1 00:00:04,280 --> 00:00:05,418 Narrator: What happens 2 00:00:05,419 --> 00:00:06,764 when the world's most radical architect 3 00:00:06,765 --> 00:00:08,731 tries to revive a hundred-year-old building? 4 00:00:08,732 --> 00:00:11,631 Man: This project obviously stands and falls 5 00:00:11,632 --> 00:00:14,530 with structure. 6 00:00:14,531 --> 00:00:15,773 I mean, this is a structural masterpiece. 7 00:00:15,774 --> 00:00:18,224 Narrator: How is one of the world's 8 00:00:18,225 --> 00:00:19,639 tallest residential skyscrapers 9 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:21,745 even standing? 10 00:00:22,988 --> 00:00:24,828 Man: Columns are what make a building stand up. 11 00:00:25,059 --> 00:00:26,750 You take away that structural support 12 00:00:27,579 --> 00:00:29,650 and...[imitates explosion] 13 00:00:30,823 --> 00:00:32,515 Narrator: And how do you create a building 14 00:00:33,826 --> 00:00:35,786 that would have been impossible just 10 years ago? 15 00:00:36,174 --> 00:00:39,039 Woman: Building in water 16 00:00:39,729 --> 00:00:41,626 is incredibly difficult. 17 00:00:41,627 --> 00:00:43,180 You've gotta hold back an entire river 18 00:00:43,181 --> 00:00:44,527 while you're building. 19 00:00:46,943 --> 00:00:49,428 Narrator: This is the age of the extraordinary... 20 00:00:50,912 --> 00:00:53,156 Man: This house always is on the verge of falling down. 21 00:00:55,745 --> 00:00:58,472 Narrator: Where ingenious engineers 22 00:00:59,576 --> 00:01:01,577 have unleashed unchecked creativity... 23 00:01:01,578 --> 00:01:03,649 Woman: Everything in this building 24 00:01:04,857 --> 00:01:06,341 pushes at the boundaries of what's possible. 25 00:01:06,342 --> 00:01:07,549 Narrator: Building structures so outrageous, 26 00:01:07,550 --> 00:01:09,897 they defy logic. 27 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:12,381 Woman: The forces on this thing 28 00:01:12,382 --> 00:01:13,702 look like it should be torn apart. 29 00:01:15,661 --> 00:01:17,662 Narrator: Now their secrets are revealed. 30 00:01:17,663 --> 00:01:19,863 Discover the incredible stories of their construction... 31 00:01:20,908 --> 00:01:23,152 Woman: These are extraordinary feats of engineering. 32 00:01:24,532 --> 00:01:28,017 Narrator: To try and understand 33 00:01:28,018 --> 00:01:29,399 how did they build that? 34 00:01:33,403 --> 00:01:36,405 Ever-growing cities are in a constant battle for space, 35 00:01:36,406 --> 00:01:39,168 risking demolishing the old to make way for the new. 36 00:01:41,446 --> 00:01:44,138 But in antwerp, Belgium, one of Europe's busiest ports, 37 00:01:46,140 --> 00:01:48,936 a forgotten 100-year-old building 38 00:01:50,144 --> 00:01:51,704 has been transformed beyond imagination. 39 00:01:55,874 --> 00:01:58,428 A ground-breaking architect has turned this historic firehouse 40 00:02:00,982 --> 00:02:03,813 into a landing pad for an extension 41 00:02:04,676 --> 00:02:07,057 that is truly out of this world, 42 00:02:08,576 --> 00:02:10,936 challenging engineers to float the new addition effortlessly 43 00:02:11,407 --> 00:02:15,513 above the original building... 44 00:02:15,514 --> 00:02:17,634 Hayley loren oakes: It leans forwards, it's backwards, 45 00:02:18,103 --> 00:02:20,518 it's completely off centre on the legs. 46 00:02:20,519 --> 00:02:22,759 Narrator: Manufacturing the entire structure off-site, 47 00:02:23,004 --> 00:02:25,421 and then shipping it in massive 400-ton pieces. 48 00:02:27,250 --> 00:02:30,011 Ellie cosgrave: We're dealing with making sure 49 00:02:31,081 --> 00:02:32,772 we protect this precious building 50 00:02:32,773 --> 00:02:35,223 that lies underneath. 51 00:02:35,224 --> 00:02:37,340 Narrator: Breathing new life into every inch of its new home. 52 00:02:37,364 --> 00:02:40,160 This is the antwerp port house. 