00:30:23,621 and 52 million dollars under budget, 528 00:30:23,645 --> 00:30:27,157 this incredible opera and ballet house has become much more 529 00:30:27,181 --> 00:30:30,995 than a performance space. 530 00:30:31,019 --> 00:30:33,564 With its fully accessible public roof, 531 00:30:33,588 --> 00:30:37,167 handcrafted from beautiful white Italian marble, 532 00:30:37,191 --> 00:30:41,639 it attracted 5 million visitors within its first three years. 533 00:30:41,663 --> 00:30:44,274 [Woman] It's really nice that it's open access to the public, 534 00:30:44,298 --> 00:30:45,643 it's great. 535 00:30:45,667 --> 00:30:48,045 Not a lot of places you can climb on top of a building. 536 00:30:48,069 --> 00:30:50,648 It's actually really nice, I like that. 537 00:30:50,672 --> 00:30:52,950 [Kjetil] While you're sitting on that spot on the roof, 538 00:30:52,974 --> 00:30:54,952 it's your roof. 539 00:30:54,976 --> 00:30:58,255 It's giving us this possibility of relating it back 540 00:30:58,279 --> 00:31:01,091 to human experiences and intimacies, 541 00:31:01,115 --> 00:31:03,627 and hopefully by that, creating public ownership 542 00:31:03,651 --> 00:31:05,262 to the building. 543 00:31:05,286 --> 00:31:08,132 [Narrator] And in the world of opera and ballet houses, 544 00:31:08,156 --> 00:31:12,269 that's what's known as a box office smash. 545 00:31:12,293 --> 00:31:18,166 [music] 546 00:31:25,039 --> 00:31:27,384 Our next building is a museum that's almost 547 00:31:27,408 --> 00:31:29,353 entirely recycled stuff. 548 00:31:29,377 --> 00:31:33,023 Now, I'm not saying most of the objects on display are recycled. 549 00:31:33,047 --> 00:31:36,093 Oh no, those things are all originals. 550 00:31:36,117 --> 00:31:38,796 What I mean is the museum itself is built 551 00:31:38,820 --> 00:31:40,764 using recycled stuff. 552 00:31:40,788 --> 00:31:43,667 15,000 cubic metres of recycled concrete. 553 00:31:43,691 --> 00:31:46,370 5,000 tons of recycled steel. 554 00:31:46,394 --> 00:31:49,907 With its living roof and built-in rainforest, 555 00:31:49,931 --> 00:31:52,467 here's a museum that's actually making history. 556 00:31:54,969 --> 00:31:56,747 [Narrator] In Golden Gate Park, 557 00:31:56,771 --> 00:31:59,049 on the west side of San Francisco, 558 00:31:59,073 --> 00:32:03,220 a truly amazing new building has arrived. 559 00:32:03,244 --> 00:32:06,824 A unique museum that combines breathtaking architecture 560 00:32:06,848 --> 00:32:09,359 with thousands of exhibits. 561 00:32:09,383 --> 00:32:13,297 If you think of a museum as a place full of old dead things, 562 00:32:13,321 --> 00:32:16,124 then this place will blow your mind. 563 00:32:18,626 --> 00:32:21,572 [Narrator] When one of America's leading scientific institutions 564 00:32:21,596 --> 00:32:25,409 needed a new home, they decided to make it like nothing else 565 00:32:25,433 --> 00:32:27,077 on the planet. 566 00:32:27,101 --> 00:32:28,946 This building is really groundbreaking 567 00:32:28,970 --> 00:32:31,215 because it really arrives in a time 568 00:32:31,239 --> 00:32:33,117 where we were just really getting serious 569 00:32:33,141 --> 00:32:35,385 about sustainable design. 570 00:32:35,409 --> 00:32:37,221 [Narrator] It had to be tough enough to survive 571 00:32:37,245 --> 00:32:38,655 in an earthquake zone, 572 00:32:38,679 --> 00:32:41,492 green enough to set an example to the world, 573 00:32:41,516 --> 00:32:43,994 and kind enough to support a whole host 574 00:32:44,018 --> 00:32:46,563 of different plants and animals. 575 00:32:46,587 --> 00:32:48,899 [Hayley] Entirely different ecosystems 576 00:32:48,923 --> 00:32:51,401 at different temperatures, humidity, 577 00:32:51,425 --> 00:32:54,471 even different types of seawater. 578 00:32:54,495 --> 00:32:56,373 [Narrator] It's the only place on the planet 579 00:32:56,397 --> 00:33:00,577 with an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum, 580 00:33:00,601 --> 00:33:05,415 and a four-story rainforest all under one extraordinary roof. 581 00:33:05,439 --> 00:33:09,086 The architect had this vision of lifting up a section 582 00:33:09,110 --> 00:33:12,456 of the park and putting a building underneath. 