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Narrator: How do
you build a glass dome

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big enough to house a mountain?

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Woman: They really feel
like a wonder of the world.

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There's nothing else like them.

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Narrator: What happens
when a major station

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is completely taken apart and
rebuilt during the rush hour?

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Man: This is like
open-heart surgery.

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The only problem is,
the patient is still jogging.

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Narrator: And how
did engineers create

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the most outrageous
building in all of Las Vegas?

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Man: You have to build
something that gets attention.

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Your building is your billboard.

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Narrator: This is the
age of the extraordinary...

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Man:É\ where else can you swim

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from one skyscraper to
the other, 300 feet in the air?

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Narrator: Where
ingenious engineers

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have unleashed
unchecked creativity...

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Woman: Everything
in this building

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pushes at the boundaries
of what's possible.

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Narrator: Building structures
so outrageous, they defy logic.

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Woman: The forces on this thing

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look like it should
be torn apart.

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Narrator: Now their
secret's revealed.

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Discover the incredible
stories of their construction...

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Woman: These are
extraordinary feats of engineering.

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Narrator: To try and understand

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how did they build that?

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In the last 30 years,

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the southeast Asian economic
powerhouse of Singapore

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has seen its population double,

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from three million
to nearly six million.

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Finding the space to build here
normally means building high.

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Hayley loren oakes:
The problem is,

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Singapore is a small island
city, half the size of London,

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so space is at a premium.

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Narrator: When the government
decided they wanted to give

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this booming population

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green space among
the high-rises,

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engineers had to push the
boundaries of what's possible.

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The end result was a solution
packed with world firsts.

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Built on over ten million
square feet of land

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reclaimed from the sea
are two huge biomes,

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one, the largest on earth,

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engineered to keep
visitors and residents cool

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in the searing tropical heat.

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Outside, a forest of giant
super trees would be connected

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by a stunning skywalk, creating
an Avenue into the future.

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Hayley: Engineering doesn't
get much more remarkable

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than gardens by the bay.

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Narrator: For the
team that took it on,

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transforming a
soggy patch of sand

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into an extraordinary
state-of-the-art garden park

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would be the
challenge of a lifetime.

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So, how did they build it?

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♪

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In 2007, work started
on a huge new park

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for Singapore's residents.

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With over 80 percent
of the population

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living in high-rise towers,
it was desperately needed.

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Debbie sterling: Cities
need green spaces.

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@greenery absorbs carbon
dioxide, it makes oxygen,

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and it just makes a city

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a more pleasurable
place to live.

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Narrator: Working
out where to build

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on this tiny tropical island

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was the first challenge
that faced engineers.

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Corina kwami: You might
well wonder how they found

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an extra 100 hectares in
such a densely populated city.

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Well, they actually
made it from scratch.

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Narrator: Today, Singapore is
an island of 277 square miles,

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but a huge amount
of the island's coast...

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The marinas, the airport,
the industrial shipping ports...

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Are actually built on land

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that has been created
by the government.

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For the last 200 years,

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Singapore has grown by
reclaiming land from the sea.

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But over the last 50 years,
this process has accelerated,

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with Singapore now 24 percent
bigger than nature intended.

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It was a 250-acre parcel
of this reclaimed land

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that meant the city could
create a new green space.

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The plot was
created in the 1980s

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by taking vast quantities
of sand and rocks

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from building sites and seabeds

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and piling it up until it
was above water level.

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The plot was
created in the 1980s

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by taking vast quantities
of sand and rocks

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from building sites and seabeds.

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Neil Thomas: The
issue of reclaimed land

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is that you are

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effectively bringing in

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non-compacted gravel,

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non-compacted earth,

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and you can't
really build onto that,

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so what they did was actually
pile, put piles, long shafts,

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beneath each of the foundations

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for the building
structures they built,

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and they would
extend down to the rock,

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to the base below
the compacted earth.

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Narrator: These concrete
and steel columns

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firmly anchored to the bedrock

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would be the key to supporting
the two glasshouse structures.

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Now the architects and
engineers could finalize

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the designs for
building the park.

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It would be a project
packed with innovation.

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Dominating the site would be the
two huge biomes, or glasshouses,

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one with the largest unsupported
glass roof in the world.

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Both would use self-supporting
latticework design

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with arcing beams to create
the huge spans of glass

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covering the 215,000 square
feet of climate-controlled gardens.

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Outside, there would be a
forest of man-made trees,

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which would range from
80 to 160 feet in height.

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18 super trees of
concrete, steel, and plant life

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would be linked
by an aerial skywalk

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towering over the groves below.

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♪

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The outdoor park would be
planted with tropical species,

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which would thrive in
the hot local climate,

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but the ambition
for the two biomes

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was to house species
from cooler faraway lands.

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In Singapore,

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with its typical daily high of
almost 90 degrees fahrenheit,

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that was a huge challenge.

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Glasshouses in cool climates
work by using the glass

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to trap solar energy to heat up.

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This way, plants from much
warmer climates can grow.

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Singapore's two biomes had to
do something much more difficult.

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They had to somehow
let in lots of light

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but also stay very cool.

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Both needed to be around
77 degrees fahrenheit,

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but the huge flower dome,

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with its plants from
dry mediterranean

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spring climate of
2,500 miles north,

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also needed to be very bright.

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With Singapore's
humid, cloudy weather,

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the need for maximum
light was the first problem

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the biome designers
had to solve.

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Neil: During the day, there's
quite often a lot of cloud.

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The sunlight, it's not
constant throughout the day,

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and it's not as much as the
plants need to be able to grow,

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so we had to get every single
ounce of sunlight we could

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into the conservatories
themselves.

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Narrator: With daylight
so crucial to the plants,

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the designers had to
overcome the problem

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of how to support the huge roof
spans without creating shade.

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Ellie cosgrave: Most buildings
need columns to stand up,

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it's how the load
gets to the ground,

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but there is another way.

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Narrator: The solution
to maximizing the light

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was to create a delicate
curved framework

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to hold the 3,332 glass panels.

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Incredibly, this grid
shell is self-supporting.

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It achieves this by mimicking
an engineering design

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perfected by birds and reptiles.

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Neil: A technique
in engineering,

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an idea of using form and shape

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to provide the strength to
the way a structure works,

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and you see it in
nature all the time.

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An egg, for instance,

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is a perfect example
of shape stiffness.

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The shell of the
egg is that, a shell,

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and it's a
three-dimensional surface,

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and it's very, very thin,
but yet very, very strong.

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And that strength is created

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because of the form
of it, the shape of it,

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and so we translate
that idea into buildings.

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Narrator: By replicating
the thin, strong,

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arcing structure of an eggshell,

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gravitational loads are evenly
distributed down to the ground,

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where it's fixed.

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The idea was that a thin
structure with no columns

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would allow in maximum
light and self-support.

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But the huge size and the
lack of supporting columns

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became disadvantages when
it came to actually building it.

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Paul baker: Because we're
creating this very large volume,

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there's a complexity in
how the hell do you support it

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when you're gradually
building it in stages,

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and obviously it all
needs to be supported

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until it is the complete entity.

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A grid shell doesn't
work until it's complete.

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Narrator: Engineers needed to
work at heights of over 160 feet

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to assemble the roof structure,

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but a traditional
scaffolding platform

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would have been
complex and expensive,

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so instead, they came up

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with a simple but
ingenious solution.

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Paul: So they built a
series of working platforms

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at substantial heights,
so the lower, flatter,

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the mediterranean biomes
around about 35 meters to the top,

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so building something
as a working deck

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which was 25 meters,

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and then doing a
regular scaffold on top,

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allowed a massive saving.

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Narrator: As the
structure was completed,

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the grid shell should
have been strong enough

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to support the glass by itself,

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but there was a
potential problem.

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Debbie: Structures by the sea
need to be especially strong.

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I mean, think about it, with
all of the rain that can come in,

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and wind and storms, they
need to withstand all of that.

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Narrator: Winds of
over 60 miles per hour

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have been known
to hit Singapore,

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so extra strength was needed

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to protect the fragile
grid shell domes

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of the gardens by the bay.