53 00:02:43,853 --> 00:02:45,130 So, how did they build it? 54 00:02:47,926 --> 00:02:50,410 The antwerp port authority, 55 00:02:50,411 --> 00:02:51,756 the government body that controls the busy port, 56 00:02:51,757 --> 00:02:54,484 needed a new home. 57 00:02:55,658 --> 00:02:57,298 They decided on a long-forgotten firehouse 58 00:02:58,005 --> 00:02:59,696 in the centre of the industrial complex. 59 00:03:01,905 --> 00:03:04,770 It needed some serious work 60 00:03:06,220 --> 00:03:08,187 if it was going to function as their new headquarters, 61 00:03:08,188 --> 00:03:10,628 but they didn't want to demolish the original listed building. 62 00:03:12,985 --> 00:03:15,712 Joshua macabuag: Adding to existing historical structures 63 00:03:16,437 --> 00:03:18,474 is a real challenge. 64 00:03:19,509 --> 00:03:21,027 You've got the technical challenge 65 00:03:21,028 --> 00:03:22,908 of being able to work around and load and repair 66 00:03:24,376 --> 00:03:27,068 what can be quite old and historic material 67 00:03:27,655 --> 00:03:29,657 of the building. 68 00:03:30,831 --> 00:03:31,865 But then you've also got the aesthetic 69 00:03:31,866 --> 00:03:33,426 and the kind of heritage issues as well. 70 00:03:34,248 --> 00:03:36,663 You need to build something 71 00:03:36,664 --> 00:03:37,664 that's gonna be true to the original history 72 00:03:37,665 --> 00:03:40,529 and aesthetic of the structure 73 00:03:40,530 --> 00:03:42,650 or complement it in quite a stark and interesting way. 74 00:03:45,639 --> 00:03:47,640 Narrator: They brought in 75 00:03:47,641 --> 00:03:48,675 one of the world's most famous architects, 76 00:03:48,676 --> 00:03:50,885 zaha hadid, 77 00:03:51,748 --> 00:03:53,473 to come up with a solution. 78 00:03:53,474 --> 00:03:55,717 Her visionary designs, like the Guangzhou opera house, 79 00:03:55,718 --> 00:03:58,168 were known for pushing engineering to the limits. 80 00:04:02,311 --> 00:04:06,521 It needed some serious work 81 00:04:06,522 --> 00:04:08,642 if it was going to function as their new headquarters. 82 00:04:10,215 --> 00:04:12,942 But they didn't want to demolish the original building. 83 00:04:14,461 --> 00:04:17,946 Joris pauwels: This is maybe the biggest and most prominent 84 00:04:17,947 --> 00:04:20,189 existing building we've taken on 85 00:04:20,190 --> 00:04:22,122 to develop into a new overall project, 86 00:04:22,123 --> 00:04:23,953 @and it's definitely a challenge, 87 00:04:24,988 --> 00:04:26,265 but it's something that we relish, 88 00:04:26,266 --> 00:04:28,232 it gives all kinds of new perspectives 89 00:04:28,233 --> 00:04:30,193 on how to deal with existing fabric, urban fabric. 90 00:04:33,687 --> 00:04:35,722 Narrator: They had to figure out 91 00:04:35,723 --> 00:04:37,276 how to build a futuristic extension 92 00:04:37,277 --> 00:04:39,071 to create a space to house new offices, 93 00:04:40,314 --> 00:04:43,282 while protecting a beautiful historic building 94 00:04:43,283 --> 00:04:45,871 that would form the rest of the port authority's 95 00:04:46,562 --> 00:04:49,149 new headquarters. 96 00:04:49,150 --> 00:04:51,532 Joris: The original design 97 00:04:52,326 --> 00:04:54,120 had four equal facçades, 98 00:04:54,121 --> 00:04:55,466 meaning there's no front entrance. 99 00:04:55,467 --> 00:04:57,399 The four sides were equally important, 100 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,159 so we definitely wanted to preserve 101 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:00,748 that quality of the existing building 102 00:05:01,611 --> 00:05:02,854 by building a volume on top 103 00:05:04,338 --> 00:05:06,338 and not blocking visually one of the main facçades. 