1 00:00:04,874 --> 00:00:05,657 Narrator: What happens when an ambitious builder 2 00:00:05,658 --> 00:00:08,268 tries to join two skyscrapers 3 00:00:08,269 --> 00:00:10,661 high up in the Manhattan skyline? 4 00:00:10,662 --> 00:00:13,751 Man: You can't call a friend and say, 5 00:00:13,752 --> 00:00:15,188 hey, what did you do the last time you built a bridge 6 00:00:15,189 --> 00:00:16,629 300 feet in the air in New York City? 7 00:00:17,669 --> 00:00:19,409 Narrator: How does this huge wing-like roof 8 00:00:19,410 --> 00:00:21,846 not take flight in Gale-force winds? 9 00:00:21,847 --> 00:00:24,197 Man: The whole canopy has an ability to move 10 00:00:24,198 --> 00:00:28,288 15 to 20 centimetres. 11 00:00:28,289 --> 00:00:29,419 Narrator: And how can a building be constructed 12 00:00:29,420 --> 00:00:32,074 without a corner in sight? 13 00:00:32,075 --> 00:00:34,859 Woman: It kind of goes against 14 00:00:34,860 --> 00:00:36,500 everything we think engineering should be. 15 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,304 Narrator: This is the age of the extraordinary... 16 00:00:44,305 --> 00:00:46,481 Man: This house always is on the verge of falling down. 17 00:00:48,874 --> 00:00:52,703 Narrator: Where ingenious engineers 18 00:00:52,704 --> 00:00:54,792 have unleashed unchecked creativity. 19 00:00:54,793 --> 00:00:56,578 Woman: Everything in this building 20 00:00:58,101 --> 00:00:59,928 pushes at the boundaries of what's possible. 21 00:00:59,929 --> 00:01:00,843 Narrator: Building structures so outrageous, 22 00:01:00,844 --> 00:01:04,063 they defy logic. 23 00:01:04,064 --> 00:01:05,673 Woman: The forces on this thing 24 00:01:05,674 --> 00:01:07,283 look like it should be torn apart. 25 00:01:07,284 --> 00:01:09,938 Narrator: Now their secrets are revealed... 26 00:01:09,939 --> 00:01:12,897 Discovering the incredible stories 27 00:01:12,898 --> 00:01:14,291 of their construction... 28 00:01:16,076 --> 00:01:17,859 Woman: These are extraordinary feats of engineering. 29 00:01:17,860 --> 00:01:21,297 Narrator: To try and understand 30 00:01:21,298 --> 00:01:23,039 how did they build that? 31 00:01:26,782 --> 00:01:30,002 New York. 32 00:01:31,439 --> 00:01:32,787 With the total area of buildable land 33 00:01:32,788 --> 00:01:34,311 worth over $1.7 trillion, 34 00:01:35,225 --> 00:01:39,141 its eye-watering prices 35 00:01:39,142 --> 00:01:40,142 have created one of the world's most memorable 36 00:01:40,143 --> 00:01:43,145 and expensive skylines. 37 00:01:43,146 --> 00:01:44,843 With space at a premium, 38 00:01:45,757 --> 00:01:47,889 it's forcing developers 39 00:01:47,890 --> 00:01:49,064 to come up with groundbreaking solutions 40 00:01:49,065 --> 00:01:51,849 to make the most out of even 41 00:01:51,850 --> 00:01:54,200 the least inviting scraps of land. 42 00:01:54,201 --> 00:01:56,441 Developing one awkwardly shaped plot in midtown Manhattan 43 00:01:57,856 --> 00:02:01,468 tested engineers to their limits, 44 00:02:01,469 --> 00:02:03,035 leading to panic on the streets. 45 00:02:04,385 --> 00:02:07,213 Man: You hear the fire department, 46 00:02:07,214 --> 00:02:07,649 they pull up and the guys come screaming, running in. 47 00:02:07,650 --> 00:02:09,520 "We got a call. 48 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:12,218 One of the buildings is falling down!" 49 00:02:12,219 --> 00:02:13,610 Narrator: And creating the city's 50 00:02:13,611 --> 00:02:15,786 first skybridge in 80 years, 51 00:02:15,787 --> 00:02:18,347 giving rise to one of New York's most incredible new skyscrapers. 52 00:02:18,529 --> 00:02:21,097 This is the American copper building. 53 00:02:26,450 --> 00:02:30,323 Ellie cosgrave: Building two skyscrapers, 54 00:02:30,324 --> 00:02:33,195 wanting to join them in the middle, 55 00:02:33,196 --> 00:02:34,718 and then deciding that actually you want them bent... 56 00:02:34,719 --> 00:02:38,069 That is next level. 57 00:02:38,070 --> 00:02:40,463 Narrator: In 2013, developer Simon koster 58 00:02:40,464 --> 00:02:44,250 had his eye on a plot next to the river 59 00:02:44,251 --> 00:02:46,948 that should have been prime real estate. 60 00:02:46,949 --> 00:02:49,037 But the site came with a major problem... 61 00:02:49,038 --> 00:02:52,823 New York City's zoning laws, 62 00:02:52,824 --> 00:02:55,783 the rules that decide what can be built and where. 63 00:02:55,784 --> 00:02:59,003 Simon koster: The zoning of this site was prescribed 64 00:02:59,004 --> 00:03:00,701 before we bought the site. 65 00:03:00,702 --> 00:03:02,790 That approval prescribed 66 00:03:02,791 --> 00:03:04,748 the exact footprints of the tower 67 00:03:04,749 --> 00:03:06,109 and the exact heights of the tower. 68 00:03:07,491 --> 00:03:09,231 They assumed, by prescribing the footprint and the height, 69 00:03:09,232 --> 00:03:11,272 that they were prescribing the exact building shape, 70 00:03:11,669 --> 00:03:14,454 but when we bought the site, 71 00:03:14,455 --> 00:03:16,238 we didn't want to create two buildings. 72 00:03:16,239 --> 00:03:18,762 We wanted to create one building. 73 00:03:18,763 --> 00:03:21,156 Narrator: There was an existing building 74 00:03:21,157 --> 00:03:23,245 in the corner of the plot 75 00:03:23,246 --> 00:03:24,963 and a piece of land that had been zoned as a park. 76 00:03:24,987 --> 00:03:28,729 So how could they create 77 00:03:28,730 --> 00:03:30,818 their dream of a single building? 78 00:03:30,819 --> 00:03:33,777 Simon: We didn't want anyone to be going to the gym 79 00:03:33,778 --> 00:03:37,303 in their neighbor's building, 80 00:03:37,304 --> 00:03:38,956 we didn't want someone going to a lounge 81 00:03:38,957 --> 00:03:40,697 or going to visit someone else in a neighbor's property. 82 00:03:40,698 --> 00:03:42,676 We wanted to use the scale of the property and the block 83 00:03:42,700 --> 00:03:45,355 to create one community. 84 00:03:48,358 --> 00:03:51,012 Narrator: Koster brought in Greg pasquarelli 85 00:03:51,013 --> 00:03:53,275 from shop architects to find a solution. 86 00:03:53,276 --> 00:03:57,192 Gregg pasquarelli: When our client bought it, 87 00:03:57,193 --> 00:03:58,713 he said, I could go through a rezoning, 88 00:03:59,064 --> 00:04:01,762 which takes many years 89 00:04:01,763 --> 00:04:02,372 and has a lot of risks and is very difficult, 90 00:04:02,373 --> 00:04:05,113 or he said, 91 00:04:05,114 --> 00:04:05,897 can you come up with something with these handcuffs on? 92 00:04:05,898 --> 00:04:08,725 And that was our challenge. 93 00:04:08,726 --> 00:04:10,161 Corina kwami: They could have built two towers, 94 00:04:10,162 --> 00:04:12,512 but they came up with a much better idea. 95 00:04:12,513 --> 00:04:14,353 Simon: There end up being a lot of great ideas, 96 00:04:14,558 --> 00:04:17,647 a lot of terrible ideas. 97 00:04:17,648 --> 00:04:19,606 And what usually ends up happening 98 00:04:19,607 --> 00:04:21,477 is one of the terrible ideas 99 00:04:21,478 --> 00:04:23,697 turns out to be a really wonderful one. 100 00:04:23,698 --> 00:04:25,612 And it's terrible at first because somebody says, you know, 101 00:04:25,613 --> 00:04:28,789 let's build a giant bridge between two buildings 102 00:04:28,790 --> 00:04:31,357 hundreds of feet off the ground. 103 00:04:31,358 --> 00:04:32,010 And for those of us that have to pay for it 104 00:04:32,011 --> 00:04:34,491 and figure it out, 105 00:04:35,623 --> 00:04:37,537 we go, no, let's not do that. 106 00:04:37,538 --> 00:04:41,105 Um, but of course, as you start to wrap your head around 107 00:04:41,106 --> 00:04:43,630 kind of all the different aspects 108 00:04:43,631 --> 00:04:46,241 that could make it possible, 109 00:04:46,242 --> 00:04:47,721 you start to realize that it's actually very approachable, 110 00:04:47,722 --> 00:04:51,377 and the way we approach building the skybridge 111 00:04:51,378 --> 00:04:53,117 was the same way we approach building everything else, 112 00:04:53,118 --> 00:04:54,518 which is kind of one step at a time. 113 00:04:57,949 --> 00:04:59,820 Narrator: It would be the city's first skybridge 114 00:04:59,821 --> 00:05:03,084 in over 80 years. 115 00:05:03,085 --> 00:05:05,285 Joining two giant skyscrapers almost 300 feet in the air 116 00:05:06,393 --> 00:05:08,743 on the banks of the east river on a site prone to flooding 117 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,964 was always going to be an engineering headache. 118 00:05:13,965 --> 00:05:16,533 But it was also an opportunity. 119 00:05:18,405 --> 00:05:21,232 Gregg: The idea was we could make a sort of amenities package 120 00:05:21,233 --> 00:05:25,062 or a shared space 121 00:05:25,063 --> 00:05:25,673 that would be sort of typical for each building, 122 00:05:25,674 --> 00:05:28,805 or if we built a bridge, 123 00:05:28,806 --> 00:05:29,806 we could build one phenomenal one 124 00:05:29,807 --> 00:05:32,287 that brought everybody together. 