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The answer was to crane
in 28 radiating steel arches,

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00:11:04,353 --> 00:11:07,114
which would stretch
over the roofs.

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00:11:08,288 --> 00:11:10,428
These arches were
then bolted together,

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connected at their bases
to a concrete ring beam,

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00:11:14,397 --> 00:11:17,779
which itself was
anchored to the deep piles

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00:11:17,780 --> 00:11:20,920
driven down through
the reclaimed land.

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Then, they were bolted
to the latticework frame.

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00:11:23,890 --> 00:11:26,651
The domes could now
absorb any high wind pressures

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00:11:27,790 --> 00:11:30,172
and avoid a catastrophic
structural failure.

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00:11:31,656 --> 00:11:34,521
Now it was ready for the glass.

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00:11:35,867 --> 00:11:37,907
Neil: In the conservatories,
we have the arched ribs

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00:11:38,801 --> 00:11:41,216
which provide the resistance
to forces which are sideways,

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00:11:41,217 --> 00:11:43,392
which shells are not
particularly good at resisting,

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00:11:44,945 --> 00:11:47,305
so there we've got two things
combined, the shell stiffness,

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00:11:48,086 --> 00:11:51,917
the shape, and the arch ribs,

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00:11:51,918 --> 00:11:53,238
which are very
stiff horizontally.

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Narrator: The success of
the two grid shells is clear,

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00:11:58,821 --> 00:12:00,741
with over 100,000 healthy
plants thriving inside.

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As well as plenty of light,

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00:12:07,002 --> 00:12:09,256
they need a maximum daytime
air temperature of 77 degrees,

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00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,041
going down to 62 at night.

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But with the Singaporean
sun burning down at midday,

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00:12:15,769 --> 00:12:18,565
these glasshouses
would naturally heat up

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to well over 100 degrees.

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00:12:22,811 --> 00:12:24,891
How have the engineers
prevented this from happening?

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00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:29,162
Paul: Greenhouses
like to get hot.

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00:12:30,025 --> 00:12:32,060
I mean, that's the bottom line,

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00:12:32,061 --> 00:12:33,372
you know, glass is a
great holder of heat,

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00:12:33,373 --> 00:12:35,064
and the solar gain is trapped,

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and it's a really great
thing in a cool climate,

235
00:12:38,136 --> 00:12:40,390
but in a hot climate when you're
trying to make something cool

236
00:12:40,414 --> 00:12:42,382
is obviously a big challenge.

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00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:47,594
Narrator: The
first line of defence

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00:12:48,940 --> 00:12:50,630
was installing spectrally
selective solar glass.

239
00:12:50,631 --> 00:12:53,393
This deflects 35
percent of the sun's heat,

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00:12:54,497 --> 00:12:57,052
but on its own, it
wouldn't be enough.

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00:13:01,332 --> 00:13:02,972
Additional shade comes
from bespoke blinds

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00:13:03,368 --> 00:13:05,129
that roll out when
the sun is shining,

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00:13:06,475 --> 00:13:08,515
again engineered to minimize
impact when not in use.

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00:13:10,617 --> 00:13:13,344
Paul: The shading is
tucked within the ribs

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00:13:14,552 --> 00:13:16,760
and furls right back
in, like a roller reef sail,

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00:13:16,761 --> 00:13:19,453
folds right back into the
ribs so it can disappear.

247
00:13:20,730 --> 00:13:23,457
Again, for the very
strong principle

248
00:13:24,286 --> 00:13:26,977
that on a semi-cloudy day,

249
00:13:26,978 --> 00:13:28,566
you need as much
light as possible.

250
00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:34,434
Narrator: Despite
greatly reducing

251
00:13:35,262 --> 00:13:37,505
the solar heat coming in,

252
00:13:37,506 --> 00:13:38,828
the biomes would still get
hot enough to kill the plants

253
00:13:38,852 --> 00:13:42,475
in a matter of days.

254
00:13:42,476 --> 00:13:44,650
The solution was building in

255
00:13:44,651 --> 00:13:46,825
an underfloor network
of cooling pipes.

256
00:13:46,826 --> 00:13:49,552
Andy kwek: This is
something that we have learned

257
00:13:50,450 --> 00:13:52,071
from the northern hemisphere,

258
00:13:52,072 --> 00:13:53,349
so in the northern hemisphere,

259
00:13:54,385 --> 00:13:56,489
@they actually
do ground heating.

260
00:13:56,490 --> 00:13:58,610
We just reverse the entire
process and cool the slabs.

261
00:13:58,665 --> 00:14:01,357
Narrator: To ensure
the cooling system

262
00:14:02,462 --> 00:14:04,463
is as energy-efficient
as possible,

263
00:14:04,464 --> 00:14:07,190
biomass boilers burn
organic waste from here

264
00:14:07,191 --> 00:14:10,987
and from gardens and
parks across Singapore.

265
00:14:10,988 --> 00:14:14,128
This helps generate the
electricity to chill the water.

266
00:14:14,129 --> 00:14:18,408
Corina: It's extraordinary that
the whole gardens by the bay

267
00:14:18,409 --> 00:14:20,929
only uses as much energy as
a Singaporean office building.

268
00:14:25,830 --> 00:14:27,520
Narrator: With the
structure completed,

269
00:14:27,521 --> 00:14:29,764
the next engineering challenge

270
00:14:29,765 --> 00:14:31,325
was building a
ten-story mountain inside

271
00:14:32,492 --> 00:14:35,460
and working out how to build

272
00:14:36,565 --> 00:14:38,085
the 115-foot structure
out of concrete,

273
00:14:38,325 --> 00:14:41,121
all while making sure

274
00:14:42,329 --> 00:14:43,889
its sensitive plants
survive and thrive.

275
00:14:47,956 --> 00:14:49,796
Andy: So, for the
mountain in the cloud forest,

276
00:14:50,199 --> 00:14:52,269
it is actually made out of,

277
00:14:52,270 --> 00:14:54,409
it's a typical concrete
wall structure,

278
00:14:54,410 --> 00:14:56,412
so, first of all, we
have the concrete,

279
00:14:57,724 --> 00:14:59,690
and then we have a
material called hypertufa.

280
00:14:59,691 --> 00:15:01,970
Hypertufa is basically a
mixture of cement and soil

281
00:15:03,833 --> 00:15:07,215
to give it kind of like
an organic material

282
00:15:07,216 --> 00:15:09,978
that will help.

283
00:15:12,635 --> 00:15:14,429
Narrator: Clever engineering
helped these biomes

284
00:15:14,430 --> 00:15:16,670
imitate the natural world of
hundreds of miles from here.

285
00:15:17,847 --> 00:15:20,609
But outside, the
designers took inspiration

286
00:15:21,921 --> 00:15:23,881
from the jungles that once
grew here in Singapore.

287
00:15:25,648 --> 00:15:28,341
They created an
extraordinary alien forest.

288
00:15:30,653 --> 00:15:33,518
Ellie: Super trees.

289
00:15:34,416 --> 00:15:36,175
They're exactly as advertised.

290
00:15:36,176 --> 00:15:37,418
Basically like
trees, on steroids.

291
00:15:37,419 --> 00:15:39,386
Man-made, 16 stories high.

292
00:15:43,528 --> 00:15:46,358
Neil: We were never
trying to replicate a tree.

293
00:15:46,359 --> 00:15:48,839
We were trying to create a kind
of modern 21st-century version,

294
00:15:49,534 --> 00:15:51,985
an idealization
of what a tree is,

295
00:15:53,331 --> 00:15:55,263
in terms of using structures
of steel and cables,

296
00:15:55,264 --> 00:15:58,542
but working in the way
that nature does so,

297
00:15:58,543 --> 00:16:01,131
by being flexible and changing

298
00:16:01,132 --> 00:16:02,772
and, you know, the
way it supports nature.

299
00:16:06,448 --> 00:16:07,931
Joshua macabuag:
These super trees aren't

300
00:16:07,932 --> 00:16:09,588
just steel and concrete.