583 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:14,658 [Narrator] A visionary design that would create a building 584 00:33:14,682 --> 00:33:19,296 so radical, it barely looks like a building. 585 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:24,568 This is the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. 586 00:33:24,592 --> 00:33:26,460 So, how did they build it? 587 00:33:27,900 --> 00:33:29,745 [music] 588 00:33:29,769 --> 00:33:32,748 [Narrator] In 1853, the first scientific academy 589 00:33:32,772 --> 00:33:36,985 on the Pacific Coast was founded in San Francisco. 590 00:33:37,009 --> 00:33:41,156 Thousands flocked to see stuffed animals, rare artefacts, 591 00:33:41,180 --> 00:33:44,293 and collections from around the world. 592 00:33:44,317 --> 00:33:47,229 For over 130 years, the institution withstood 593 00:33:47,253 --> 00:33:53,102 not only the test of time, but also several major earthquakes. 594 00:33:53,126 --> 00:33:56,905 By the 1980s, the academy had grown, and on its site 595 00:33:56,929 --> 00:33:59,408 in Golden Gate Park, the collection extended 596 00:33:59,432 --> 00:34:01,367 over 12 buildings. 597 00:34:03,436 --> 00:34:06,815 But when the Loma Preita earthquake hit in 1989, 598 00:34:06,839 --> 00:34:09,609 it damaged some of the buildings beyond repair. 599 00:34:12,445 --> 00:34:16,492 Determined to turn this catastrophe into an opportunity, 600 00:34:16,516 --> 00:34:19,962 the academy decides to build one incredible new facility 601 00:34:19,986 --> 00:34:22,798 to replace all 12. 602 00:34:22,822 --> 00:34:25,534 Several well-known architects are invited to pitch 603 00:34:25,558 --> 00:34:27,569 for the design of the museum. 604 00:34:27,593 --> 00:34:30,606 And one in particular stands out. 605 00:34:30,630 --> 00:34:34,643 Most of them made big slide decks with visions and numbers 606 00:34:34,667 --> 00:34:37,746 of how they would make a difference, et cetera. 607 00:34:37,770 --> 00:34:39,982 And Renzo Piano was totally different. 608 00:34:40,006 --> 00:34:43,852 He made a sketch where he just basically said, 609 00:34:43,876 --> 00:34:48,524 what if you could lift up a section of the park? 610 00:34:48,548 --> 00:34:51,584 You put a living roof on top and put the building underneath. 611 00:34:53,786 --> 00:34:56,498 [Narrator] Taking inspiration from the seven rolling hills 612 00:34:56,522 --> 00:35:00,402 of San Francisco, Renzo Piano's museum will appear 613 00:35:00,426 --> 00:35:03,639 to have risen out of the ground. 614 00:35:03,663 --> 00:35:07,042 The roof will contain 1.3 million plants 615 00:35:07,066 --> 00:35:11,180 to help control rain water on the building. 616 00:35:11,204 --> 00:35:14,650 Instead of air conditioning, natural airflow will pull 617 00:35:14,674 --> 00:35:17,486 cool air in at the bottom and push warm air out 618 00:35:17,510 --> 00:35:19,621 through the roof. 619 00:35:19,645 --> 00:35:22,658 A complex water filtration plant will supply the aquariums 620 00:35:22,682 --> 00:35:26,829 with the right conditions for their exhibits to survive. 621 00:35:26,853 --> 00:35:31,533 Slimline design will keep concrete pillars to a minimum, 622 00:35:31,557 --> 00:35:33,669 while sustainable construction methods will help 623 00:35:33,693 --> 00:35:36,705 create a building for the future and set the bar 624 00:35:36,729 --> 00:35:38,831 for museums around the world. 625 00:35:42,602 --> 00:35:46,315 Work starts in 2005, and the first challenge facing 626 00:35:46,339 --> 00:35:50,252 the engineers is making sure this extraordinary building 627 00:35:50,276 --> 00:35:52,054 is going to be tough enough to survive 628 00:35:52,078 --> 00:35:54,323 in a major earthquake zone. 629 00:35:54,347 --> 00:35:57,125 San Francisco is a seismic zone four, 630 00:35:57,149 --> 00:35:59,528 which is the highest. 631 00:35:59,552 --> 00:36:02,965 So we get some pretty big earthquakes coming through. 