125 00:05:32,288 --> 00:05:33,593 And so getting that designed and built 126 00:05:33,594 --> 00:05:36,683 and making it work 127 00:05:36,684 --> 00:05:38,293 was the greatest challenge, 128 00:05:38,294 --> 00:05:40,494 but I also think is the greatest success of the project. 129 00:05:42,820 --> 00:05:43,343 Narrator: The easiest way to connect the two towers 130 00:05:43,344 --> 00:05:46,562 would be with a straight line. 131 00:05:46,563 --> 00:05:48,643 But that would mean going over the existing building, 132 00:05:49,174 --> 00:05:53,264 which they didn't own. 133 00:05:53,265 --> 00:05:54,982 The architects came up with a gravity-defying solution. 134 00:05:55,006 --> 00:05:58,792 They decided to bend the buildings. 135 00:05:58,793 --> 00:06:02,012 Ellie: How did they bend the towers? 136 00:06:02,013 --> 00:06:04,363 That's the real question. 137 00:06:04,364 --> 00:06:06,044 Simon: They bend towards each other, right? 138 00:06:07,410 --> 00:06:09,280 One on the long axis and one on the short axis. 139 00:06:09,281 --> 00:06:10,641 It moves the edge of the west tower 140 00:06:11,762 --> 00:06:15,112 out to the corner of the property line 141 00:06:15,113 --> 00:06:16,636 so that we can actually connect the two buildings 142 00:06:16,637 --> 00:06:19,552 with a straight line. 143 00:06:19,553 --> 00:06:20,683 Otherwise our bridge would have had to be kind of l- or v-shaped 144 00:06:20,684 --> 00:06:22,730 which is obviously much harder still to do. 145 00:06:26,342 --> 00:06:28,169 Narrator: By bending the two towers, 146 00:06:28,170 --> 00:06:29,850 they'd not only overcome the zoning issues, 147 00:06:30,955 --> 00:06:34,088 but also the engineering ones. 148 00:06:34,089 --> 00:06:35,830 Hayley loren oakes: Making small adjustments 149 00:06:37,266 --> 00:06:40,094 is a great way to make a big change. 150 00:06:40,095 --> 00:06:42,226 A couple of inches can quickly become meters, 151 00:06:42,227 --> 00:06:45,012 and it's something that clever designers 152 00:06:45,013 --> 00:06:48,058 can use to their advantage. 153 00:06:48,059 --> 00:06:50,147 Narrator: And that's exactly what they did here. 154 00:06:50,148 --> 00:06:52,429 By slightly moving each floor closer to the other building 155 00:06:52,542 --> 00:06:55,197 as they go up to the skybridge, 156 00:06:56,285 --> 00:06:58,721 and then moving away again, 157 00:06:58,722 --> 00:07:00,854 they were able to bend the buildings. 158 00:07:00,855 --> 00:07:03,552 Simon: We were able to solve both of those problems 159 00:07:03,553 --> 00:07:05,353 with these really elegant architectural moves. 160 00:07:08,645 --> 00:07:12,953 Narrator: In 2012, 161 00:07:12,954 --> 00:07:14,128 work began preparing the site for construction. 162 00:07:14,129 --> 00:07:16,697 It was clear from the start 163 00:07:18,089 --> 00:07:19,525 this was going to be a tough build. 164 00:07:19,526 --> 00:07:21,166 The site was right next to the east river, 165 00:07:22,398 --> 00:07:25,922 a location that had previously flooded. 166 00:07:25,923 --> 00:07:29,404 @joshua macabuag: It's in an area that's subject to hurricanes, 167 00:07:29,405 --> 00:07:31,325 and so in 2012, there was a very large hurricane, 168 00:07:32,234 --> 00:07:33,626 hurricane Sandy, which affected New York, 169 00:07:33,627 --> 00:07:36,237 and during that hurricane 170 00:07:36,238 --> 00:07:38,500 this actual site was flooded 171 00:07:38,501 --> 00:07:39,632 before the building was constructed, 172 00:07:39,633 --> 00:07:42,025 so that's really highlighted 173 00:07:42,026 --> 00:07:42,810 two of the main risks to the construction... 174 00:07:42,811 --> 00:07:45,768 The wind and the water. 175 00:07:45,769 --> 00:07:46,509 Narrator: The man who had to face this challenge 176 00:07:46,510 --> 00:07:49,772 was Michael Jones. 177 00:07:49,773 --> 00:07:51,513 Michael Jones: The foundation of the building 178 00:07:51,514 --> 00:07:53,384 was kind of a monster process on our end to build it. 179 00:07:53,385 --> 00:07:56,170 We're very close to the east river, 180 00:07:56,171 --> 00:07:57,954 and the water level is very high. 181 00:07:57,955 --> 00:07:59,260 So to dig a hole as deep as we had to dig it 182 00:07:59,261 --> 00:08:01,697 into our foundation elements 183 00:08:01,698 --> 00:08:04,700 was a serious challenge. 184 00:08:04,701 --> 00:08:07,141 Narrator: Michael and the team had to dig down almost 50 feet. 185 00:08:07,791 --> 00:08:11,751 With the water table only 4.5 feet below the surface, 186 00:08:11,752 --> 00:08:15,885 they needed to stop the site from flooding. 187 00:08:15,886 --> 00:08:18,406 The engineering solution was to create a huge concrete structure 188 00:08:19,107 --> 00:08:23,371 to keep the water out. 189 00:08:23,372 --> 00:08:24,720 Michael: What you do is you create a perimeter wall 190 00:08:24,721 --> 00:08:28,289 around your site from the ground level. 191 00:08:28,290 --> 00:08:28,943 You can push steel sheets, push those down into the ground, 192 00:08:28,944 --> 00:08:33,337 and they interlock, 193 00:08:33,338 --> 00:08:34,600 and so you more or less build a bathtub with no bottom, 194 00:08:34,601 --> 00:08:37,167 and then the water level inside the bathtub 195 00:08:37,168 --> 00:08:40,083 is the same as it is outside. 196 00:08:40,084 --> 00:08:41,302 So then what you can do is you drill Wells down there 197 00:08:41,303 --> 00:08:42,863 and you De-water inside of your bathtub. 198 00:08:44,393 --> 00:08:45,872 You can locally bring that water level down 199 00:08:45,873 --> 00:08:49,179 by putting a pump. 200 00:08:49,180 --> 00:08:50,703 You have to kind of artificially drop the water level, 201 00:08:50,704 --> 00:08:52,226 and to do that with, you know, a few cups of water 202 00:08:52,227 --> 00:08:56,273 is really easy. 203 00:08:56,274 --> 00:08:57,666 To do it with a few million gallons is difficult. 204 00:08:57,667 --> 00:08:59,427 Narrator: It took a year and a half to do it, 205 00:09:00,017 --> 00:09:02,323 but with the bathtub built and the foundation in, 206 00:09:02,324 --> 00:09:05,805 they could turn their attentions 207 00:09:05,806 --> 00:09:07,366 to the next big engineering challenge... 208 00:09:08,548 --> 00:09:11,986 Building the bending towers. 209 00:09:13,422 --> 00:09:16,076 Joshua: Generally, a leaning building 210 00:09:16,077 --> 00:09:17,338 is very much a bad sign, 211 00:09:17,339 --> 00:09:19,558 and the designers 212 00:09:19,559 --> 00:09:21,255 would very much have had to have factored in 213 00:09:21,256 --> 00:09:22,561 the kind of sideways forces that are caused by something leaning. 214 00:09:22,562 --> 00:09:26,739 But there's two things to consider, 215 00:09:26,740 --> 00:09:27,610 and that's they've designed a building that's able to lean, 216 00:09:27,611 --> 00:09:30,656 but also that that building 217 00:09:30,657 --> 00:09:32,048 is going to be leaning throughout it's construction, 218 00:09:32,049 --> 00:09:34,094 which means you have to really think about 219 00:09:34,095 --> 00:09:36,096 the stability of the final building, 220 00:09:36,097 --> 00:09:36,837 but also all the intermediate stages during construction. 221 00:09:36,838 --> 00:09:39,360 So it's an engineering feat. 222 00:09:39,361 --> 00:09:42,189 Narrator: The person making sure 223 00:09:42,190 --> 00:09:43,756 this bent skyscraper didn't come crashing down 224 00:09:43,757 --> 00:09:47,760 was structural engineer Susan hamos. 225 00:09:47,761 --> 00:09:51,154 Susan hamos: Because of the leaning of the building, 226 00:09:51,155 --> 00:09:53,115 every floor we had to tie back to the shear walls. 227 00:09:53,854 --> 00:09:56,378 What shear walls means, they take shear, 228 00:09:57,422 --> 00:10:00,381 they take horizontal load, 229 00:10:00,382 --> 00:10:01,687 they take shear from the wind load, 230 00:10:01,688 --> 00:10:04,211 shear from the seismic loads, 231 00:10:04,212 --> 00:10:06,648 and shear from gravity loads. 232 00:10:06,649 --> 00:10:07,693 You imagine, if you put something like this, 233 00:10:07,694 --> 00:10:10,391 it wants to fall down. 234 00:10:10,392 --> 00:10:12,792 So we had to put some rebars to pull it back to the vertical, 235 00:10:13,830 --> 00:10:18,225 long concrete walls 236 00:10:18,226 --> 00:10:18,922 that were designed to take all these horizontal loads 237 00:10:18,923 --> 00:10:20,881 from the gravity. 238 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,101 Narrator: Although the building bends, 239 00:10:25,102 --> 00:10:27,016 the lift shaft and the shear walls 240 00:10:27,017 --> 00:10:29,018 stay vertical 241 00:10:29,019 --> 00:10:30,280 and act like a spine, 242 00:10:30,281 --> 00:10:32,152 taking the force of the floors 243 00:10:32,153 --> 00:10:34,545 as they create the bending skyscrapers. 244 00:10:34,546 --> 00:10:37,071 Michael: The main structure, 245 00:10:38,507 --> 00:10:39,986 which is the core, the elevator core 246 00:10:39,987 --> 00:10:40,640 and the shear walls, which are massive structures, 247 00:10:40,641 --> 00:10:43,467 those stay straight. 