301
00:16:09,589 --> 00:16:11,038
They've got plants growing
on them, living on them.

302
00:16:11,039 --> 00:16:12,729
Somehow, the designers
have managed to incorporate

303
00:16:12,730 --> 00:16:14,627
a web of exotic plants into
this man-made structure.

304
00:16:14,628 --> 00:16:16,976
All of these plants
are incredibly heavy,

305
00:16:18,115 --> 00:16:19,839
so it's a fantastic
piece of engineering.

306
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:21,981
Narrator: Rising between
80 and 160 feet into the sky,

307
00:16:23,741 --> 00:16:26,606
nothing like these
huge super trees

308
00:16:27,469 --> 00:16:29,711
had ever been built before.

309
00:16:29,712 --> 00:16:31,266
With huge trunks
and complex canopies,

310
00:16:32,784 --> 00:16:35,184
the engineers had to work out
how to build them from scratch.

311
00:16:36,547 --> 00:16:39,481
Neil: So, what we tried to do

312
00:16:40,896 --> 00:16:42,936
was find a construction
method which was repeatable.

313
00:16:43,036 --> 00:16:46,383
We build the cores, casting
each of the pieces up,

314
00:16:46,384 --> 00:16:49,077
one on top of the other,

315
00:16:50,250 --> 00:16:51,561
effectively using
the same shuttering

316
00:16:51,562 --> 00:16:53,080
as you do in standard
construction techniques,

317
00:16:53,081 --> 00:16:54,601
and once we've built
the concrete core,

318
00:16:55,704 --> 00:16:57,224
we then build the
canopy on the ground.

319
00:17:00,674 --> 00:17:02,123
Narrator: To design
the steel tree canopies,

320
00:17:02,124 --> 00:17:04,126
Neil drew on his experience

321
00:17:05,300 --> 00:17:06,714
building lightweight
but strong staging

322
00:17:06,715 --> 00:17:08,648
for the world's
biggest music acts,

323
00:17:09,442 --> 00:17:11,133
such as U2 and beyonceé.

324
00:17:15,620 --> 00:17:17,860
Neil: What's interesting
about the world of rock and roll

325
00:17:17,933 --> 00:17:19,692
and staging is they are willing
to develop ideas, look at ideas,

326
00:17:19,693 --> 00:17:22,455
which the other part of the
building industry would not.

327
00:17:23,697 --> 00:17:26,459
Narrator: That fresh
rock-and-roll approach

328
00:17:27,908 --> 00:17:29,955
helped the team create a
canopy that was light, flexible,

329
00:17:29,979 --> 00:17:33,810
and easy to install.

330
00:17:33,811 --> 00:17:35,211
Neil: We built a
scaffolding system,

331
00:17:36,262 --> 00:17:38,056
built the surface up
around it, and then we lift

332
00:17:38,057 --> 00:17:40,989
the whole of the surface of
the super tree canopy skin

333
00:17:40,990 --> 00:17:43,545
up to the top of the
concrete core in one piece.

334
00:17:45,029 --> 00:17:49,205
Narrator: These incredible
trees aren't just for looks.

335
00:17:49,206 --> 00:17:53,209
Some contain photovoltaic
cells to generate power.

336
00:17:53,210 --> 00:17:56,005
Others act as chimneys for the
biomass boiler exhaust fumes.

337
00:17:58,560 --> 00:18:01,356
And they all help
solve another problem

338
00:18:02,564 --> 00:18:04,979
caused by Singapore's
land shortage.

339
00:18:04,980 --> 00:18:07,051
Andy: One of the main
functions of the super trees

340
00:18:08,466 --> 00:18:10,747
is actually to allow us to
showcase our vertical greenery.

341
00:18:11,538 --> 00:18:14,265
So, a lot of people know
Singapore is land scarce,

342
00:18:15,646 --> 00:18:17,806
so the only way for us to
continue greening the country

343
00:18:18,338 --> 00:18:21,100
is actually to go vertically.

344
00:18:22,308 --> 00:18:24,620
Narrator: The trees,
holding 150,000 plants,

345
00:18:26,070 --> 00:18:30,004
and the whole incredible forest

346
00:18:30,005 --> 00:18:31,445
is completed by
the 420-foot skywalk,

347
00:18:32,490 --> 00:18:35,217
threading its way
through the canopy,

348
00:18:35,976 --> 00:18:37,323
high above the ground.

349
00:18:40,947 --> 00:18:43,427
Hayley: The whole thing is built
on land that was once the sea,

350
00:18:44,468 --> 00:18:47,229
it's got one-of-a-kind
structures on it,

351
00:18:48,437 --> 00:18:50,507
and it's all powered
by offcuts of trees.

352
00:18:50,508 --> 00:18:53,477
Pretty impressive, really.

353
00:18:54,926 --> 00:18:57,549
Narrator: It took five years
for engineers to transform

354
00:18:57,550 --> 00:19:01,518
what was once under the sea

355
00:19:01,519 --> 00:19:03,839
into perhaps the world's most
stunning man-made wonderland,

356
00:19:05,558 --> 00:19:08,526
the ultimate in human nature.

357
00:19:11,460 --> 00:19:15,015
♪

358
00:19:17,052 --> 00:19:19,779
It's always tough building
in the centre of a busy city,

359
00:19:21,401 --> 00:19:24,197
but imagine modernizing

360
00:19:25,681 --> 00:19:27,694
a crumbling old mainline railway
station in the middle of London

361
00:19:27,718 --> 00:19:30,410
while a million people
a week continue using it.

362
00:19:32,274 --> 00:19:36,208
That's exactly the
engineering challenge

363
00:19:36,209 --> 00:19:37,889
that faced the team
tasked with reinventing

364
00:19:38,591 --> 00:19:40,551
one of the oldest railway
stations in the world...

365
00:19:40,938 --> 00:19:44,906
London bridge,

366
00:19:44,907 --> 00:19:46,467
which, by the start
of the 21st century,

367
00:19:46,978 --> 00:19:49,118
was also one of the worst.

368
00:19:50,361 --> 00:19:53,192
And hopelessly unable to cope

369
00:19:54,193 --> 00:19:55,917
with the demands
of a modern city,

370
00:19:55,918 --> 00:19:58,197
something had to be done.

371
00:19:59,681 --> 00:20:01,962
Corina: This wasn't just
aúgentle reworking of the station.

372
00:20:02,235 --> 00:20:06,204
This was a complete rebuild.

373
00:20:06,205 --> 00:20:08,103
Narrator: The solution
was a bold scheme

374
00:20:08,862 --> 00:20:10,278
to sweep away history

375
00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:13,349
and demolish hundreds
of victorian arches,

376
00:20:13,350 --> 00:20:15,524
creating a stunning
modern concourse

377
00:20:16,698 --> 00:20:18,378
that connects everything
like never before.

378
00:20:19,425 --> 00:20:21,392
Up above, the tracks
would be moved and raised

379
00:20:22,738 --> 00:20:24,618
with 15 new platforms
built, all on polystyrene.

380
00:20:27,329 --> 00:20:30,090
Man: This is like
open-heart surgery.

381
00:20:31,471 --> 00:20:33,311
The only problem is,
the patient is still jogging.

382
00:20:33,335 --> 00:20:35,372
Narrator: 50 million
people a year,

383
00:20:36,131 --> 00:20:39,202
over 800 trains a day,

384
00:20:39,203 --> 00:20:40,763
and one ambitious
transformational plan.

385
00:20:41,516 --> 00:20:44,381
So, how did they build it?

386
00:20:48,592 --> 00:20:50,112
Ever since London
bridge station opened

387
00:20:50,559 --> 00:20:52,285
with its two platforms in 1836,

388
00:20:53,355 --> 00:20:56,771
it struggled to keep
up with demand.

389
00:20:56,772 --> 00:20:58,498
As London grew,
so did the station,

390
00:20:59,568 --> 00:21:01,432
but there was never
a coherent plan.

391
00:21:02,571 --> 00:21:04,263
Adrian tooth:
London bridge station

392
00:21:05,125 --> 00:21:06,574
is 180 years old in places.