104 00:05:08,618 --> 00:05:10,018 Narrator: The architects also wanted 105 00:05:11,207 --> 00:05:12,967 to preserve the building's central courtyard. 106 00:05:13,243 --> 00:05:16,108 Conservation specialist Philippe lemineur 107 00:05:17,593 --> 00:05:19,833 was charged with protecting this piece of antwerp's past, 108 00:05:20,941 --> 00:05:23,702 making sure the radical design didn't destroy the building 109 00:05:25,221 --> 00:05:28,120 or Rob it of its original identity. 110 00:05:29,363 --> 00:05:31,503 Philippe lemineur: We can see in the typology 111 00:05:32,642 --> 00:05:33,953 of a fire station a lot of elements. 112 00:05:33,954 --> 00:05:36,404 One you can see on the right side 113 00:05:36,405 --> 00:05:38,325 is that there are a lot of gates for fire trucks, 114 00:05:39,649 --> 00:05:42,049 and then you have the back side in the middle of the facçade, 115 00:05:42,411 --> 00:05:46,448 the dry tower. 116 00:05:46,449 --> 00:05:48,529 Those elements are very important for a fire station. 117 00:05:50,384 --> 00:05:53,179 Narrator: Studying the plans for the firehouse 118 00:05:53,180 --> 00:05:54,802 gave the architects an idea... 119 00:05:56,045 --> 00:05:57,645 One that would honour the original design 120 00:05:58,806 --> 00:06:00,646 and let them build something out of this world. 121 00:06:01,291 --> 00:06:04,018 It turns out the building was never actually finished. 122 00:06:06,676 --> 00:06:09,472 Joris: It was built in 1921, 123 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:12,360 and the original design of the fire station 124 00:06:12,820 --> 00:06:15,132 had a big tower on top, 125 00:06:15,133 --> 00:06:16,996 which was twice the size of the building, 126 00:06:16,997 --> 00:06:18,584 very extravagant, was never built, 127 00:06:18,585 --> 00:06:20,794 and which made us consider 128 00:06:22,002 --> 00:06:23,174 an extension on top of the existing building 129 00:06:23,175 --> 00:06:24,591 as a kind of contemporary endpoint 130 00:06:25,419 --> 00:06:27,594 to the existing building. 131 00:06:31,114 --> 00:06:33,807 Narrator: This monumental extension 132 00:06:35,187 --> 00:06:37,187 not only brings the building into the 21st century; 133 00:06:37,397 --> 00:06:40,192 it completes the vision of the original architect. 134 00:06:42,643 --> 00:06:45,474 The plan was to build 135 00:06:46,716 --> 00:06:47,992 a precision-engineered futuristic extension 136 00:06:47,993 --> 00:06:50,064 over 60 feet above the historic building 137 00:06:50,824 --> 00:06:53,067 to house new offices, 138 00:06:54,103 --> 00:06:55,794 supporting the 1,500-ton structure 139 00:06:56,657 --> 00:06:58,866 with two massive concrete legs, 140 00:07:00,109 --> 00:07:02,422 and to join the new extension to the firehouse 141 00:07:03,181 --> 00:07:05,977 through the old tower, 142 00:07:07,288 --> 00:07:09,163 where the firemen used to hang their hoses to dry. 143 00:07:09,187 --> 00:07:12,052 The engineers got to work 144 00:07:13,536 --> 00:07:14,950 figuring out how to support the massive steel structure 145 00:07:14,951 --> 00:07:17,954 above the 100-year-old building, 146 00:07:18,679 --> 00:07:20,854 without damaging it. 147 00:07:22,372 --> 00:07:24,661 Joris: This project obviously stands and falls with structure. 148 00:07:24,685 --> 00:07:28,274 I mean, this is a structural masterpiece. 149 00:07:28,275 --> 00:07:31,311 We'd like our buildings to float if we can, 150 00:07:31,312 --> 00:07:33,141 so we definitely try to minimize the points 151 00:07:33,142 --> 00:07:34,971 and keep this idea of a hovering, 152 00:07:36,352 --> 00:07:38,272 large hovering volume over the existing building. 153 00:07:39,907 --> 00:07:42,738 The new building cantilevers out 154 00:07:44,049 --> 00:07:45,981 over the square in front of the existing building. 