248 00:10:43,468 --> 00:10:44,991 But all of the columns were on an angle. 249 00:10:44,992 --> 00:10:47,112 So we got really good at building columns on an angle. 250 00:10:50,954 --> 00:10:52,594 Narrator: As the extraordinary skyscrapers 251 00:10:53,348 --> 00:10:54,870 took shape on the Manhattan skyline, 252 00:10:54,871 --> 00:10:57,091 they didn't go unnoticed. 253 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:00,702 Michael: This tower, the east tower, 254 00:11:00,703 --> 00:11:03,836 goes about 8.5 inches per floor. 255 00:11:03,837 --> 00:11:06,076 So by the time, you know, we are really offset maximum distance, 256 00:11:06,100 --> 00:11:09,232 we're over 20 feet, 22 feet, I think it is, 257 00:11:09,233 --> 00:11:12,235 out of plumb 258 00:11:12,236 --> 00:11:13,497 before we start working our way back. 259 00:11:13,498 --> 00:11:16,022 And that's the sort of visual thing 260 00:11:16,023 --> 00:11:17,903 that people really weren't accustomed to seeing. 261 00:11:19,330 --> 00:11:21,244 Hayley: The bent shape of the skyscrapers 262 00:11:21,245 --> 00:11:23,856 caused panic as the buildings were going up, 263 00:11:23,857 --> 00:11:26,685 which is something that the main builder had to deal with. 264 00:11:26,686 --> 00:11:28,512 Michael: One day, you know, we're down there, 265 00:11:28,513 --> 00:11:30,689 we're all working, 266 00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:32,081 and you hear the fire department, 267 00:11:32,082 --> 00:11:33,517 they pull up, and the guys come screaming 268 00:11:33,518 --> 00:11:34,910 and they're running in, and it's all chaos for a second. 269 00:11:34,911 --> 00:11:37,304 We're trying to figure out what's going on. 270 00:11:37,305 --> 00:11:38,871 Finally I grabbed the guy. I go, "what's going on? 271 00:11:38,872 --> 00:11:39,915 What's happening? I'm in charge here. 272 00:11:39,916 --> 00:11:41,482 What's going on?" 273 00:11:41,483 --> 00:11:43,353 He said, "we got a call. 274 00:11:43,354 --> 00:11:44,138 One of the buildings is falling down." 275 00:11:44,139 --> 00:11:46,443 And I kind of kind of stopped, 276 00:11:46,444 --> 00:11:48,010 I had to think about it for a second. 277 00:11:48,011 --> 00:11:49,490 I go, "no, no. It's supposed to be like that." 278 00:11:49,491 --> 00:11:51,274 We showed him pictures and renderings of the building 279 00:11:51,275 --> 00:11:53,320 and showed him the plans and everything, 280 00:11:53,321 --> 00:11:54,974 but it's such a unique architectural feature 281 00:11:54,975 --> 00:11:56,735 that people didn't know how to respond to it. 282 00:11:59,936 --> 00:12:02,285 Narrator: Once the builders had convinced new yorkers 283 00:12:02,286 --> 00:12:05,854 that the towers weren't collapsing, 284 00:12:05,855 --> 00:12:07,528 they still faced one of their biggest challenges... 285 00:12:07,552 --> 00:12:11,164 The skybridge. 286 00:12:11,165 --> 00:12:13,209 Central to the design, 287 00:12:13,210 --> 00:12:14,907 the skybridge nearly 300 feet in the air 288 00:12:14,908 --> 00:12:17,823 would join the two towers together, 289 00:12:17,824 --> 00:12:20,869 making one community. 290 00:12:20,870 --> 00:12:22,349 Michael: The bridge is several layers. 291 00:12:22,350 --> 00:12:24,003 There's private terraces on top, 292 00:12:24,004 --> 00:12:25,700 there's a public lounge, 293 00:12:25,701 --> 00:12:27,441 in between there's a pool and hot tubs. 294 00:12:27,442 --> 00:12:28,834 You can kind of swim from one building to another. 295 00:12:28,835 --> 00:12:30,923 And then below all that, the bottom level of the bridge 296 00:12:30,924 --> 00:12:32,284 we use to transfer mechanical water 297 00:12:33,665 --> 00:12:36,058 and we use emergency generator power. 298 00:12:36,059 --> 00:12:37,407 We transfer from one building to another. 299 00:12:37,408 --> 00:12:39,583 And that's really my favourite part, 300 00:12:39,584 --> 00:12:40,933 is it allows us some kind of leeway 301 00:12:40,934 --> 00:12:44,458 in terms of where we put equipment 302 00:12:44,459 --> 00:12:46,499 so each building doesn't act isolated to each other. 303 00:12:49,159 --> 00:12:50,986 Narrator: The bridge came with 304 00:12:50,987 --> 00:12:52,118 some serious engineering challenges. 305 00:12:52,119 --> 00:12:55,338 How would they stop the hurricanes 306 00:12:55,339 --> 00:12:57,384 that regularly hit New York 307 00:12:57,385 --> 00:12:59,952 from tearing it apart? 308 00:12:59,953 --> 00:13:01,997 Simon: The biggest design constraint 309 00:13:01,998 --> 00:13:03,085 on tall buildings in New York is wind, 310 00:13:03,086 --> 00:13:04,366 so buildings move back and forth, 311 00:13:05,872 --> 00:13:07,350 towards each other and away from each other. 312 00:13:07,351 --> 00:13:08,525 The total movement between the two buildings 313 00:13:08,526 --> 00:13:10,745 is about 12 inches. 314 00:13:10,746 --> 00:13:12,965 12 inches is in a windstorm, 315 00:13:12,966 --> 00:13:14,444 so that movement was our number-one challenge. 316 00:13:14,445 --> 00:13:16,621 From a structural perspective, 317 00:13:18,580 --> 00:13:20,980 that skybridge is like putting a toothpick between two rocks. 318 00:13:23,454 --> 00:13:25,673 Narrator: Skyscrapers are built to cope with high winds, 319 00:13:25,674 --> 00:13:27,834 and at the top, can move about 3 feet in any direction. 320 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:33,289 Fine when they're not fixed to another building. 321 00:13:33,290 --> 00:13:34,988 But here, two independently moving towers 322 00:13:36,424 --> 00:13:40,688 would be linked by the bridge. 323 00:13:40,689 --> 00:13:42,733 And when they moved, they could rip the bridge apart. 324 00:13:42,734 --> 00:13:46,389 Susan: Is it possible to put the bridge there? 325 00:13:46,390 --> 00:13:48,261 We said, of course it's possible. 326 00:13:48,262 --> 00:13:49,958 So how would we do it? 327 00:13:49,959 --> 00:13:51,525 And we said no problem, 328 00:13:51,526 --> 00:13:52,743 we'll connect it to one building, 329 00:13:52,744 --> 00:13:55,007 and we let it slide on the other. 330 00:13:55,008 --> 00:13:56,530 So when the wind is hitting the two buildings, 331 00:13:56,531 --> 00:13:59,925 one would move out, the other one would move in. 332 00:13:59,926 --> 00:14:01,841 And we don't want the bridge to like buckle, 333 00:14:02,711 --> 00:14:05,452 to pop out of its place, 334 00:14:05,453 --> 00:14:06,540 so we have to slide it on one side. 335 00:14:06,541 --> 00:14:09,152 Narrator: Their solution 336 00:14:10,980 --> 00:14:12,415 was to join only one side of the bridge to the towers 337 00:14:12,416 --> 00:14:15,897 and balance the other side on huge teflon plates, 338 00:14:15,898 --> 00:14:18,018 letting the bridge slide in and out of the east tower. 339 00:14:20,337 --> 00:14:22,687 Michael: It slides on these giant teflon plates 340 00:14:24,211 --> 00:14:26,091 that account for 28 inches of movement in total, 341 00:14:26,778 --> 00:14:30,738 14 in any given direction. 342 00:14:30,739 --> 00:14:32,479 Narrator: Now they knew it was possible. 343 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,437 All they had to do was build it. 344 00:14:34,438 --> 00:14:38,093 Michael: Unfortunately, 345 00:14:38,094 --> 00:14:38,921 when you're doing something unique like this, 346 00:14:38,922 --> 00:14:39,965 you can't call a friend and say, 347 00:14:39,966 --> 00:14:42,054 "hey, what did you do 348 00:14:42,055 --> 00:14:42,707 the last time you built a bridge 300 feet in the air 349 00:14:42,708 --> 00:14:45,144 in New York City?" 350 00:14:45,145 --> 00:14:46,493 Narrator: Building a 300-foot high and 240-foot wide 351 00:14:46,494 --> 00:14:50,323 scaffold tower between the buildings 352 00:14:50,324 --> 00:14:51,846 to allow construction of the bridge 353 00:14:51,847 --> 00:14:55,458 would be difficult. 354 00:14:55,459 --> 00:14:56,982 So they decided to build a temporary bridge, 355 00:14:56,983 --> 00:14:58,583 from which they'd construct the real one. 356 00:14:59,724 --> 00:15:01,595 Michael: We were trying to figure out 357 00:15:01,596 --> 00:15:03,423 the best way to do it, 358 00:15:03,424 --> 00:15:04,598 and it started with someone was supposed to bring a football in, 359 00:15:04,599 --> 00:15:08,210 and we were going to tie a string to it 360 00:15:08,211 --> 00:15:09,516 and kind of throw it from one building to another. 361 00:15:09,517 --> 00:15:10,909 But I think we forgot the football that day, 362 00:15:10,910 --> 00:15:12,823 so we took a stick and wrapped it up 363 00:15:12,824 --> 00:15:16,610 with a bunch of literally small string, 364 00:15:16,611 --> 00:15:19,830 made sure everything was clear below, 365 00:15:19,831 --> 00:15:21,049 everything was safe, we were good. 366 00:15:21,050 --> 00:15:21,921 Threw it from one building to another, 367 00:15:21,922 --> 00:15:25,097 and so we had one string. 