393
00:21:06,575 --> 00:21:08,375
It was built in ten
stages over a long period,

394
00:21:08,853 --> 00:21:12,166
which means that
every little piece of that,

395
00:21:12,167 --> 00:21:14,479
every little stage
is slightly different.

396
00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:17,000
Narrator: By 2008, London bridge
was very much the poor relation

397
00:21:17,448 --> 00:21:20,209
to London's other
major stations.

398
00:21:24,283 --> 00:21:25,421
@hayley: It used to be
impossible to find your way around.

399
00:21:25,422 --> 00:21:28,079
So easy to get
lost in a real mess.

400
00:21:29,391 --> 00:21:31,669
Man: Very muddled,
very old kind of hotchpotch

401
00:21:32,394 --> 00:21:34,672
of different styles.

402
00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:37,087
It really wasn't
something like St. pancras.

403
00:21:37,088 --> 00:21:38,568
It wasn't built with
one grand vision,

404
00:21:39,712 --> 00:21:41,512
so it was a very kind
of down-at-heel station.

405
00:21:41,955 --> 00:21:44,579
Narrator: With plans for
britain's tallest building

406
00:21:45,821 --> 00:21:47,421
given the go-ahead,
London bridge station

407
00:21:47,823 --> 00:21:50,067
was about to find
itself next to the shard.

408
00:21:51,517 --> 00:21:53,637
With another four million
square feet of office space,

409
00:21:54,554 --> 00:21:57,177
adding to the
explosion of skyscrapers

410
00:21:58,386 --> 00:22:00,226
going up nearby in
London's financial district,

411
00:22:00,802 --> 00:22:03,252
the station had to be able
to cope with more trains

412
00:22:03,977 --> 00:22:06,739
and a lot more people.

413
00:22:08,016 --> 00:22:09,976
The problem was, the
site couldn't get any bigger.

414
00:22:10,915 --> 00:22:13,642
Mark middleton: Well, the
ambition, first and foremost,

415
00:22:15,126 --> 00:22:16,437
was to get more capacity,
úmore trains through the station

416
00:22:16,438 --> 00:22:18,060
through the existing
viaduct width,

417
00:22:19,303 --> 00:22:20,943
because, of course,
London's been built up

418
00:22:21,512 --> 00:22:23,064
since the station was made,
so we had no more width.

419
00:22:23,065 --> 00:22:25,378
We had to get
more trains through.

420
00:22:26,552 --> 00:22:28,032
Narrator: All of
London bridge station

421
00:22:28,519 --> 00:22:30,589
is elevated above street level.

422
00:22:30,590 --> 00:22:32,270
Its 15 sets of tracks
and platforms fan out

423
00:22:33,144 --> 00:22:35,423
on top of a massive
brick viaduct,

424
00:22:36,596 --> 00:22:38,287
50 feet high and
around 650 feet wide.

425
00:22:39,703 --> 00:22:42,430
Back in 2009, hidden
beneath this viaduct

426
00:22:43,741 --> 00:22:46,468
was a massive Warren
of victorian arches

427
00:22:47,504 --> 00:22:50,920
which supported
the tracks above.

428
00:22:50,921 --> 00:22:52,481
Most were little used
and would make way

429
00:22:52,992 --> 00:22:54,752
for a huge new concourse.

430
00:22:55,581 --> 00:22:57,376
This was construction phase one

431
00:22:58,687 --> 00:23:00,447
and would provide the
much-needed easy access

432
00:23:00,793 --> 00:23:02,726
to all the station's
platforms above.

433
00:23:03,899 --> 00:23:06,350
Janey bell: If you
think of the concourse,

434
00:23:07,558 --> 00:23:08,972
we had a full section
of victorian arches,

435
00:23:08,973 --> 00:23:10,853
and essentially what
we did was just cut a slice

436
00:23:12,149 --> 00:23:14,269
out of the middle of that,
and we did that bit by bit.

437
00:23:14,669 --> 00:23:17,257
Narrator: Extraordinarily,
the demolition all happened

438
00:23:18,327 --> 00:23:20,399
right underneath
the working station.

439
00:23:21,158 --> 00:23:23,367
The network of arches

440
00:23:24,713 --> 00:23:26,162
underneath the nine
platforms and 15 railway lines

441
00:23:26,163 --> 00:23:28,444
were all interlinked and
relied on each other for support.

442
00:23:29,891 --> 00:23:32,618
A 250-foot-wide swath of
these needed to be demolished

443
00:23:34,274 --> 00:23:38,312
to make way for
the new concourse.

444
00:23:38,313 --> 00:23:40,033
But first, to stop the
arches on either side

445
00:23:40,522 --> 00:23:42,628
of the demolition
area from collapsing,

446
00:23:43,939 --> 00:23:45,859
two huge concrete
retaining walls would be built.

447
00:23:46,804 --> 00:23:49,358
With this in place, they
would be able to bulldoze

448
00:23:50,498 --> 00:23:52,258
a 600-foot-long corridor
through the arches

449
00:23:53,777 --> 00:23:56,058
and create a new space
twice the size of a football field.

450
00:23:57,539 --> 00:24:00,335
This would become the
all-new street-level concourse.

451
00:24:01,819 --> 00:24:04,477
Then huge new concrete
columns would be built to support

452
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,412
new platforms and
tracks that would sit on top.

453
00:24:09,551 --> 00:24:12,312
These columns
would need to support

454
00:24:13,831 --> 00:24:15,878
tens of thousands of tons of
platforms, trains, and people,

455
00:24:15,902 --> 00:24:18,629
so they needed to be
very strong and built to last.

456
00:24:20,010 --> 00:24:22,737
The construction team was
managed by Adrian tooth.

457
00:24:24,704 --> 00:24:27,466
Adrian: To support
the amount of weight

458
00:24:28,328 --> 00:24:30,778
that comes down those columns,

459
00:24:30,779 --> 00:24:32,859
we have to drill what's
called piles into the ground.

460
00:24:33,195 --> 00:24:37,026
Narrator: Inserting piles
into the strong bedrock below

461
00:24:37,027 --> 00:24:39,201
for added strength wouldn't
normally be a problem,

462
00:24:40,409 --> 00:24:42,481
but here, running
right under the site,

463
00:24:43,309 --> 00:24:45,242
is the London underground.

464
00:24:48,659 --> 00:24:50,109
Janey: Some of
our piles that we had,

465
00:24:51,420 --> 00:24:52,455
our 50-, 60-meter piles
right down into the ground

466
00:24:52,456 --> 00:24:54,320
to build our concrete columns,

467
00:24:55,632 --> 00:24:57,432
were really, really
close to the jubilee line,

468
00:24:57,703 --> 00:25:00,359
so what we had to do
is, while we were piling,

469
00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:01,878
we had monitors on the
tracks at the jubilee line

470
00:25:01,879 --> 00:25:04,641
so if the tracks started moving,

471
00:25:05,745 --> 00:25:06,952
we really knew
we were in trouble.

472
00:25:06,953 --> 00:25:09,299
Narrator: With the new build

473
00:25:09,300 --> 00:25:10,473
of the London bridge
concourse well under way,

474
00:25:10,474 --> 00:25:12,096
the engineers now
needed to figure out

475
00:25:13,339 --> 00:25:15,616
how to re-lay the train
tracks that ran over it

476
00:25:15,617 --> 00:25:17,817
while 200,000 people a day
continued to use the station.

477
00:25:19,414 --> 00:25:22,175
On top of that, with a predicted
rise in passenger numbers

478
00:25:23,314 --> 00:25:26,076
driven by London's
booming economy,

479
00:25:27,422 --> 00:25:29,462
the rail networks wanted
more trains to run through,

480
00:25:29,838 --> 00:25:33,461
across London, and fewer
trains to terminate here.

481
00:25:33,462 --> 00:25:37,224
The existing track layout
needed a complete rethink.

482
00:25:37,225 --> 00:25:40,468
Adrian: When we
inherited the station,

483
00:25:40,469 --> 00:25:42,816
there were 15 platforms,

484
00:25:42,817 --> 00:25:45,094
so with nine terminating
and six through.