155 00:07:45,982 --> 00:07:47,846 It's quite a dramatic effect, 156 00:07:49,054 --> 00:07:50,774 pointing towards the city centre of antwerp. 157 00:07:51,194 --> 00:07:53,851 The structure of the new building 158 00:07:53,852 --> 00:07:56,027 is a steel structure. 159 00:07:57,131 --> 00:07:58,451 It's held by two concrete pillars. 160 00:08:01,239 --> 00:08:02,860 Narrator: The engineers built two concrete legs 161 00:08:02,861 --> 00:08:04,587 to hold up the new offices, 162 00:08:05,933 --> 00:08:07,773 with the front leg designed to widely lean out. 163 00:08:08,211 --> 00:08:11,007 It looked dramatic, 164 00:08:12,112 --> 00:08:13,595 but without precise calculations, 165 00:08:13,596 --> 00:08:16,046 it risked dropping the brand-new building 166 00:08:16,047 --> 00:08:19,567 on top of the firehouse. 167 00:08:19,568 --> 00:08:21,768 Ellie: Because the front leg is leaning out at an angle, 168 00:08:22,743 --> 00:08:25,435 it's gonna want to push out at the top 169 00:08:26,644 --> 00:08:28,284 and slip under the building at the bottom. 170 00:08:31,269 --> 00:08:32,545 Narrator: They decided to connect the front and back legs 171 00:08:32,546 --> 00:08:34,928 at the top and bottom, 172 00:08:36,239 --> 00:08:38,309 turning the structure into a massive concrete ring, 173 00:08:38,310 --> 00:08:40,416 with the bottom part of that ring underground. 174 00:08:42,867 --> 00:08:45,525 Corina kwami: By connecting these two legs at the top, 175 00:08:46,698 --> 00:08:48,338 they are kept from falling out at the top, 176 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:50,944 and at the bottom, stopped from slipping in. 177 00:08:52,324 --> 00:08:54,284 Joris: The two pillars are obviously not vertical, 178 00:08:55,224 --> 00:08:57,122 so that we have a very dramatically inclined 179 00:08:57,709 --> 00:08:59,469 front pillar, 180 00:09:00,332 --> 00:09:01,885 which needs the concrete ring 181 00:09:01,886 --> 00:09:03,446 to keep it from falling over the square, 182 00:09:04,198 --> 00:09:05,855 so that's why this ring is very important 183 00:09:06,580 --> 00:09:08,064 as a structural element. 184 00:09:09,928 --> 00:09:12,103 Narrator: The ring is joined 185 00:09:13,414 --> 00:09:14,691 just under the massive steel and glass structure, 186 00:09:14,692 --> 00:09:16,866 and the bottom connects these stories 187 00:09:17,729 --> 00:09:19,592 underground in the carpark, 188 00:09:19,593 --> 00:09:22,043 keeping the legs in place 189 00:09:22,044 --> 00:09:23,907 and letting them support the weight of the extension. 190 00:09:23,908 --> 00:09:26,669 The top section stops the giant concrete leg from falling over, 191 00:09:28,568 --> 00:09:32,191 and the bottom stops it sliding out 192 00:09:32,192 --> 00:09:33,712 from under the massive steel structure. 193 00:09:34,677 --> 00:09:37,024 The whole thing is steadied by another four 194 00:09:38,060 --> 00:09:39,380 internal-connected steel supports. 195 00:09:41,304 --> 00:09:44,066 The engineers did all this 196 00:09:45,274 --> 00:09:46,834 while barely touching the old firehouse. 197 00:09:50,417 --> 00:09:54,178 Joris: We tried to keep the impact 198 00:09:54,179 --> 00:09:55,767 on the existing building very minimal, 199 00:09:56,665 --> 00:09:58,701 and that is equally important 200 00:09:59,806 --> 00:10:01,082 when we created this structural ring, 201 00:10:01,083 --> 00:10:02,774 which goes through the foundation work 202 00:10:03,603 --> 00:10:05,605 of the existing building, 203 00:10:06,709 --> 00:10:09,435 so it's a very minimal connection, 204 00:10:09,436 --> 00:10:11,057 both structurally, where we connect the foundations, 205 00:10:11,058 --> 00:10:13,854 as well as physically 206 00:10:15,062 --> 00:10:16,580 where we introduced the small staircase 207 00:10:16,581 --> 00:10:18,981 leading up to the entrance hall inside the existing building. 