368 00:15:25,098 --> 00:15:26,533 Then we pulled back a string that was a little thicker. 369 00:15:26,534 --> 00:15:29,492 Then we pulled back a rope, 370 00:15:29,493 --> 00:15:31,059 then we pulled back a thicker rope, 371 00:15:31,060 --> 00:15:32,191 and then we could finally pull back the steel cable 372 00:15:32,192 --> 00:15:34,149 and literally just started weaving the cable 373 00:15:34,150 --> 00:15:35,430 back and forth and back and forth 374 00:15:35,630 --> 00:15:37,761 until we got it. 375 00:15:37,762 --> 00:15:39,122 From there, we could work off there 376 00:15:40,504 --> 00:15:41,375 and start building the bottom of the bridge, 377 00:15:41,376 --> 00:15:44,290 build another platform, 378 00:15:44,291 --> 00:15:45,508 build the next level of the bridge, and so on. 379 00:15:45,509 --> 00:15:47,597 Narrator: With the temporary bridge in place, 380 00:15:47,598 --> 00:15:50,687 Michael then had to figure out 381 00:15:50,688 --> 00:15:52,328 how to lift the huge sections of steelwork 382 00:15:52,386 --> 00:15:55,649 300 feet into the air. 383 00:15:55,650 --> 00:15:57,434 Michael: We were limited with what equipment 384 00:15:58,522 --> 00:16:00,697 we could actually lift it with, 385 00:16:00,698 --> 00:16:02,351 because, as you can imagine, 386 00:16:02,352 --> 00:16:03,483 lifting something very heavy, probably 40 to 60 tons, 387 00:16:03,484 --> 00:16:05,486 at that height, over 300 feet in the air, 388 00:16:06,966 --> 00:16:09,228 requires a serious piece of equipment, 389 00:16:09,229 --> 00:16:10,359 and you can't always fit a serious piece of equipment 390 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:12,579 in New York City. 391 00:16:12,580 --> 00:16:13,884 Hayley: To lift the giant steel trusses, 392 00:16:13,885 --> 00:16:16,148 the skeleton of the building into place, 393 00:16:16,149 --> 00:16:18,715 the builders attached a tower crane 394 00:16:18,716 --> 00:16:21,370 to the skyscraper 395 00:16:21,371 --> 00:16:23,503 to stabilize it against the wind. 396 00:16:23,504 --> 00:16:25,854 Michael: Now that we know the maximum piece of equipment 397 00:16:26,768 --> 00:16:29,248 we can get in here, 398 00:16:29,249 --> 00:16:30,423 how do we break the bridge into pieces 399 00:16:30,424 --> 00:16:32,338 that that piece of equipment can lift 400 00:16:32,339 --> 00:16:33,779 and so that we can then construct it? 401 00:16:35,690 --> 00:16:39,345 Narrator: 200 tons of steel 402 00:16:39,346 --> 00:16:41,306 had to be hoisted up 300 feet one piece at a time, 403 00:16:41,826 --> 00:16:44,220 to where construction crews could connect them. 404 00:16:46,701 --> 00:16:51,183 With the skybridge in place, 405 00:16:51,184 --> 00:16:53,162 work began on fitting the extraordinary copper facçade. 406 00:16:53,186 --> 00:16:57,450 Ellie: They're called the copper buildings 407 00:16:57,451 --> 00:16:59,690 because they're covered in over 4 million pounds of copper. 408 00:16:59,714 --> 00:17:03,934 Narrator: Like everything else on this project, 409 00:17:03,935 --> 00:17:06,015 creating that copper finish was not going to be easy. 410 00:17:06,416 --> 00:17:10,332 Simon: The first time this idea was presented, 411 00:17:10,333 --> 00:17:12,813 we thought we'd have to put copper plate 412 00:17:12,814 --> 00:17:15,903 on the outside of the building, 413 00:17:15,904 --> 00:17:17,861 and we did the math on how much copper we'd have to buy 414 00:17:17,862 --> 00:17:20,647 and then looked at the raw material price of copper, 415 00:17:20,648 --> 00:17:21,929 and realized that we'd have to pay more for the copper, 416 00:17:21,953 --> 00:17:25,565 just to get it here, 417 00:17:25,566 --> 00:17:28,133 than we paid for the property itself, 418 00:17:28,134 --> 00:17:29,654 which means that we couldn't afford it. 419 00:17:30,527 --> 00:17:33,007 And so what we ended up doing 420 00:17:33,008 --> 00:17:34,594 was coming up with a pretty unique laminating structure 421 00:17:34,618 --> 00:17:38,578 where the copper face, 422 00:17:38,579 --> 00:17:40,319 which is very, very thin copper foil, 423 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,321 actually thinner than what's even on a penny, 424 00:17:42,322 --> 00:17:45,324 and it is laminated to a fireproof core, 425 00:17:45,325 --> 00:17:47,565 and then on the backside of that core is stainless steel. 426 00:17:48,545 --> 00:17:51,982 Narrator: The raw copper is then left untreated 427 00:17:51,983 --> 00:17:55,812 and open to the elements. 428 00:17:55,813 --> 00:17:58,293 Michael: The copper's gone from shiny penny colour, 429 00:17:58,294 --> 00:18:01,427 and it will patina and continue to turn green. 430 00:18:01,428 --> 00:18:03,733 Narrator: The rest will be done by the weather 431 00:18:03,734 --> 00:18:06,214 over the next 50 years. 432 00:18:06,215 --> 00:18:07,615 Michael: It's going to be beautiful. 433 00:18:08,391 --> 00:18:09,131 I can't wait for that. 434 00:18:09,132 --> 00:18:10,610 I love the copper, 435 00:18:10,611 --> 00:18:11,394 but there's something very American 436 00:18:11,395 --> 00:18:13,874 about that colour green, 437 00:18:13,875 --> 00:18:15,832 especially in New York. 438 00:18:15,833 --> 00:18:16,486 It reeks of kind of old beautiful New York buildings, 439 00:18:16,487 --> 00:18:19,793 all the flashing, 440 00:18:19,794 --> 00:18:20,447 but ultimately it reminds me of the statue of Liberty, 441 00:18:20,448 --> 00:18:21,622 so can't wait for it. 442 00:18:27,149 --> 00:18:29,630 Hayley: The designers and developers 443 00:18:31,545 --> 00:18:33,958 have truly built the incredible from the impossibly difficult. 444 00:18:33,982 --> 00:18:37,724 Narrator: The American copper building 445 00:18:37,725 --> 00:18:39,117 takes its place in the New York skyline 446 00:18:39,118 --> 00:18:42,032 as a testament to how 447 00:18:42,033 --> 00:18:43,382 ingenious engineering and clever design 448 00:18:43,383 --> 00:18:46,776 can create amazing living spaces 449 00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:48,996 in one of the world's most crowded areas. 450 00:18:48,997 --> 00:18:52,042 Joshua: Two spectacular buildings 451 00:18:52,043 --> 00:18:54,567 forming a single iconic project... 452 00:18:54,568 --> 00:18:56,830 It's a real engineering achievement. 453 00:18:56,831 --> 00:18:58,831 Gregg: Taking this kind of restrictive set of rules 454 00:18:58,963 --> 00:19:01,662 and celebrating it 455 00:19:03,316 --> 00:19:04,316 into something that looks beautiful and inspiring 456 00:19:04,317 --> 00:19:06,145 and makes people wonder about it... 457 00:19:07,494 --> 00:19:09,799 Whenever you can do that as an architect, 458 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:11,640 I think that's something you should strive for. 459 00:19:18,069 --> 00:19:22,638 Narrator: 5,000 miles from New York, 460 00:19:22,639 --> 00:19:25,293 in the ancient city of Athens, Greece, 461 00:19:25,294 --> 00:19:27,643 engineers and architects have been battling mother nature 462 00:19:27,644 --> 00:19:29,844 to create an enormous 100,000 square foot floating roof. 463 00:19:33,128 --> 00:19:37,262 Man: To my knowledge, 464 00:19:37,263 --> 00:19:38,480 it's the first application in the world. 465 00:19:38,481 --> 00:19:42,005 Narrator: Over half a billion Euros 466 00:19:42,006 --> 00:19:44,182 created a cultural centre for all athenians, 467 00:19:44,183 --> 00:19:46,533 complete with a new hill, with a public park on top. 468 00:19:48,361 --> 00:19:51,754 Hayley: This isn't just about creating a building; 469 00:19:51,755 --> 00:19:53,888 you're creating geography. 470 00:19:55,585 --> 00:19:57,499 Narrator: And all of which has to be tough enough 471 00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:59,540 to withstand any potentially devastating earthquakes 472 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,113 woman: Building in an earthquake zone 473 00:20:03,114 --> 00:20:04,333 is a dangerous game. 474 00:20:06,988 --> 00:20:08,642 Narrator: So how did they build it? 475 00:20:12,907 --> 00:20:15,475 In 2006, the stavros niarchos foundation, 476 00:20:17,172 --> 00:20:20,653 a wealthy philanthropic organization, 477 00:20:20,654 --> 00:20:24,439 wanted to give a new home 478 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:26,136 to Greece's national opera and national library. 479 00:20:26,137 --> 00:20:28,577 They wanted somewhere that would inspire the people of Athens. 480 00:20:34,494 --> 00:20:36,775 Elly andriopoulou helped manage the 566 million euro Grant 481 00:20:38,411 --> 00:20:40,804 given to the stavros niarchos foundation cultural centre. 