485
00:25:45,095 --> 00:25:47,166
But to realize thameslink,
we had to change that

486
00:25:48,305 --> 00:25:50,203
to six terminating
and nine through,

487
00:25:51,446 --> 00:25:53,246
and that meant that
every track in the station

488
00:25:53,931 --> 00:25:56,727
had to change position.

489
00:25:58,108 --> 00:25:59,936
Narrator: In order to
achieve this switch around,

490
00:25:59,937 --> 00:26:01,657
the tracks all needed
to be the same height,

491
00:26:01,939 --> 00:26:04,528
but they weren't.

492
00:26:05,771 --> 00:26:07,150
The terminating lines
were eight feet lower

493
00:26:07,151 --> 00:26:09,060
than the lines with trains
that continued on through,

494
00:26:09,084 --> 00:26:11,708
so they needed to be raised,

495
00:26:13,088 --> 00:26:14,813
but a big chunk of the
track would still be held up

496
00:26:14,814 --> 00:26:16,816
by the 180-year-old
victorian brick arches,

497
00:26:18,059 --> 00:26:21,993
and these wouldn't
take the weight

498
00:26:21,994 --> 00:26:24,098
of the concrete needed
to raise the tracks.

499
00:26:24,099 --> 00:26:26,659
Adrian: So, when we assessed
the capacity of the existing arches,

500
00:26:27,482 --> 00:26:30,864
they could only take
a relatively low load,

501
00:26:30,865 --> 00:26:33,384
so if we then
needed to increase it

502
00:26:34,247 --> 00:26:36,594
by, say, two and a half meters,

503
00:26:36,595 --> 00:26:38,435
if we had done that in
something like concrete,

504
00:26:38,631 --> 00:26:40,191
you're adding a
massive amount of weight

505
00:26:40,357 --> 00:26:41,703
to the top of those arches,

506
00:26:42,773 --> 00:26:44,912
so they weren't
capable of taking that,

507
00:26:44,913 --> 00:26:46,473
so we had to find a
new way of doing it.

508
00:26:47,709 --> 00:26:49,669
Narrator: They would also
need to carry the weight

509
00:26:50,263 --> 00:26:52,851
of the new platforms.

510
00:26:52,852 --> 00:26:54,852
Joshua: They needed
some kind of structural filler,

511
00:26:56,062 --> 00:26:58,382
something lightweight that
could take the compressive load.

512
00:27:00,653 --> 00:27:02,412
Narrator: The
substance they turned to

513
00:27:02,413 --> 00:27:03,973
was surprisingly simple
and very common.

514
00:27:04,519 --> 00:27:07,453
Ellie: They used this.

515
00:27:08,143 --> 00:27:10,662
Not a coffee cup,

516
00:27:10,663 --> 00:27:11,836
but the material it's
made out of, polystyrene.

517
00:27:11,837 --> 00:27:14,253
The surprising thing
about polystyrene is,

518
00:27:15,116 --> 00:27:16,704
although it's incredibly light,

519
00:27:18,119 --> 00:27:20,199
it's also incredibly effective
when it's pushed down.

520
00:27:23,642 --> 00:27:25,882
Janey: We built a foundation,
and then we put polystyrene

521
00:27:26,092 --> 00:27:28,452
wrapped in a plastic wrapping
that has 120-year design life,

522
00:27:30,545 --> 00:27:33,306
and then we built
concrete around it

523
00:27:34,653 --> 00:27:36,631
that gave us a structure
for us to get the tracks up

524
00:27:36,655 --> 00:27:38,208
to the level they needed to be,

525
00:27:39,071 --> 00:27:40,968
but it also was light enough

526
00:27:40,969 --> 00:27:43,005
so that it could sit
on the arches below.

527
00:27:43,006 --> 00:27:44,903
So, these are the kind
of innovative solutions

528
00:27:44,904 --> 00:27:48,217
that we had to come up with,

529
00:27:48,218 --> 00:27:49,805
you know, working
on a station like this,

530
00:27:49,806 --> 00:27:50,840
where you have very,
very old infrastructure

531
00:27:50,841 --> 00:27:53,912
next to very, very new.

532
00:27:53,913 --> 00:27:55,812
Adrian: The polystyrene itself

533
00:27:56,847 --> 00:27:58,537
is actually carrying
a concrete slab.

534
00:27:58,538 --> 00:28:00,402
It's then carrying
the platforms,

535
00:28:01,749 --> 00:28:03,629
and it's also carrying
the weight of the trains.

536
00:28:04,268 --> 00:28:08,168
Narrator: Achieving all this

537
00:28:08,169 --> 00:28:09,548
and keeping the
station open and safe

538
00:28:09,549 --> 00:28:11,379
meant taking it
one step at a time.

539
00:28:12,725 --> 00:28:15,383
Janey: The complexity
in undertaking demolition,

540
00:28:16,246 --> 00:28:20,111
building new platforms, canopies

541
00:28:20,112 --> 00:28:22,055
while you've got trains
running in and out is huge.

542
00:28:22,079 --> 00:28:25,944
What we did at the beginning

543
00:28:25,945 --> 00:28:27,601
was we took two
platforms out of use.

544
00:28:27,602 --> 00:28:29,545
We would put the hoarding
up, set up our work site.

545
00:28:29,569 --> 00:28:32,088
We would demolish
those platforms and tracks

546
00:28:32,089 --> 00:28:33,889
and the arches beneath
them and then build up.

547
00:28:34,367 --> 00:28:36,438
Narrator: The new
design and layout

548
00:28:37,957 --> 00:28:40,246
called for 20,000 feet of roof
to snake over the new platforms.

549
00:28:40,270 --> 00:28:44,100
But the constraints of the site

550
00:28:44,101 --> 00:28:45,381
gave rise to yet
another problem.

551
00:28:46,310 --> 00:28:50,555
Ellie: How do you
build a new platform

552
00:28:50,556 --> 00:28:52,916
and a platform roof on-site
when you have no space to do it?

553
00:28:53,801 --> 00:28:56,735
Narrator: The
answer is, you don't.

554
00:28:57,908 --> 00:28:59,628
Janey: Various elements
of the station build

555
00:29:00,186 --> 00:29:02,602
were prefabricated off-site.

556
00:29:03,776 --> 00:29:05,121
For example, some
of the platform units

557
00:29:05,122 --> 00:29:06,962
and also the canopies
were fabricated elsewhere

558
00:29:07,987 --> 00:29:10,265
and then brought into site,
so the advantage that gave us

559
00:29:11,542 --> 00:29:13,222
was that it meant less
on-site construction

560
00:29:14,028 --> 00:29:15,788
where we had limited space.

561
00:29:17,307 --> 00:29:19,747
Narrator: The platform canopies
came in ten-foot-long modules,

562
00:29:20,137 --> 00:29:22,497
and they were put together
like ready-to-assemble furniture.

563
00:29:24,072 --> 00:29:27,834
Adrian: They came with
all of the containment

564
00:29:27,835 --> 00:29:30,112
that carries the
wiring within them.

565
00:29:30,113 --> 00:29:32,273
It came with cameras,
speakers already set within them.

566
00:29:32,805 --> 00:29:35,566
All the lights were
set within them,

567
00:29:37,085 --> 00:29:38,614
so it was just a process of
putting one next to the other,

568
00:29:38,638 --> 00:29:41,607
filling in the gap between,

569
00:29:42,850 --> 00:29:44,126
and then wiring it all
together, so very quick.

570
00:29:44,127 --> 00:29:46,681
Narrator: In just weeks,
each pair of tracks was raised,

571
00:29:47,993 --> 00:29:50,374
the platforms built, and
the canopy completed.

572
00:29:51,582 --> 00:29:54,895
It required the
different teams on-site

573
00:29:54,896 --> 00:29:56,725
to operate like clockwork.

574
00:30:00,660 --> 00:30:02,604
Ellie: You don't just have a
designer making the design

575
00:30:02,628 --> 00:30:04,663
and handing it over
to the contractor

576
00:30:04,664 --> 00:30:06,252
to build it however they want.