208 00:10:22,311 --> 00:10:24,111 We've got a two-story underground car parking, 209 00:10:24,313 --> 00:10:27,074 so it's two stories down. 210 00:10:27,661 --> 00:10:29,697 Underneath that, 211 00:10:29,698 --> 00:10:30,905 so the third basement level, if you like, 212 00:10:30,906 --> 00:10:32,492 that's where we made the connection 213 00:10:32,493 --> 00:10:34,460 between the foundation of that inclined front pillar 214 00:10:34,461 --> 00:10:36,541 and the central pillar, which rests in the courtyard. 215 00:10:39,915 --> 00:10:41,955 Narrator: What did the conservation specialist think 216 00:10:42,262 --> 00:10:44,540 of this radical approach? 217 00:10:45,817 --> 00:10:47,497 Did it do justice to the original building? 218 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:51,892 Philippe: The opportunity to do the second feet 219 00:10:53,238 --> 00:10:55,118 at the inside of the building, in the courtyard. 220 00:10:56,310 --> 00:10:59,072 But we still needed to have the aspect of a courtyard. 221 00:11:01,074 --> 00:11:03,870 You can't fill it up with feets and structure. 222 00:11:04,733 --> 00:11:06,735 Then you have no more courtyard, 223 00:11:07,839 --> 00:11:09,737 and you have no more light inside. 224 00:11:09,738 --> 00:11:12,740 You can use even more this space. 225 00:11:12,741 --> 00:11:15,501 So the engineer and zaha hadid tried to find a way 226 00:11:15,502 --> 00:11:18,987 that you could have this structure, 227 00:11:18,988 --> 00:11:21,819 but with the kind of subtlety 228 00:11:23,130 --> 00:11:25,050 that these are sculptural elements in the inside, 229 00:11:25,236 --> 00:11:26,962 and so, you can see that those elements, 230 00:11:28,066 --> 00:11:31,137 even not touch the old structure... 231 00:11:31,138 --> 00:11:33,071 Just landing inside the building, 232 00:11:34,555 --> 00:11:36,875 and they make possible that this big volume above our heads 233 00:11:38,214 --> 00:11:41,045 is standing over there. 234 00:11:43,426 --> 00:11:47,188 Narrator: With the gigantic concrete legs in place, 235 00:11:47,189 --> 00:11:49,949 the engineers were ready to tackle 236 00:11:49,950 --> 00:11:52,572 the futuristic glass structure. 237 00:11:52,573 --> 00:11:55,161 But constructing it was going to be a bigger undertaking 238 00:11:55,162 --> 00:11:57,958 than anyone had imagined. 239 00:11:59,339 --> 00:12:01,339 Joris: Having the new building floating in mid-air, 240 00:12:02,031 --> 00:12:04,231 it's important that it's not a super heavy construction. 241 00:12:04,516 --> 00:12:06,518 So it's a steel structure. 242 00:12:07,554 --> 00:12:09,279 It also is a sustainable structure. 243 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:11,200 So we looked at the whole number of possibilities 244 00:12:11,834 --> 00:12:13,802 of constructing the building. 245 00:12:15,010 --> 00:12:16,458 We did a lot of analysis with the contractor 246 00:12:16,459 --> 00:12:18,013 to see how they could build platforms, 247 00:12:19,186 --> 00:12:20,826 how they could get enough people up there. 248 00:12:24,191 --> 00:12:25,709 Narrator: To preserve the original building 249 00:12:25,710 --> 00:12:28,816 and realize the precise design, 250 00:12:28,817 --> 00:12:31,257 the engineers decided to build almost all of the new extension 251 00:12:31,923 --> 00:12:34,788 in a factory 55 miles away. 252 00:12:36,100 --> 00:12:38,827 Joris: It was clear, after initial analysis, 253 00:12:40,069 --> 00:12:41,932 that building the steel structure off-site 254 00:12:41,933 --> 00:12:43,521 in big modules, 255 00:12:44,764 --> 00:12:46,523 shipping them to site, and installing them 256 00:12:46,524 --> 00:12:48,124 was a much faster and more economical way 257 00:12:48,975 --> 00:12:51,148 of constructing the building. 