482 00:20:42,893 --> 00:20:46,374 Elly andriopouloi: Pushing the boundaries 483 00:20:46,375 --> 00:20:47,897 @of architecture and engineering 484 00:20:47,898 --> 00:20:49,812 wasn't a goal in itself, 485 00:20:49,813 --> 00:20:51,858 but it was a very important means 486 00:20:51,859 --> 00:20:53,179 to achieve the vision of the sncc. 487 00:20:54,775 --> 00:20:56,123 So we didn't want to just provide new premises 488 00:20:56,124 --> 00:20:57,994 to these two national organizations; 489 00:20:57,995 --> 00:21:00,301 we wanted to give them a new home, 490 00:21:00,302 --> 00:21:02,216 which would become a landmark. 491 00:21:02,217 --> 00:21:03,870 There were a lot of risks taken. 492 00:21:03,871 --> 00:21:05,191 The people involved in the project 493 00:21:06,395 --> 00:21:07,917 were very passionate about pushing these boundaries, 494 00:21:07,918 --> 00:21:10,746 and they certainly had the expertise to do so. 495 00:21:10,747 --> 00:21:14,620 Narrator: The foundation turned to the company 496 00:21:14,621 --> 00:21:16,143 that had transformed the London skyline 497 00:21:16,144 --> 00:21:17,667 with the shard, 498 00:21:18,973 --> 00:21:20,293 the renzo piano building workshop. 499 00:21:21,497 --> 00:21:25,021 Giorgio Bianchi oversaw the project. 500 00:21:25,022 --> 00:21:28,851 Giorgio Bianchi: We had in mind 501 00:21:28,852 --> 00:21:30,372 this idea to raise the land in some way 502 00:21:31,638 --> 00:21:34,205 and hide the opera and the library 503 00:21:35,250 --> 00:21:37,469 under something like a hill. 504 00:21:37,470 --> 00:21:40,602 The hill was a park. 505 00:21:40,603 --> 00:21:42,996 I create my hill, 506 00:21:42,997 --> 00:21:44,781 and on top I put the solar canopy. 507 00:21:49,612 --> 00:21:51,614 And then I plant my park. 508 00:21:54,617 --> 00:21:56,793 And here you have... 509 00:21:58,752 --> 00:22:01,407 The opera house and the library. 510 00:22:04,801 --> 00:22:06,847 Easy! 511 00:22:10,024 --> 00:22:11,590 Narrator: Building it would prove to be anything but. 512 00:22:11,591 --> 00:22:15,202 The futuristic buildings would hide behind a massive 513 00:22:15,203 --> 00:22:18,771 100-foot-high artificial hill. 514 00:22:18,772 --> 00:22:22,601 At one end, the new earthquake-proof complex 515 00:22:22,602 --> 00:22:25,821 would be home to the Greek national library 516 00:22:25,822 --> 00:22:27,862 and the 300,000-square-foot national opera building. 517 00:22:30,044 --> 00:22:32,351 It would be topped off with a huge square floating canopy 518 00:22:34,178 --> 00:22:38,660 over 300 feet long 519 00:22:38,661 --> 00:22:39,879 that would protect the complex from the fierce Greek sun, 520 00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,925 and generate electricity to run it 521 00:22:42,926 --> 00:22:44,450 from 5,700 solar panels. 522 00:22:46,930 --> 00:22:50,803 Many of the building techniques needed 523 00:22:50,804 --> 00:22:52,244 had never been used in Greece before. 524 00:22:53,589 --> 00:22:57,853 Elly: There were certainly many challenges during construction, 525 00:22:57,854 --> 00:23:00,054 because we were pushing these boundaries in engineering. 526 00:23:00,422 --> 00:23:03,772 The canopy was certainly a very challenging element, 527 00:23:03,773 --> 00:23:07,776 the hill in the park. 528 00:23:07,777 --> 00:23:09,038 The seismic isolation of such a large building... 529 00:23:09,039 --> 00:23:10,780 All of these challenges were overcome 530 00:23:11,868 --> 00:23:14,827 and led to great innovation. 531 00:23:14,828 --> 00:23:16,959 Narrator: One of the most important challenges 532 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,000 was going to be protecting it from the earth itself. 533 00:23:21,095 --> 00:23:22,487 [Alarms beeping] 534 00:23:22,488 --> 00:23:26,229 Ellie: Greece lies on several fault lines 535 00:23:26,230 --> 00:23:29,450 and has a long history of earthquakes. 536 00:23:29,451 --> 00:23:32,453 Traditionally, though, Athens has remained unscathed. 537 00:23:32,454 --> 00:23:35,891 Unfortunately, that changed in 1999 538 00:23:35,892 --> 00:23:37,652 when an earthquake hit and killed 143 people. 539 00:23:39,766 --> 00:23:43,856 Narrator: In 2018, 540 00:23:43,857 --> 00:23:45,727 Greece was hit by nearly 300 earthquakes. 541 00:23:45,728 --> 00:23:48,991 Quakes greater than 6.3 on the Richter scale 542 00:23:48,992 --> 00:23:53,300 can destroy a building. 543 00:23:53,301 --> 00:23:55,171 Ellie: If you're creating any new building in Athens, 544 00:23:55,172 --> 00:23:56,932 you've got to take earthquake risk seriously. 545 00:24:00,569 --> 00:24:02,329 Narrator: Structural engineer Gregory penelis 546 00:24:02,876 --> 00:24:05,443 was part of the team that took on the challenge. 547 00:24:05,444 --> 00:24:07,844 Gregory: Greece has actually 50% of the seismicity in Europe. 548 00:24:09,273 --> 00:24:11,754 So it's obviously a very seismically prone area. 549 00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:17,237 Such a complex structure was obviously a challenge, 550 00:24:17,238 --> 00:24:19,196 not only because of its complexity, 551 00:24:20,546 --> 00:24:21,946 but also because of its criticality, 552 00:24:22,417 --> 00:24:24,549 considering that it is an opera 553 00:24:24,550 --> 00:24:26,115 that has thousands of people inside 554 00:24:26,116 --> 00:24:28,553 when in operation. 555 00:24:28,554 --> 00:24:29,424 So seismic safety was a very big issue 556 00:24:29,425 --> 00:24:32,426 for the design of this building. 557 00:24:32,427 --> 00:24:35,211 Narrator: With millions of people 558 00:24:35,212 --> 00:24:36,430 expected to visit each year, 559 00:24:36,431 --> 00:24:39,259 they couldn't take any chances. 560 00:24:39,260 --> 00:24:42,392 Joshua: The purpose of any structure 561 00:24:42,393 --> 00:24:43,393 is to carry load or forces from where they are 562 00:24:43,394 --> 00:24:45,526 down into the ground, 563 00:24:45,527 --> 00:24:47,397 and that's true of anything... 564 00:24:47,398 --> 00:24:49,051 Buildings, Bridges, chairs, my skeleton. 565 00:24:49,052 --> 00:24:51,271 But when you have an earthquake, what's happening is 566 00:24:51,272 --> 00:24:52,620 that the ground is shaking violently from side to side, 567 00:24:52,621 --> 00:24:55,318 and it's that sideways force 568 00:24:55,319 --> 00:24:57,364 that has to be carried down into the foundations. 569 00:24:57,365 --> 00:25:00,454 So if a structure is in an earthquake zone, 570 00:25:00,455 --> 00:25:02,021 then it has to have a way to resist that sideways motion, 571 00:25:02,022 --> 00:25:03,806 or it will fall down. 572 00:25:06,505 --> 00:25:10,508 Narrator: Most buildings are made to resist force 573 00:25:10,509 --> 00:25:13,336 from the top down. 574 00:25:13,337 --> 00:25:15,078 But with an earthquake, 575 00:25:16,427 --> 00:25:17,776 you get sideways or lateral movement 576 00:25:17,777 --> 00:25:19,779 that can easily destroy most structures. 577 00:25:24,218 --> 00:25:25,697 Gregory: Both the opera and the library 578 00:25:25,698 --> 00:25:28,351 are actually seismically isolated. 579 00:25:28,352 --> 00:25:30,633 Seismic isolation is like you put the building on rollers. 580 00:25:31,573 --> 00:25:34,532 So when the earth moves... Because the earth moves, 581 00:25:34,533 --> 00:25:38,144 not the building... 582 00:25:38,145 --> 00:25:39,406 It moves underneath, and the building stays the same. 583 00:25:39,407 --> 00:25:43,018 A very easy analogy for the non-engineers 584 00:25:43,019 --> 00:25:45,419 is when you have a wooden table and on top of it a toy truck, 585 00:25:45,979 --> 00:25:50,069 and you move the table, 586 00:25:50,070 --> 00:25:50,723 and the truck stays without movement. 587 00:25:50,724 --> 00:25:54,900 The table moves. 588 00:25:54,901 --> 00:25:56,205 Or when you take the tablecloth under the plate, 589 00:25:56,206 --> 00:25:58,600 and the plates stay, 590 00:25:59,514 --> 00:26:00,733 if you can do that. 591 00:26:02,604 --> 00:26:04,953 Narrator: All well and good in principle, 592 00:26:04,954 --> 00:26:08,000 but how do you pull it off with two huge buildings? 593 00:26:08,001 --> 00:26:11,830 Gregory: Here we're in the basement of the opera. 594 00:26:11,831 --> 00:26:13,222 We are at minus 2 meters from the sea level, 595 00:26:13,223 --> 00:26:17,313 from the ground floor. 596 00:26:17,314 --> 00:26:18,880 Every column of the opera and the library 597 00:26:18,881 --> 00:26:22,710 has a seismic isolator underneath it, 598 00:26:22,711 --> 00:26:25,408 and underneath this seismic isolator 599 00:26:25,409 --> 00:26:28,237 there is a concrete pedestal, 600 00:26:28,238 --> 00:26:29,999 and then we are standing on the foundation of the building. 601 00:26:30,023 --> 00:26:33,895 So, the whole building 602 00:26:33,896 --> 00:26:35,767 is seismically isolated from the ground 603 00:26:35,768 --> 00:26:38,552 so that when the ground moves due to earthquake, 604 00:26:38,553 --> 00:26:40,686 the building remains stable. 605 00:26:41,774 --> 00:26:44,819 So when the earthquake happens, 606 00:26:44,820 --> 00:26:46,668 the pedestal and the ground moves with a tolerance 607 00:26:46,692 --> 00:26:48,694 of 35 centimetres, back and forth each way. 608 00:26:50,043 --> 00:26:52,914 One of them is actually the largest one 609 00:26:52,915 --> 00:26:56,265 ever installed in Europe. 