577
00:30:07,426 --> 00:30:09,013
They're thinking about
the building process

578
00:30:09,014 --> 00:30:12,223
as part of the design.

579
00:30:12,224 --> 00:30:13,603
This is architecture
meets engineering

580
00:30:13,604 --> 00:30:15,572
meets project management.

581
00:30:18,023 --> 00:30:20,265
Narrator: The teams
also worked to ensure

582
00:30:20,266 --> 00:30:22,129
the historic victorian features
of the London bridge station

583
00:30:22,130 --> 00:30:24,684
were celebrated alongside
all the modern engineering,

584
00:30:26,514 --> 00:30:29,310
like the 150-year-old columns,

585
00:30:30,794 --> 00:30:33,274
each supporting four connecting
arches and the platforms above.

586
00:30:34,729 --> 00:30:37,421
Many of these
survived to become part

587
00:30:38,491 --> 00:30:39,891
of the new London
bridge experience.

588
00:30:40,631 --> 00:30:43,186
Where they couldn't be kept,

589
00:30:44,359 --> 00:30:46,015
they were mirrored
in modern materials,

590
00:30:46,016 --> 00:30:47,656
but clearly defining
the new from the old.

591
00:30:49,571 --> 00:30:52,264
Adrian: From an architectural
provision perspective,

592
00:30:53,679 --> 00:30:55,381
it was important to repeat
the historical importance

593
00:30:55,405 --> 00:30:57,821
of the original arches,

594
00:30:58,857 --> 00:31:00,547
so if you walk
through that area,

595
00:31:00,548 --> 00:31:02,929
you'll see the original
brickwork arches

596
00:31:02,930 --> 00:31:05,170
and then the new interpretation
in board-marked concrete.

597
00:31:06,830 --> 00:31:09,591
Narrator: Thanks to the
skill of designers, engineers,

598
00:31:10,454 --> 00:31:12,663
builders, and the rail company,

599
00:31:13,872 --> 00:31:15,392
the London bridge
station modernization

600
00:31:15,977 --> 00:31:19,324
finished on time in 2017.

601
00:31:19,325 --> 00:31:23,259
Mark: This project was
an amazing endeavour.

602
00:31:23,260 --> 00:31:25,192
Across all of the
different disciplines,

603
00:31:25,193 --> 00:31:26,711
there was about 1,600
people worked on the project.

604
00:31:26,712 --> 00:31:28,672
In terms of numbers, I
think there's 24 kilometres

605
00:31:29,128 --> 00:31:31,855
of platform edge that we put in.

606
00:31:33,270 --> 00:31:35,697
Janey: We now have ten times
as much space as we did originally,

607
00:31:35,721 --> 00:31:37,801
so the journey that this
station has come on is huge,

608
00:31:38,862 --> 00:31:40,822
and it's one that it's
been great to be a part of.

609
00:31:41,761 --> 00:31:43,798
Narrator: From being
unable to keep up

610
00:31:44,695 --> 00:31:46,938
with even yesterday's demands,

611
00:31:46,939 --> 00:31:49,389
London bridge has been
readied for tomorrow,

612
00:31:49,390 --> 00:31:51,430
while retaining the best
of its victorian character.

613
00:31:52,358 --> 00:31:56,327
It took eight years
to reinvent this station

614
00:31:56,328 --> 00:31:57,968
as a shining beacon
of railway efficiency,

615
00:31:58,847 --> 00:32:01,471
the ambition and
achievement recognized

616
00:32:02,921 --> 00:32:05,041
with the prestigious award,
building of the year 2019.

617
00:32:06,407 --> 00:32:09,203
In the beating heart of London,

618
00:32:10,376 --> 00:32:11,896
modern engineering
and ingenious design

619
00:32:12,654 --> 00:32:14,725
have succeeded in
creating a stunning station,

620
00:32:16,279 --> 00:32:18,479
fit to serve the city's
travellers for another 100 years.

621
00:32:24,735 --> 00:32:28,325
♪

622
00:32:29,016 --> 00:32:31,293
Las Vegas, Nevada,

623
00:32:31,294 --> 00:32:33,122
where a gambler
can take a quick tour

624
00:32:33,123 --> 00:32:34,883
of some of the world's
most iconic structures

625
00:32:35,263 --> 00:32:37,817
before deciding
to splash the cash.

626
00:32:42,408 --> 00:32:44,547
Nehemiah mabry: Every building
is more extreme than the last,

627
00:32:44,548 --> 00:32:46,343
and it makes sense

628
00:32:47,172 --> 00:32:48,448
because this is Las Vegas.

629
00:32:48,449 --> 00:32:50,381
I mean, you have to build

630
00:32:50,382 --> 00:32:51,727
something that gets attention.

631
00:32:51,728 --> 00:32:53,971
And your building
is your billboard.

632
00:32:53,972 --> 00:32:56,181
Narrator: Copies
of famous landmarks

633
00:32:57,458 --> 00:32:58,906
might get you noticed
on Vegas' main strip,

634
00:32:58,907 --> 00:33:02,496
but how do you
make a big impression

635
00:33:02,497 --> 00:33:04,457
if your building plot is
on the outskirts of town?

636
00:33:05,017 --> 00:33:07,882
Hayley: To get noticed in Vegas,

637
00:33:09,056 --> 00:33:10,746
they had to build
something impossible.

638
00:33:10,747 --> 00:33:12,680
Narrator: But this
was no casino.

639
00:33:13,405 --> 00:33:16,027
Here, a man was inspired

640
00:33:16,028 --> 00:33:17,477
to build a hospital
so extraordinary,

641
00:33:17,478 --> 00:33:19,687
it could also be a
fundraising event space.

642
00:33:20,895 --> 00:33:23,380
Larry ruvo: I said
to my wife, Camille,

643
00:33:24,726 --> 00:33:26,766
"if we're gonna do this,
we gotta make a statement."

644
00:33:29,214 --> 00:33:31,294
Narrator: The result was a
building almost as complex

645
00:33:32,148 --> 00:33:34,391
as the organ that inspired it.

646
00:33:35,772 --> 00:33:38,499
Ellie: There are two
halves of this building,

647
00:33:39,327 --> 00:33:41,673
just like the human brain.

648
00:33:41,674 --> 00:33:43,296
The left side is
ordered and logical,

649
00:33:43,297 --> 00:33:44,884
and the right side
is wild and creative.

650
00:33:46,231 --> 00:33:48,474
Narrator: This is the Lou
ruvo centre for brain health,

651
00:33:49,717 --> 00:33:52,271
designed in California,
engineered in Europe,

652
00:33:53,583 --> 00:33:56,586
fabricated in Asia,

653
00:33:57,794 --> 00:33:59,354
and built on two
acres of Nevada desert.

654
00:34:02,764 --> 00:34:04,870
It's the showstopping outcome

655
00:34:05,974 --> 00:34:07,454
of 65,000 hours of
engineering effort,

656
00:34:08,736 --> 00:34:11,532
$80 million,

657
00:34:12,429 --> 00:34:13,948
and nearly 900 tons of steel.

658
00:34:15,294 --> 00:34:18,952
It doesn't look possible.

659
00:34:18,953 --> 00:34:20,334
So, how did they build it?

660
00:34:21,231 --> 00:34:23,889
The building is the brainchild

661
00:34:25,201 --> 00:34:27,167
of American entrepreneur
Larry ruvo, driven to create it

662
00:34:27,168 --> 00:34:31,068
after experiencing the
moment his father, Lou,

663
00:34:31,069 --> 00:34:34,209
was diagnosed with
Alzheimer's disease.

664
00:34:34,210 --> 00:34:36,798
Larry: I just said, "I
would never want anybody

665
00:34:38,248 --> 00:34:40,568
@to go through this humiliating,
lack-of-dignity experience

666
00:34:41,700 --> 00:34:44,496
that I just went through.

667
00:34:45,876 --> 00:34:47,836
If I could ever do anything,
I would change that."