632 00:36:02,989 --> 00:36:05,567 We've developed a lot of ways of dealing with quakes 633 00:36:05,591 --> 00:36:08,070 when constructing new buildings. 634 00:36:08,094 --> 00:36:12,441 Whatever you do, the key is not having the building tied 635 00:36:12,465 --> 00:36:15,811 to the ground during a quake, which would transfer 636 00:36:15,835 --> 00:36:18,480 the movement of the ground straight into 637 00:36:18,504 --> 00:36:19,906 the building above. 638 00:36:24,010 --> 00:36:26,955 [Narrator] But the engineers not only have to do this, 639 00:36:26,979 --> 00:36:29,358 they have to do it without compromising the look 640 00:36:29,382 --> 00:36:31,660 of the building. 641 00:36:31,684 --> 00:36:33,495 [Alisdair] It's really like a huge shoebox 642 00:36:33,519 --> 00:36:35,731 and reinforced concrete. 643 00:36:35,755 --> 00:36:38,066 And it's big enough that by 644 00:36:38,090 --> 00:36:42,137 allowing that entire basement level to rock 645 00:36:42,161 --> 00:36:44,706 and flex a little bit, dissipates quite a bit 646 00:36:44,730 --> 00:36:47,109 of the seismic energy, 647 00:36:47,133 --> 00:36:49,778 so that the stuff inside the art exhibits don't get 648 00:36:49,802 --> 00:36:51,037 thrown around. 649 00:36:53,105 --> 00:36:54,850 [Narrator] With a plan in place to ensure 650 00:36:54,874 --> 00:36:58,720 tremors aren't transferred into the museum, 651 00:36:58,744 --> 00:37:00,889 the next challenge is making the building 652 00:37:00,913 --> 00:37:04,893 environmentally responsible in its construction. 653 00:37:04,917 --> 00:37:08,163 This building was designed to honour the living world. 654 00:37:08,187 --> 00:37:11,333 And so really, it is about honouring that relationship 655 00:37:11,357 --> 00:37:14,169 between people and the natural world. 656 00:37:14,193 --> 00:37:16,638 [Narrator] It's a big challenge at a time when the building 657 00:37:16,662 --> 00:37:19,675 and construction industry accounts for almost 40% 658 00:37:19,699 --> 00:37:22,611 of the world's carbon emissions. 659 00:37:22,635 --> 00:37:25,747 This project tries to change that. 660 00:37:25,771 --> 00:37:29,885 First, almost all the demolished materials are recycled. 661 00:37:29,909 --> 00:37:32,154 In the new building, half the lumber comes 662 00:37:32,178 --> 00:37:34,590 from renewable forests. 663 00:37:34,614 --> 00:37:38,026 And 95% of the steel is from recycled sources. 664 00:37:38,050 --> 00:37:41,930 Even the insulation comes from an unusual place. 665 00:37:41,954 --> 00:37:46,068 The walls of this building are filled with recycled jeans, 666 00:37:46,092 --> 00:37:48,961 which is kind of an amazing thing unto itself. 667 00:37:51,631 --> 00:37:54,343 Normal insulation has formaldehyde 668 00:37:54,367 --> 00:37:56,979 and all these chemicals in it that you really don't want 669 00:37:57,003 --> 00:37:58,380 in a building. 670 00:37:58,404 --> 00:38:01,750 Recycled jeans have many of the same or better properties 671 00:38:01,774 --> 00:38:05,320 than traditional fibreglass insulation in terms of 672 00:38:05,344 --> 00:38:07,589 holding in heat, et cetera... 673 00:38:07,613 --> 00:38:09,992 Soundproofing, all these things. 674 00:38:10,016 --> 00:38:13,695 And of course, you're recycling and there's nothing toxic 675 00:38:13,719 --> 00:38:17,633 in them, so this is the level that people went to 676 00:38:17,657 --> 00:38:20,202 to make this building sustainable. 677 00:38:20,226 --> 00:38:22,437 [Narrator] And as the birthplace of denim jeans, 678 00:38:22,461 --> 00:38:24,072 some 150 years ago, 679 00:38:24,096 --> 00:38:26,708 San Francisco could not have chosen 680 00:38:26,732 --> 00:38:28,534 a more suitable material. 681 00:38:31,203 --> 00:38:36,018 Next, they have to minimise the need for air conditioning. 682 00:38:36,042 --> 00:38:39,688 [Christopher] One of the unique exhibits is the rainforest. 683 00:38:39,712 --> 00:38:42,624 So that's a challenge in terms of the mechanical system 684 00:38:42,648 --> 00:38:45,093 that's providing, you know, the right kind of humidity 685 00:38:45,117 --> 00:38:47,496 and temperature that's appropriate for the plants 686 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:49,898 and the people. 