610 00:26:56,266 --> 00:26:57,626 The critical thing is how we design 611 00:26:58,660 --> 00:27:02,576 all the mechanical and electrical 612 00:27:02,577 --> 00:27:04,578 and architectural features of the building 613 00:27:04,579 --> 00:27:06,232 that connect the ground to the upper stories 614 00:27:06,233 --> 00:27:08,273 so that they can follow this 35-centimeter movement. 615 00:27:13,544 --> 00:27:16,851 Ellie: Allowing a building of this size 616 00:27:16,852 --> 00:27:20,463 to have 70 centimetres of movement 617 00:27:20,464 --> 00:27:22,248 requires an awful lot of forward planning. 618 00:27:22,249 --> 00:27:25,599 Every wire, every pipe 619 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,428 that's going in and out of this building 620 00:27:28,429 --> 00:27:31,039 requires an extra flexible section 621 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:32,954 in order that they don't break when the building is moving. 622 00:27:32,955 --> 00:27:36,044 Corina: Every wall joint and every staircase 623 00:27:36,045 --> 00:27:39,352 has to have a movement gap, 624 00:27:39,353 --> 00:27:41,180 which they then fill with silicon filler. 625 00:27:41,181 --> 00:27:43,356 When the building shakes, the silicon breaks. 626 00:27:43,357 --> 00:27:47,490 That's a lot of filling and repair work, 627 00:27:47,491 --> 00:27:49,091 but its much better than the alternative. 628 00:27:52,366 --> 00:27:56,543 Narrator: Their next challenge 629 00:27:56,544 --> 00:27:58,545 was to create the enormous 100-foot-high hill 630 00:27:58,546 --> 00:28:01,896 that gives the building its signature shape. 631 00:28:01,897 --> 00:28:04,638 Hayley: This isn't just about creating a building. 632 00:28:04,639 --> 00:28:06,988 When you're making a whole new hill 633 00:28:06,989 --> 00:28:09,730 you're creating geography. 634 00:28:09,731 --> 00:28:11,571 They've actually altered the skyline of Athens. 635 00:28:14,867 --> 00:28:16,868 Narrator: This 10-million-cubic-foot hill 636 00:28:16,869 --> 00:28:20,045 is made up of enough dirt 637 00:28:20,046 --> 00:28:21,606 to fill 120 olympic-size swimming pools. 638 00:28:25,747 --> 00:28:27,827 3,500 gravel pillars had to be constructed underneath 639 00:28:29,098 --> 00:28:31,535 to hold the soil in place and prevent landslides. 640 00:28:36,932 --> 00:28:38,812 Then, the top was planted with over 1,000 trees. 641 00:28:40,588 --> 00:28:44,591 The effect of creating the park 642 00:28:44,592 --> 00:28:45,912 was to lower the local temperature 643 00:28:46,725 --> 00:28:48,508 from the shade the trees generate. 644 00:28:48,509 --> 00:28:51,946 The hill, though, had another purpose, too. 645 00:28:51,947 --> 00:28:55,384 Giorgio: It was just to give back to this part of the city 646 00:28:55,385 --> 00:28:57,605 the idea that they have the sea very close, 647 00:28:58,867 --> 00:29:03,175 they can use this area 648 00:29:03,176 --> 00:29:05,096 to get to a point where the sea is visible again. 649 00:29:07,876 --> 00:29:11,923 Narrator: At the summit, 650 00:29:11,924 --> 00:29:13,576 looking over the mediterranean sea, 651 00:29:13,577 --> 00:29:15,187 sits the engineers' greatest achievement... 652 00:29:15,188 --> 00:29:18,799 The canopy, 653 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:20,367 a huge technological marvel 654 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,326 that needed engineering solutions 655 00:29:24,327 --> 00:29:27,068 used nowhere else in the world. 656 00:29:27,069 --> 00:29:30,463 Gregory: It is a structure 657 00:29:30,464 --> 00:29:32,024 that's 100 meters by 100 meters in plan. 658 00:29:33,510 --> 00:29:37,862 The magnitude of this 659 00:29:37,863 --> 00:29:39,579 and the need to create this very large structural spot 660 00:29:39,603 --> 00:29:43,128 of more than 75 meters clear span 661 00:29:43,129 --> 00:29:44,957 led to a lot of innovations. 662 00:29:46,523 --> 00:29:50,613 Hayley: There are 750 panels, 663 00:29:50,614 --> 00:29:52,174 creating a 100-meter by 100-meter canopy 664 00:29:53,879 --> 00:29:56,316 that simply floats on the Athens skyline. 665 00:29:57,970 --> 00:30:00,450 It's a beautiful piece of engineering. 666 00:30:04,672 --> 00:30:07,630 Narrator: As well as being beautiful, 667 00:30:07,631 --> 00:30:10,459 the huge 4,700-ton canopy 668 00:30:10,460 --> 00:30:13,158 had to survive the mediterranean storms 669 00:30:13,159 --> 00:30:15,422 that hit Greece every year. 670 00:30:17,119 --> 00:30:20,165 With wind speeds reaching over 60 miles an hour, 671 00:30:20,166 --> 00:30:22,342 the canopy had the potential to act like a giant wing 672 00:30:23,517 --> 00:30:27,650 and be ripped off the building. 673 00:30:27,651 --> 00:30:29,411 The engineers had to come up with a solution. 674 00:30:29,566 --> 00:30:33,439 They decided to make the roof 675 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:34,962 so it behaves like a spoiler on a car, 676 00:30:34,963 --> 00:30:37,573 creating down-force when it's caught by the wind. 677 00:30:37,574 --> 00:30:41,708 So instead of lifting, 678 00:30:41,709 --> 00:30:43,405 it pushes down onto the supporting pillars. 679 00:30:43,406 --> 00:30:46,887 To test it out, they built a model 680 00:30:46,888 --> 00:30:49,585 to see how the wind would affect the roof. 681 00:30:49,586 --> 00:30:51,786 Its aerodynamic shape could survive the powerful storms. 682 00:30:53,460 --> 00:30:55,941 They then had to find a material that was strong enough 683 00:30:57,856 --> 00:31:00,296 to span the huge distance and cope with the force of the wind. 684 00:31:02,077 --> 00:31:06,385 They chose ferrocement. 685 00:31:06,386 --> 00:31:08,126 Gregory: Ferrocement has been used extensively 686 00:31:08,127 --> 00:31:12,521 in boat building. 687 00:31:12,522 --> 00:31:14,522 So tankers were built from ferrocement in the '70s, 688 00:31:14,611 --> 00:31:17,005 and also it was used as cladding material 689 00:31:18,137 --> 00:31:20,226 for very elaborate buildings. 690 00:31:22,402 --> 00:31:25,883 Hayley: Ferrocement is made of a fine wire mesh 691 00:31:25,884 --> 00:31:29,887 with a thin layer of concrete. 692 00:31:29,888 --> 00:31:31,889 It was first invented in the 1840s in France 693 00:31:31,890 --> 00:31:34,090 and is thought to be the first ever reinforced concrete. 694 00:31:36,024 --> 00:31:39,766 Ellie: Ferrocement confounds our expectations 695 00:31:39,767 --> 00:31:43,639 about what concrete can be used for. 696 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:45,720 This is concrete that is thin and delicate and light. 697 00:31:46,905 --> 00:31:50,951 Narrator: Ferrocement can be made much thinner 698 00:31:50,952 --> 00:31:53,301 and outperform traditional reinforced concrete. 699 00:31:53,302 --> 00:31:55,391 But that requires the exact right combination 700 00:31:56,479 --> 00:32:00,178 of cement and reinforcement. 701 00:32:00,179 --> 00:32:02,339 Gregory: We needed to go through very extensive testing 702 00:32:02,921 --> 00:32:05,575 for the ferrocement. 703 00:32:07,142 --> 00:32:09,143 Narrator: When tested, the 2-inch-thick panels 704 00:32:09,144 --> 00:32:12,842 were able to support 705 00:32:12,843 --> 00:32:13,843 nearly 1,000 tons of force per square foot... 706 00:32:13,844 --> 00:32:16,412 The weight of six blue whales. 707 00:32:17,936 --> 00:32:19,816 Gregory: This thin mesh of 1 millimetre diameter 708 00:32:21,069 --> 00:32:23,115 is not produced normally as a structural material. 709 00:32:24,246 --> 00:32:26,901 It's produced as a fence. 710 00:32:29,948 --> 00:32:32,036 Narrator: The ferrocement was thin enough 711 00:32:32,037 --> 00:32:34,864 to keep down the weight of the structure 712 00:32:34,865 --> 00:32:36,974 and strong enough to span over 300 feet in each direction. 713 00:32:36,998 --> 00:32:41,393 The next problem 714 00:32:41,394 --> 00:32:42,698 was that the down-force of the canopy in high winds 715 00:32:42,699 --> 00:32:46,224 would be enough to push the supporting columns 716 00:32:46,225 --> 00:32:49,531 through the roof underneath. 717 00:32:49,532 --> 00:32:52,012 The engineers came up with a radical solution... 718 00:32:52,013 --> 00:32:53,813 To build the canopy its own suspension system. 719 00:32:55,756 --> 00:32:58,193 Gregory: Above us and below us is ferrocement. 720 00:32:59,281 --> 00:33:01,980 Now we can see it, 721 00:33:03,329 --> 00:33:04,633 the whole structure with the ribs, 722 00:33:04,634 --> 00:33:06,154 and we are seeing the suspension system 723 00:33:06,767 --> 00:33:09,030 of the canopy from the column. 724 00:33:12,642 --> 00:33:14,643 Narrator: Instead of sitting on the columns, 725 00:33:14,644 --> 00:33:17,255 the canopy sits on the suspension system, 726 00:33:17,256 --> 00:33:19,056 which absorbs down-force even in heavy storms. 