668
00:34:48,086 --> 00:34:51,088
Narrator: Larry decided
to build a new hospital

669
00:34:51,089 --> 00:34:52,883
for degenerative
brain disorders.

670
00:34:54,264 --> 00:34:56,224
As well as being ideal
for treatment and research,

671
00:34:56,646 --> 00:35:00,131
he also wanted it to be
so visually extraordinary

672
00:35:00,132 --> 00:35:03,686
that people would
want to hire it for events.

673
00:35:03,687 --> 00:35:06,552
To design it, Larry turned

674
00:35:07,933 --> 00:35:10,173
to one of the world's greatest
architects... frank gehry.

675
00:35:10,487 --> 00:35:13,318
Aged 81 at the time,

676
00:35:14,526 --> 00:35:16,458
gehry was very much
at the top of his game,

677
00:35:16,459 --> 00:35:18,659
as one of his projects, the
guggenheim museum in Bilbao,

678
00:35:19,945 --> 00:35:22,775
had recently proved.

679
00:35:24,122 --> 00:35:26,331
Larry: The initial day
he was here on this site,

680
00:35:28,056 --> 00:35:30,852
I told him what I wanted,

681
00:35:31,922 --> 00:35:32,991
he took out a yellow
piece of paper,

682
00:35:32,992 --> 00:35:35,132
and he drew it,
and that's what I got.

683
00:35:35,133 --> 00:35:36,513
Narrator: A sketch
was one thing,

684
00:35:37,652 --> 00:35:39,136
but gehry already
knew this building

685
00:35:39,137 --> 00:35:40,861
would be his most
complex to date,

686
00:35:40,862 --> 00:35:44,141
so complicated, in fact,

687
00:35:44,142 --> 00:35:46,004
that only the world's
most expert engineers

688
00:35:46,005 --> 00:35:49,076
would be able to pull it off.

689
00:35:49,077 --> 00:35:50,957
Larry: Frank said to me,
"so, what would you say

690
00:35:51,804 --> 00:35:54,531
that if I told you
this building,

691
00:35:55,912 --> 00:35:58,032
a building like this has
never been attempted before?"

692
00:35:58,708 --> 00:36:01,331
It will be engineered in
Israel and India and Germany.

693
00:36:08,787 --> 00:36:09,650
And then it's gonna be
sent through the Internet,

694
00:36:09,651 --> 00:36:13,066
the design, to China,

695
00:36:13,067 --> 00:36:15,931
and then we're
gonna ship it over here

696
00:36:15,932 --> 00:36:17,175
in 555 pieces, no two alike.

697
00:36:21,834 --> 00:36:23,628
Narrator: Budgeted to
cost $80 million to build,

698
00:36:23,629 --> 00:36:27,080
the structure appears
bent and twisted,

699
00:36:27,081 --> 00:36:28,841
as though it's
collapsing in on itself.

700
00:36:30,118 --> 00:36:32,845
At one end, the
extraordinary facçade

701
00:36:33,570 --> 00:36:35,503
gives way to reveal

702
00:36:36,711 --> 00:36:38,471
a much more conventional
building underneath.

703
00:36:41,095 --> 00:36:43,201
Dylan wint: Looking
at the building overall,

704
00:36:44,271 --> 00:36:45,961
if you sort of divide
it into two parts,

705
00:36:45,962 --> 00:36:48,274
the part with the
sort of metal cladding,

706
00:36:48,275 --> 00:36:50,208
very chaotic and
disorganized-looking,

707
00:36:51,036 --> 00:36:52,831
that's our events centre.

708
00:36:54,177 --> 00:36:56,120
The side where the medical
care actually takes place

709
00:36:56,144 --> 00:36:58,388
is actually quite orderly.

710
00:36:59,631 --> 00:37:03,496
Narrator: The clinic
building is actually

711
00:37:03,497 --> 00:37:05,325
a conventional four-story
white block structure,

712
00:37:05,326 --> 00:37:09,260
partially hidden behind
the curving steel facçade.

713
00:37:09,261 --> 00:37:11,919
But the south wing had an
altogether different purpose

714
00:37:13,023 --> 00:37:15,992
and so needed a
different approach.

715
00:37:19,996 --> 00:37:21,755
Larry: When we started out
on the design of the building,

716
00:37:21,756 --> 00:37:23,436
I told frank, most
hospitals, most clinics,

717
00:37:25,104 --> 00:37:28,659
when they close at
night, what happens?

718
00:37:28,660 --> 00:37:30,593
The janitors come in.

719
00:37:31,973 --> 00:37:33,973
Instead of janitors, I want
ambassadors to come in.

720
00:37:37,565 --> 00:37:40,015
People will rent this building
for weddings and events,

721
00:37:40,016 --> 00:37:42,570
and, you know, we
live in Las Vegas.

722
00:37:43,295 --> 00:37:45,848
We could rent that out,

723
00:37:45,849 --> 00:37:47,809
use this as a revenue
source to fund our research.

724
00:37:48,162 --> 00:37:50,889
So, somebody can come
in here and rent this space

725
00:37:52,131 --> 00:37:53,615
and feel good that
they're helping a charity,

726
00:37:53,616 --> 00:37:55,583
and it's beautiful.

727
00:37:58,897 --> 00:38:00,897
Narrator: Gehry's vision
for a must-see event space

728
00:38:01,279 --> 00:38:03,399
was a structure that was
as jaw-dropping on the inside

729
00:38:04,005 --> 00:38:06,801
as it was on the outside.

730
00:38:08,113 --> 00:38:09,976
The challenge for the
engineers was to figure out

731
00:38:09,977 --> 00:38:12,772
how to build it with
as few columns

732
00:38:12,773 --> 00:38:14,464
and straight walls as possible.

733
00:38:15,810 --> 00:38:19,019
Oussama beyhoum: As you
see, there's a huge structure

734
00:38:19,020 --> 00:38:20,883
without any
support in the centre,

735
00:38:20,884 --> 00:38:22,444
and the way it's
manufactured in pieces,

736
00:38:22,714 --> 00:38:25,198
each piece, like, it varies

737
00:38:25,199 --> 00:38:26,959
from 2,000 pound to
10,000 pound, each piece,

738
00:38:27,753 --> 00:38:30,480
and are made of steel
fabricated off of huge pieces,

739
00:38:31,378 --> 00:38:34,932
like from the size of a couch

740
00:38:34,933 --> 00:38:37,072
or the size of a,
of a car almost.

741
00:38:37,073 --> 00:38:41,179
Narrator: The huge
sections were heavy

742
00:38:41,180 --> 00:38:42,900
because the steel needed
to be strong enough

743
00:38:43,700 --> 00:38:45,981
to compensate for the lack
of internal supporting columns.

744
00:38:47,048 --> 00:38:49,879
Hayley: The amazing thing

745
00:38:51,052 --> 00:38:52,398
is that the curved
panels on the building

746
00:38:52,399 --> 00:38:54,169
actually provide a lot
of the structural support.

747
00:38:54,193 --> 00:38:58,300
Narrator: To achieve this,

748
00:38:58,301 --> 00:38:59,922
the panels needed to be
very tightly bolted together,

749
00:38:59,923 --> 00:39:02,409
so engineers perfected a new
way of connecting the frames.

750
00:39:04,169 --> 00:39:06,930
Oussama: It was
design of friction.

751
00:39:08,207 --> 00:39:09,449
The plates have to be
tight against each other

752
00:39:09,450 --> 00:39:11,625
without air gaps,
and that's what,

753
00:39:13,178 --> 00:39:15,498
that's the reason why to have
so many bolts in each pieces.

754
00:39:16,077 --> 00:39:18,839
Narrator: But the
construction team's problems

755
00:39:19,564 --> 00:39:21,634
were far from over.

756
00:39:21,635 --> 00:39:23,636
The people required to create

757
00:39:23,637 --> 00:39:25,189
these unique
components were so rare,

758
00:39:25,190 --> 00:39:28,261
they were dotted
around the globe.