687 00:38:49,922 --> 00:38:53,068 [Narrator] Instead of relying on artificial heating and cooling, 688 00:38:53,092 --> 00:38:56,238 they look to use the location itself. 689 00:38:56,262 --> 00:38:58,640 [Alisdair] We thought, well, the climate in San Francisco, 690 00:38:58,664 --> 00:39:02,110 particularly close to the ocean and Golden Gate Park, 691 00:39:02,134 --> 00:39:04,379 is pretty mild. 692 00:39:04,403 --> 00:39:07,749 I think with that shape of building and the big open space, 693 00:39:07,773 --> 00:39:11,687 and that the hills, we can make the main exhibit space work 694 00:39:11,711 --> 00:39:15,057 as a naturally ventilated space. 695 00:39:15,081 --> 00:39:17,993 [Narrator] Architects use the curvature of the roofline 696 00:39:18,017 --> 00:39:20,529 and the height of the halls within the building 697 00:39:20,553 --> 00:39:22,798 to limit the need for air conditioning. 698 00:39:22,822 --> 00:39:26,001 It's known as the stack effect. 699 00:39:26,025 --> 00:39:28,403 [Christopher] The cool air comes in from below and then rises up 700 00:39:28,427 --> 00:39:29,838 through those openings. 701 00:39:29,862 --> 00:39:31,973 And that's really the beauty of this building, 702 00:39:31,997 --> 00:39:35,677 is it's, it is breathing, therefore making it 703 00:39:35,701 --> 00:39:38,413 much more efficient and using a lot less energy... 704 00:39:38,437 --> 00:39:41,817 Up to at least 30% energy than a building like this 705 00:39:41,841 --> 00:39:43,852 would have otherwise. 706 00:39:43,876 --> 00:39:45,454 [Alisdair] So what we have is at 707 00:39:45,478 --> 00:39:47,456 a little bit above the planetarium, 708 00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:49,491 because that gives off a lot of heat, 709 00:39:49,515 --> 00:39:52,461 and above the tropical rainforest, 710 00:39:52,485 --> 00:39:54,896 all those round portholes. 711 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:56,932 Those openings are all computer controlled. 712 00:39:56,956 --> 00:40:00,302 So as the temperature inside the space builds up, 713 00:40:00,326 --> 00:40:01,794 they will start to open. 714 00:40:03,963 --> 00:40:06,641 [Narrator] As work continues, not only does the building 715 00:40:06,665 --> 00:40:11,546 need to blend in with nature, it has to bring nature inside. 716 00:40:11,570 --> 00:40:13,749 Including the ocean. 717 00:40:13,773 --> 00:40:15,717 [Brenda] The Steinert Aquarium is one of the oldest 718 00:40:15,741 --> 00:40:18,820 and most biologically diverse aquariums in the world. 719 00:40:18,844 --> 00:40:22,858 We opened in 1923 and have had a very long and rich history 720 00:40:22,882 --> 00:40:26,895 of exhibiting rare and unique species. 721 00:40:26,919 --> 00:40:29,164 [Narrator] The plan is for a new super aquarium 722 00:40:29,188 --> 00:40:33,034 to be housed in the Academy of Sciences building. 723 00:40:33,058 --> 00:40:36,371 It will be one of the largest and deepest coral reef exhibits 724 00:40:36,395 --> 00:40:38,006 in the world. 725 00:40:38,030 --> 00:40:40,942 That's if the team can work out how to build a tank 726 00:40:40,966 --> 00:40:44,103 to hold over 200,000 gallons of water. 727 00:40:47,039 --> 00:40:48,884 [Alisdair] The big coral reef exhibit 728 00:40:48,908 --> 00:40:51,052 I think's about 15 to 20 feet deep, 729 00:40:51,076 --> 00:40:53,421 and that's a lot of pressure down at the bottom, 730 00:40:53,445 --> 00:40:55,857 trying to push out. 731 00:40:55,881 --> 00:40:59,127 The concrete enclosures for the tanks was part of 732 00:40:59,151 --> 00:41:02,731 the structural design, but then the acrylic sections 733 00:41:02,755 --> 00:41:05,901 in those big tanks are curved. 734 00:41:05,925 --> 00:41:08,670 And from a structural standpoint, a curved structure 735 00:41:08,694 --> 00:41:13,909 is stronger for resisting pressure than a flat one. 736 00:41:13,933 --> 00:41:15,277 [Christopher] In the aquarium, 737 00:41:15,301 --> 00:41:17,345 you've probably seen the massive acrylic wall 738 00:41:17,369 --> 00:41:19,214 that was, you know, no seams. 