727 00:33:21,477 --> 00:33:24,002 Gregory: The columns enter the canopy, 728 00:33:25,873 --> 00:33:28,025 and then it is suspended with a system of Springs and dampers 729 00:33:28,049 --> 00:33:31,791 from the column, 730 00:33:31,792 --> 00:33:33,314 so it's hanging from the column. 731 00:33:33,315 --> 00:33:35,577 Additionally we have vertical brakes 732 00:33:35,578 --> 00:33:38,319 that don't allow the canopy to move for small winds. 733 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:42,280 It only moves for large winds. 734 00:33:42,281 --> 00:33:44,681 The whole canopy has an ability to move 15 to 20 centimetres. 735 00:33:45,675 --> 00:33:48,938 But this movement will only happen in a hurricane. 736 00:33:48,939 --> 00:33:52,638 Once or twice per year, 737 00:33:52,639 --> 00:33:54,814 this is the actual frequency 738 00:33:54,815 --> 00:33:56,511 that we have vibrations of the canopy. 739 00:33:56,512 --> 00:33:59,079 To have the actual vertical load 740 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:00,863 100% of it being suspended from Springs, 741 00:34:00,864 --> 00:34:03,104 to my knowledge, it's the first application in the world. 742 00:34:08,046 --> 00:34:09,886 Narrator: The canopy isn't only for decoration; 743 00:34:10,483 --> 00:34:14,399 its 5,700 solar panels 744 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,010 generate over 2 gigawatts of electricity a year... 745 00:34:17,011 --> 00:34:19,405 Enough to power 1.4 million houses for an hour 746 00:34:21,798 --> 00:34:25,540 and most of what the entire complex needs. 747 00:34:25,541 --> 00:34:28,152 Joshua: This building is designed 748 00:34:28,153 --> 00:34:30,415 to be sleek and stylish, 749 00:34:30,416 --> 00:34:31,720 full of tech, really heavily engineered. 750 00:34:31,721 --> 00:34:34,027 This is a fantastic piece of engineering. 751 00:34:34,028 --> 00:34:35,942 Narrator: The snfcc took four years to build, 752 00:34:35,943 --> 00:34:39,293 opening its doors to the public in 2016. 753 00:34:39,294 --> 00:34:43,210 The building is not only a testament 754 00:34:43,211 --> 00:34:45,102 to how modern engineering can realize the impossible, 755 00:34:45,126 --> 00:34:47,563 but built at a time of crisis in Greece, 756 00:34:48,521 --> 00:34:50,218 it gave hope to Athens 757 00:34:51,959 --> 00:34:53,525 and a modern focus to the city's history and heritage. 758 00:34:53,526 --> 00:34:56,094 Hayley: The snfcc is for everybody, 759 00:34:57,138 --> 00:35:00,923 and it's a real gift to Athens. 760 00:35:00,924 --> 00:35:04,144 Gregory: This building has completely transformed 761 00:35:04,145 --> 00:35:06,973 the whole area of Athens. 762 00:35:06,974 --> 00:35:08,105 It has become a point of attraction for all athenians... 763 00:35:08,106 --> 00:35:11,760 Not only athenians, but all Greeks. 764 00:35:11,761 --> 00:35:13,826 Elly: I think this is one of the most important things, 765 00:35:13,850 --> 00:35:16,504 if not the most important thing, 766 00:35:16,505 --> 00:35:18,637 that has happened in Greece the last few years. 767 00:35:18,638 --> 00:35:21,030 And I'm very proud that I was part of it 768 00:35:21,031 --> 00:35:22,250 and very fortunate. 769 00:35:28,561 --> 00:35:33,521 Narrator: Named one of the world's most beautiful cities, 770 00:35:33,522 --> 00:35:35,762 modern Singapore certainly has some incredible buildings. 771 00:35:36,699 --> 00:35:39,180 But it also has some of the cleverest... 772 00:35:42,923 --> 00:35:45,272 like the hive, 773 00:35:45,273 --> 00:35:46,882 built for the nanyang technical university. 774 00:35:46,883 --> 00:35:49,929 Corina: University buildings haven't really changed 775 00:35:49,930 --> 00:35:52,932 since the 16th century. 776 00:35:52,933 --> 00:35:54,368 Boxy buildings, teacher in the front, 777 00:35:54,369 --> 00:35:58,067 children sitting quietly. 778 00:35:58,068 --> 00:36:00,069 Narrator: It not only looks eye-popping, 779 00:36:00,070 --> 00:36:02,246 but has a revolutionary design... 780 00:36:02,247 --> 00:36:05,858 Classrooms with no corners, 781 00:36:05,859 --> 00:36:07,773 and a building that gets wider as it gets taller 782 00:36:07,774 --> 00:36:09,863 to create an eco-cooling system 783 00:36:11,778 --> 00:36:13,779 capable of combatting the hot and humid Singapore climate, 784 00:36:13,780 --> 00:36:15,956 creating a building for the 21st century and beyond. 785 00:36:18,872 --> 00:36:21,353 Kam chan hin wanted a building custom-made 786 00:36:22,832 --> 00:36:26,183 to teach the next generation of students. 787 00:36:26,184 --> 00:36:28,446 Kam chan hin: This building is very much designed 788 00:36:28,447 --> 00:36:30,970 for the millennials. 789 00:36:30,971 --> 00:36:32,885 The new generation of learners, 790 00:36:32,886 --> 00:36:34,191 they like to explore, they like to participate, 791 00:36:34,192 --> 00:36:37,846 and they go for quick images. 792 00:36:37,847 --> 00:36:39,283 The mobile phone is a good example. 793 00:36:39,284 --> 00:36:41,328 We felt that a building of this kind 794 00:36:41,329 --> 00:36:42,590 actually encourages students to speak up, 795 00:36:42,591 --> 00:36:44,898 to challenge assumptions, 796 00:36:46,639 --> 00:36:48,759 to talk to one another, and to learn from one another. 797 00:36:50,730 --> 00:36:52,948 Narrator: Architect Matt cash 798 00:36:52,949 --> 00:36:54,602 was ready to take on the challenge. 799 00:36:54,603 --> 00:36:57,518 Matt cash: No corners. 800 00:36:57,519 --> 00:36:59,694 No corners. Okay. 801 00:36:59,695 --> 00:37:01,522 Why no corners? 802 00:37:01,523 --> 00:37:02,958 And the idea being 803 00:37:02,959 --> 00:37:04,743 is that in a way, corners are defendable, 804 00:37:04,744 --> 00:37:06,571 kind of you can get your back to a corner 805 00:37:06,572 --> 00:37:10,227 and you're kind of like this, 806 00:37:10,228 --> 00:37:11,750 and it sets up a kind of a dynamic in the classroom 807 00:37:11,751 --> 00:37:14,013 between again the kind of the lecturer or the master 808 00:37:14,014 --> 00:37:17,234 and the pupils, 809 00:37:17,235 --> 00:37:18,670 and they didn't want to do that. 810 00:37:18,671 --> 00:37:19,845 They wanted it in the round. 811 00:37:19,846 --> 00:37:21,020 And it's if you meet at a round table 812 00:37:21,021 --> 00:37:22,978 there's no hierarchy there. 813 00:37:22,979 --> 00:37:24,499 A round table is completely Democratic. 814 00:37:26,983 --> 00:37:29,855 Narrator: The innovations didn't stop there, 815 00:37:29,856 --> 00:37:32,858 because the university also wanted the hive 816 00:37:32,859 --> 00:37:34,686 to be one of the most ecologically friendly buildings 817 00:37:34,687 --> 00:37:38,385 in the city. 818 00:37:38,386 --> 00:37:39,778 Chan hin: We have an overall target 819 00:37:39,779 --> 00:37:41,215 to reduce energy consumption by 30%. 820 00:37:42,521 --> 00:37:46,698 Narrator: The only way to do that 821 00:37:46,699 --> 00:37:48,352 was to get rid of traditional air conditioning. 822 00:37:48,353 --> 00:37:50,753 Matt: When we're thinking about the geometry of the building, 823 00:37:52,182 --> 00:37:53,899 we're thinking about how do you cool that environment 824 00:37:53,923 --> 00:37:57,535 in the best way possible, 825 00:37:57,536 --> 00:37:59,624 not using too much energy? 826 00:37:59,625 --> 00:38:01,626 Ellie: With a single room, we can air-condition it. 827 00:38:01,627 --> 00:38:03,671 When we get to the scale of big buildings, though, 828 00:38:03,672 --> 00:38:05,457 it starts to get expensive 829 00:38:07,023 --> 00:38:08,633 and is a massive drain on energy and resources. 830 00:38:08,634 --> 00:38:11,810 It's not eco, 831 00:38:11,811 --> 00:38:12,986 and we don't like it. 832 00:38:15,205 --> 00:38:18,251 Narrator: So the hive came with two monumental challenges... 833 00:38:18,252 --> 00:38:20,298 To engineer a building without a corner in sight 834 00:38:21,864 --> 00:38:24,476 and to keep it cool 835 00:38:26,086 --> 00:38:26,913 in one of the most humid cities in the world 836 00:38:26,914 --> 00:38:29,306 without air conditioning. 837 00:38:29,307 --> 00:38:33,005 Matt and the team got to work, 838 00:38:33,006 --> 00:38:35,268 reinventing how a university works. 839 00:38:35,269 --> 00:38:38,489 Matt: So we started with one classroom, 840 00:38:38,490 --> 00:38:40,186 which is in effect a kind of an oval shape. 841 00:38:40,187 --> 00:38:41,448 And then we took that one classroom 842 00:38:41,449 --> 00:38:44,103 and we arrayed it, 843 00:38:44,104 --> 00:38:45,887 we clustered it around a central atrium. 844 00:38:45,888 --> 00:38:48,586 And in a way that clustering created the coming together. 845 00:38:48,587 --> 00:38:51,371 So each of the classrooms arrayed around a central space 846 00:38:51,372 --> 00:38:55,419 and then they stagger up and climb. 847 00:38:55,420 --> 00:38:57,580 It's about, in a way, increasing student interactivity. 