759
00:39:28,262 --> 00:39:30,342
Dimensions were being
calculated in Israel and India,

760
00:39:31,023 --> 00:39:33,854
then the parts
being made in China.

761
00:39:35,027 --> 00:39:36,507
The builders on-site
needed to be sure

762
00:39:37,789 --> 00:39:39,629
they were bolting it
together in the right way.

763
00:39:40,308 --> 00:39:43,966
Joshua: Just try and think
about the level of precision

764
00:39:43,967 --> 00:39:46,003
that a project like
this would need.

765
00:39:46,004 --> 00:39:47,763
If anything was wrong,
they'd have to dismantle

766
00:39:47,764 --> 00:39:49,213
the whole facçade and
put it back together again,

767
00:39:49,214 --> 00:39:51,353
so the sequencing,
the fabrication,

768
00:39:51,354 --> 00:39:53,079
and the construction were
really key to making this work.

769
00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:55,358
Narrator: The answer was to
bar code each piece of steel.

770
00:39:56,808 --> 00:39:59,362
Once the steel was on-site
and was offered for assembly,

771
00:40:00,812 --> 00:40:04,124
the individual bar codes would
be scanned and transmitted

772
00:40:04,125 --> 00:40:06,404
to the main engineering
team in Germany,

773
00:40:07,128 --> 00:40:09,545
who would cross-check

774
00:40:10,891 --> 00:40:12,443
to make sure the right
pieces were being joined.

775
00:40:12,444 --> 00:40:14,725
Ellie: This system meant that
every piece could be checked

776
00:40:15,447 --> 00:40:16,862
before it was
slotted into place.

777
00:40:18,174 --> 00:40:20,174
Oussama: 1/16 of an inch
or 1/4 off the other side,

778
00:40:20,210 --> 00:40:22,696
it would be disaster.

779
00:40:23,455 --> 00:40:24,767
It had to be perfect.

780
00:40:27,425 --> 00:40:29,530
Narrator: Having worked out

781
00:40:30,738 --> 00:40:32,221
how to build the
complicated steel frame,

782
00:40:32,222 --> 00:40:34,262
the engineers turned their
attention to the facçade.

783
00:40:35,778 --> 00:40:38,539
Once again, architect
frank gehry had a vision.

784
00:40:43,820 --> 00:40:45,856
Larry: Frank said to me,
"since you're in the desert,

785
00:40:45,857 --> 00:40:48,217
I want the immediate impact.
I'm gonna use stainless steel."

786
00:40:48,825 --> 00:40:51,552
Narrator: But 1,800
curved stainless steel tiles

787
00:40:52,380 --> 00:40:54,900
on a building in a desert

788
00:40:56,212 --> 00:40:58,172
where the sun burns hot
for 3,800 hours every year

789
00:40:59,111 --> 00:41:01,907
wasn't without issues.

790
00:41:03,115 --> 00:41:05,220
Hayley: Stainless
steel is super reflective.

791
00:41:05,221 --> 00:41:08,395
There's a risk that
you'll get blinding light

792
00:41:08,396 --> 00:41:10,596
firing out in all directions,
which is not what you want

793
00:41:10,813 --> 00:41:14,540
when your building's sitting
on a major road junction.

794
00:41:14,541 --> 00:41:17,336
Narrator: The solution was
a special angel-hair finish

795
00:41:18,027 --> 00:41:20,443
applied to steel,

796
00:41:21,513 --> 00:41:22,996
micro scratches
brushed into the metal

797
00:41:22,997 --> 00:41:24,861
with a stainless
steel wire brush

798
00:41:25,690 --> 00:41:27,761
to help diffuse the light.

799
00:41:28,969 --> 00:41:30,849
Oussama: That's what
makes the, absorbed the sun

800
00:41:31,454 --> 00:41:34,525
instead of
reflecting it as much,

801
00:41:34,526 --> 00:41:36,246
so it doesn't really
shine in people's eyes.

802
00:41:36,977 --> 00:41:39,669
Narrator: With
passers-by protected,

803
00:41:40,946 --> 00:41:42,666
the team turned its
attention to making sure

804
00:41:43,086 --> 00:41:44,806
the light on the inside
was also just right.

805
00:41:45,675 --> 00:41:48,367
Dr. Wint is in charge of
patient care at the hospital.

806
00:41:50,438 --> 00:41:54,062
Dylan: The natural lighting,
I think, is really important.

807
00:41:54,063 --> 00:41:56,547
It gives less of
an industrial feel,

808
00:41:56,548 --> 00:41:58,135
and often that's important
for some of our patients

809
00:41:58,136 --> 00:41:59,931
who don't realize they're ill.

810
00:42:01,173 --> 00:42:02,795
Narrator: Engineers
installed 199 windows,

811
00:42:02,796 --> 00:42:05,315
allowing a lot of natural light

812
00:42:06,351 --> 00:42:08,110
into the hospital
and event space,

813
00:42:08,111 --> 00:42:09,906
but you can have too
much of a good thing.

814
00:42:11,252 --> 00:42:13,461
Nehemiah: Las Vegas is
in the middle of the desert,

815
00:42:14,808 --> 00:42:16,740
so you're talking about
some pretty high temperatures

816
00:42:16,741 --> 00:42:18,776
that can go as high
as 40 degrees celsius,

817
00:42:18,777 --> 00:42:20,538
or 104 degrees fahrenheit.

818
00:42:22,091 --> 00:42:25,058
Narrator: To protect occupants
from too much heat and light,

819
00:42:25,059 --> 00:42:27,337
every window has
blinds installed,

820
00:42:28,822 --> 00:42:31,409
each tailored and controlled
by a central management system

821
00:42:31,410 --> 00:42:33,770
that's linked to monitors in
the thermally reflective glass.

822
00:42:35,691 --> 00:42:38,417
It's this adaptability to
harsh conditions outside

823
00:42:39,902 --> 00:42:42,698
and its sensitivity
to those inside

824
00:42:43,940 --> 00:42:47,287
that helps make this
building so outstanding.

825
00:42:47,288 --> 00:42:49,532
It is truly the best place
for those most in need

826
00:42:50,602 --> 00:42:52,811
of a superbly
engineered health centre.

827
00:42:54,123 --> 00:42:56,850
Deeann: It is very
unique and different,

828
00:42:57,575 --> 00:42:59,715
and beautiful building,

829
00:43:01,061 --> 00:43:02,941
@and somehow, in a
different way, very peaceful.

830
00:43:07,481 --> 00:43:10,415
Narrator: The Lou ruvo centre
took three years to complete

831
00:43:11,934 --> 00:43:14,215
and was the most complicated
of frank gehry's designs yet.

832
00:43:16,283 --> 00:43:19,044
Larry: This building was
exactly what I wanted it to be.

833
00:43:21,357 --> 00:43:25,049
It gave us the credibility.

834
00:43:25,050 --> 00:43:27,293
People knew we were serious.

835
00:43:27,294 --> 00:43:28,397
You want to build a frank
gehry building for a disease,

836
00:43:28,398 --> 00:43:30,435
they know you're serious.

837
00:43:31,850 --> 00:43:33,713
Dylan: We built a building
that you just cannot miss.

838
00:43:33,714 --> 00:43:35,519
You have to talk about this
building when you pass by it,

839
00:43:35,543 --> 00:43:37,855
and hopefully
people will also talk

840
00:43:37,856 --> 00:43:40,237
about what's going on inside,

841
00:43:40,238 --> 00:43:42,204
so I think, for sure,
that part of the idea

842
00:43:42,205 --> 00:43:44,311
behind this building
and its very unusual looks

843
00:43:45,139 --> 00:43:47,625
was to say, "we are here.

844
00:43:48,833 --> 00:43:51,455
This disease is here.
We're fighting it."

845
00:43:51,456 --> 00:43:53,656
Nehemiah: I love the fact
that something that is housing

846
00:43:54,252 --> 00:43:57,806
work that's so important

847
00:43:57,807 --> 00:43:59,774
is also housed in a building

848
00:43:59,775 --> 00:44:01,361
that looks amazing, as well.

849
00:44:01,362 --> 00:44:03,468
♪