739 00:41:19,238 --> 00:41:22,284 It was, at the time, the largest acrylic structure. 740 00:41:22,308 --> 00:41:25,353 It had to be ordered, manufactures, and installed 741 00:41:25,377 --> 00:41:29,658 prior to most of the building going up around it. 742 00:41:29,682 --> 00:41:32,394 [Narrator] The next challenge is creating the perfect water 743 00:41:32,418 --> 00:41:35,864 for each of the different habitats in the aquarium. 744 00:41:35,888 --> 00:41:37,833 All of the water that we use for the aquarium 745 00:41:37,857 --> 00:41:39,534 actually starts with one source, 746 00:41:39,558 --> 00:41:41,837 and that's San Francisco city water. 747 00:41:41,861 --> 00:41:44,072 From there, we run it through filtration 748 00:41:44,096 --> 00:41:46,842 to remove chloramines, and then we either send it 749 00:41:46,866 --> 00:41:49,578 to our freshwater basin for our freshwater habitats 750 00:41:49,602 --> 00:41:53,815 or to saltwater mixing, where we create our own salt water 751 00:41:53,839 --> 00:41:56,585 from our own special recipe. 752 00:41:56,609 --> 00:41:59,521 [Narrator] The team builds the system into the basement. 753 00:41:59,545 --> 00:42:03,425 It requires over seven miles of pipework to supply the aquariums 754 00:42:03,449 --> 00:42:07,128 with the perfect water for their inhabitants to thrive. 755 00:42:07,152 --> 00:42:10,899 One of the challenges is the coral, the coral reef. 756 00:42:10,923 --> 00:42:13,969 You know, that was live coral that was brought in. 757 00:42:13,993 --> 00:42:16,004 But before it was brought in, you know, the water 758 00:42:16,028 --> 00:42:18,039 had to be right, the lighting had to be right. 759 00:42:18,063 --> 00:42:20,208 And then you install the coral and you hope that, 760 00:42:20,232 --> 00:42:22,401 you know, you have to watch it and maintain it. 761 00:42:25,304 --> 00:42:28,650 [Narrator] By summer 2008, 19 years after 762 00:42:28,674 --> 00:42:32,387 the Loma Prieta earthquake ripped through San Francisco, 763 00:42:32,411 --> 00:42:37,792 the new academy throws open its doors to the public. 764 00:42:37,816 --> 00:42:41,863 It's buildings like this, and programs and exhibits 765 00:42:41,887 --> 00:42:44,232 like the kind that occur in this building, 766 00:42:44,256 --> 00:42:48,069 that really encourage large numbers of people 767 00:42:48,093 --> 00:42:52,807 to think differently about their relationship with nature. 768 00:42:52,831 --> 00:42:54,943 [Narrator] Along with a colony of penguins, 769 00:42:54,967 --> 00:42:59,147 a 90-foot high rainforest, a full-size T-Rex skeleton, 770 00:42:59,171 --> 00:43:03,618 and an albino crocodile, over 40,000 live exhibits are put 771 00:43:03,642 --> 00:43:07,055 on display to the public. 772 00:43:07,079 --> 00:43:09,457 [Scott] We've had 17 million people 773 00:43:09,481 --> 00:43:10,926 walk through this building... 774 00:43:10,950 --> 00:43:13,962 More than since it opened in 2008. 775 00:43:13,986 --> 00:43:17,666 So we can have a significant impact in the world. 776 00:43:17,690 --> 00:43:20,435 [Narrator] The huge curved window offering a glimpse 777 00:43:20,459 --> 00:43:21,970 into an undersea world, 778 00:43:21,994 --> 00:43:25,707 the sustainable system cooling the building, 779 00:43:25,731 --> 00:43:28,143 the enormous living roof on top... 780 00:43:28,167 --> 00:43:31,880 It truly is a success with the scientific community 781 00:43:31,904 --> 00:43:34,049 and the general public alike. 782 00:43:34,073 --> 00:43:36,518 It really did set the bar very high 783 00:43:36,542 --> 00:43:39,421 because it's an incredible building that's beautiful, 784 00:43:39,445 --> 00:43:44,059 very functional, and also incredibly sustainable. 785 00:43:44,083 --> 00:43:45,860 [Narrator] The structure is living proof 786 00:43:45,884 --> 00:43:48,630 of an incredible idea turned into 787 00:43:48,654 --> 00:43:51,166 an extraordinary reality. 788 00:43:51,190 --> 00:43:55,027 One that continues to inspire visitors every day.