848 00:38:58,771 --> 00:39:02,339 That was really the beginning of the idea 849 00:39:02,340 --> 00:39:03,540 and the beginning of the form. 850 00:39:06,169 --> 00:39:08,649 Narrator: The hive is made up of 12 8-story-high towers 851 00:39:08,650 --> 00:39:11,044 that slowly creep outwards from the base of the building. 852 00:39:12,654 --> 00:39:16,744 Incorporating these circular classrooms 853 00:39:16,745 --> 00:39:19,356 had drastically changed the shape of the structure. 854 00:39:19,357 --> 00:39:22,315 Corina: You've got a building that's getting wider and wider 855 00:39:22,316 --> 00:39:26,275 before it goes in again. 856 00:39:26,276 --> 00:39:28,276 It's much like a barrel that wants to fall outward. 857 00:39:28,975 --> 00:39:31,295 Narrator: Building towers that get wider was far from easy. 858 00:39:33,545 --> 00:39:36,808 Joshua: Whenever you haveúanything leaning or at an angle, 859 00:39:36,809 --> 00:39:40,115 @then it wants to move sideways, 860 00:39:40,116 --> 00:39:41,465 and there's that sideways force that also has to be resisted 861 00:39:41,466 --> 00:39:44,119 and carried on down to the ground. 862 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:45,338 The consequences of not considering 863 00:39:45,339 --> 00:39:46,644 the stability correctly at all stages 864 00:39:46,645 --> 00:39:49,211 can be quite severe. 865 00:39:49,212 --> 00:39:51,344 Narrator: The engineers tilted the columns 866 00:39:51,345 --> 00:39:53,825 to work with the unusual shape of the building, 867 00:39:53,826 --> 00:39:56,828 letting them carry the weight of the floors above 868 00:39:56,829 --> 00:39:58,396 straight down to the ground below 869 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:00,572 in one continuous motion. 870 00:40:02,225 --> 00:40:04,749 Matt: The building kind of progressively steps out. 871 00:40:04,750 --> 00:40:07,969 So each floor 872 00:40:07,970 --> 00:40:08,928 is slightly cantilevered out from the next one. 873 00:40:08,929 --> 00:40:11,625 Now, when you're doing that 874 00:40:11,626 --> 00:40:13,410 with two kind of curving columns like that, 875 00:40:13,411 --> 00:40:15,107 the building wants to fall over. 876 00:40:15,108 --> 00:40:17,326 As the levels step up, 877 00:40:17,327 --> 00:40:18,198 at every level we have a ring beam, 878 00:40:18,199 --> 00:40:21,026 which is almost like in a barrel 879 00:40:21,027 --> 00:40:22,984 where you have horizontal things that ties the barrel together. 880 00:40:22,985 --> 00:40:25,378 It stops the columns falling out, 881 00:40:25,379 --> 00:40:27,059 and that ties the whole structure together. 882 00:40:29,992 --> 00:40:31,079 Ellie: You don't often see leaning columns like that. 883 00:40:31,080 --> 00:40:34,518 It kind of goes against 884 00:40:34,519 --> 00:40:35,736 everything we think engineering should be... 885 00:40:35,737 --> 00:40:37,137 Straight up and down, solid, robust. 886 00:40:41,003 --> 00:40:42,656 Narrator: They may have overcome getting rid of the corners. 887 00:40:42,657 --> 00:40:46,225 Now they had to work out how to keep it cool. 888 00:40:46,226 --> 00:40:50,011 Matt: Part of our challenge, really, 889 00:40:50,012 --> 00:40:51,317 was about the environment in Singapore. 890 00:40:51,318 --> 00:40:53,667 It's a very hot, humid environment. 891 00:40:53,668 --> 00:40:55,930 How do you cool that environment? 892 00:40:55,931 --> 00:40:59,107 And one way of doing that 893 00:40:59,108 --> 00:41:00,935 is to create an atrium in the middle, 894 00:41:00,936 --> 00:41:04,461 and atriums work by hot air, 895 00:41:04,462 --> 00:41:06,102 which hot air rises, rising up the middle, 896 00:41:06,725 --> 00:41:08,161 and then that drags air with it 897 00:41:09,554 --> 00:41:11,380 and creates almost like a chimney. 898 00:41:11,381 --> 00:41:12,991 And that chimney draws all the hot air 899 00:41:12,992 --> 00:41:14,210 up and away from the building. 900 00:41:15,342 --> 00:41:17,038 So the geometry was generated 901 00:41:17,039 --> 00:41:19,388 by trying to kind of cool the middle. 902 00:41:19,389 --> 00:41:22,653 Joshua: This is a form of passive cooling 903 00:41:22,654 --> 00:41:24,014 which uses the form of the building 904 00:41:25,004 --> 00:41:26,961 to block, sink, and dissipate heat 905 00:41:26,962 --> 00:41:31,357 in a natural way, 906 00:41:31,358 --> 00:41:32,011 and it's a great way of really reducing the energy consumption, 907 00:41:32,012 --> 00:41:34,708 which is really important 908 00:41:34,709 --> 00:41:36,014 in somewhere hot and humid like Singapore. 909 00:41:36,015 --> 00:41:37,375 Narrator: The shape of the building 910 00:41:38,408 --> 00:41:39,539 draws hot air up and out of the roof. 911 00:41:39,540 --> 00:41:42,890 The constant flow of air cools it. 912 00:41:42,891 --> 00:41:45,371 And the hive's plants provide added shade, 913 00:41:45,372 --> 00:41:48,766 protecting the building from the sun. 914 00:41:48,767 --> 00:41:50,942 Hayley: The plants inside the building 915 00:41:50,943 --> 00:41:52,857 help to lower the temperature in the hall. 916 00:41:52,858 --> 00:41:55,294 Chan hin: This building is totally energy efficient. 917 00:41:55,295 --> 00:41:57,175 It's been given the platinum Mark for excellence 918 00:41:57,297 --> 00:42:00,734 in energy sustainability. 919 00:42:00,735 --> 00:42:03,302 Narrator: Matt had met the challenges 920 00:42:03,303 --> 00:42:05,043 set by the university, 921 00:42:05,044 --> 00:42:07,349 but he didn't stop there. 922 00:42:07,350 --> 00:42:08,916 He wanted a building that stood out. 923 00:42:08,917 --> 00:42:10,266 Matt: We didn't have enough money 924 00:42:11,616 --> 00:42:13,530 to have a lot of different finishes, 925 00:42:13,531 --> 00:42:16,968 and so in effect the floor, the walls, 926 00:42:16,969 --> 00:42:19,144 the cladding of the outside of the building is all concrete. 927 00:42:19,145 --> 00:42:22,843 People are expecting concrete to be grey, 928 00:42:22,844 --> 00:42:24,932 'cause that's the cheapest way of doing it. 929 00:42:24,933 --> 00:42:27,021 And if you had just a big grey building, 930 00:42:27,022 --> 00:42:29,284 it wouldn't have the kind of textural relief 931 00:42:29,285 --> 00:42:31,069 that you would you would want. 932 00:42:31,070 --> 00:42:33,854 And so we experimented 933 00:42:33,855 --> 00:42:34,986 with lots of different ways of playing with concrete, 934 00:42:34,987 --> 00:42:37,031 treating it in a way like wet Clay. 935 00:42:37,032 --> 00:42:39,294 On the cladding of the building 936 00:42:39,295 --> 00:42:40,295 we use something called a retarder, 937 00:42:40,296 --> 00:42:43,864 which is in effect 938 00:42:43,865 --> 00:42:44,909 something that prevents the concrete drying 939 00:42:44,910 --> 00:42:48,173 at the same speed. 940 00:42:48,174 --> 00:42:49,566 And if the concrete is drying at different speeds, 941 00:42:49,567 --> 00:42:51,527 then some of it's hard and some of it's still wet. 942 00:42:51,699 --> 00:42:54,658 And then you wash that off. 943 00:42:54,659 --> 00:42:56,299 So some of the concrete exposes the stone, 944 00:42:57,009 --> 00:42:59,837 the aggregate inside the concrete, 945 00:42:59,838 --> 00:43:01,206 and some the top surface just the concrete finish. 946 00:43:01,230 --> 00:43:04,363 Having that variety 947 00:43:04,364 --> 00:43:05,234 means your eye kind of enjoys exploring it, 948 00:43:05,235 --> 00:43:08,976 and I think rather than 949 00:43:08,977 --> 00:43:10,369 understanding the building immediately, 950 00:43:10,370 --> 00:43:11,970 it kind of demands you look at it closer. 951 00:43:13,721 --> 00:43:17,855 Narrator: Although it's a radical design, 952 00:43:17,856 --> 00:43:20,096 the building has already won the hearts of the community. 953 00:43:20,380 --> 00:43:22,817 Chan hin: It's called the dim sum building 954 00:43:23,557 --> 00:43:25,776 by some locals. 955 00:43:25,777 --> 00:43:27,038 That is because the shape also resembles the tiffin trays 956 00:43:27,039 --> 00:43:31,346 that are used to serve the dim sum. 957 00:43:31,347 --> 00:43:35,220 Joshua: This is obviously a really beautiful structure. 958 00:43:35,221 --> 00:43:36,656 It would be a great and interesting place to work. 959 00:43:36,657 --> 00:43:40,268 Chan hin: From what we know, 960 00:43:40,269 --> 00:43:41,183 the students actually love the place, 961 00:43:41,184 --> 00:43:43,271 of course it's very iconic. 962 00:43:43,272 --> 00:43:44,012 It's become a bit of a tourist spot. 963 00:43:44,013 --> 00:43:47,014 We're very proud of it. 964 00:43:47,015 --> 00:43:48,886 Narrator: The hive created an environment 965 00:43:48,887 --> 00:43:51,087 that challenged the ideaúof how a university should work 966 00:43:51,672 --> 00:43:54,153 and succeeded beyond all expectations, 967 00:43:55,241 --> 00:43:59,418 showing how engineering 968 00:43:59,419 --> 00:44:00,724 isn't only about keeping a building standing; 969 00:44:00,725 --> 00:44:02,770 it's about changing what's possible.