258 00:12:51,149 --> 00:12:52,910 Corina: Normally with steel structures, 259 00:12:54,083 --> 00:12:54,843 you build upwards with scaffolding support 260 00:12:54,844 --> 00:12:56,741 and welding as you go. 261 00:12:57,397 --> 00:12:59,639 But in this case, 262 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:00,779 they were building over the existing structure. 263 00:13:00,780 --> 00:13:03,609 You're looking at a lot of scaffolding support, 264 00:13:03,610 --> 00:13:05,956 with all the risks of building over and around 265 00:13:05,957 --> 00:13:08,684 this listed precious building. 266 00:13:09,374 --> 00:13:10,790 So what do you do? 267 00:13:12,067 --> 00:13:14,067 You build it 90 kilometres away, in 400-ton pieces, 268 00:13:14,379 --> 00:13:17,175 and ship it in. 269 00:13:19,419 --> 00:13:21,459 Joris: So building the structure of the new building 270 00:13:21,801 --> 00:13:24,423 off-site in factory 271 00:13:24,424 --> 00:13:26,563 means it's much more controlled in terms of tolerances, 272 00:13:26,564 --> 00:13:28,244 making sure everything is completely right. 273 00:13:29,256 --> 00:13:30,856 They even installed a temporary structure 274 00:13:31,741 --> 00:13:33,501 to ship the modules on boats to the location, 275 00:13:35,262 --> 00:13:37,955 and then all they had to do is lift them in place, 276 00:13:39,232 --> 00:13:40,819 so it's a much faster construction procedure 277 00:13:40,820 --> 00:13:42,718 to build the overall volume. 278 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:45,103 The structure of the new building 279 00:13:45,997 --> 00:13:46,929 is built in six separate steel parts, 280 00:13:46,930 --> 00:13:49,967 two steel pieces per level, 281 00:13:50,864 --> 00:13:53,210 and they were lifted in place 282 00:13:53,211 --> 00:13:54,556 and then assembled on top of the existing building. 283 00:13:54,557 --> 00:13:57,077 Narrator: The 330-foot-long, 200-foot-high, 284 00:13:59,700 --> 00:14:02,634 and 65-foot-wide steel structure 285 00:14:03,877 --> 00:14:05,677 was broken up into six enormous 400-ton pieces 286 00:14:07,398 --> 00:14:10,159 and shipped from the factory 55 miles away on massive barges. 287 00:14:13,093 --> 00:14:15,855 The builders used a remote-controlled Dolly system 288 00:14:16,683 --> 00:14:18,719 to offload these giant sections. 289 00:14:19,928 --> 00:14:22,101 Joris: So it's both light construction, 290 00:14:22,102 --> 00:14:24,656 it's lightweight construction time, 291 00:14:25,381 --> 00:14:26,762 which is important, 292 00:14:27,936 --> 00:14:28,591 and also the kind of environmental concern 293 00:14:28,592 --> 00:14:31,076 that we had, 294 00:14:31,077 --> 00:14:33,009 so this is achieved 295 00:14:33,010 --> 00:14:33,942 by having this steel structure made off-site 296 00:14:33,943 --> 00:14:35,529 and coming on site by boat. 297 00:14:36,703 --> 00:14:39,016 Hayley: The scale of this job is immense. 298 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:42,053 Just look at the size of the platforms 299 00:14:43,537 --> 00:14:45,688 that are used to drive off the sections from the barges. 300 00:14:45,712 --> 00:14:47,921 They're each the size of a truck. 301 00:14:49,302 --> 00:14:51,422 It just seems mad that this is the safest and quickest 302 00:14:52,167 --> 00:14:55,032 and most efficient way of working. 303 00:14:56,550 --> 00:14:59,242 But it just illustrates that to make a building like this, 304 00:14:59,243 --> 00:15:02,108 you really have to approach it 305 00:15:03,350 --> 00:15:05,593 from a completely different way of thinking. 306 00:15:05,594 --> 00:15:09,252 Narrator: With the steel mega structure in place, 307 00:15:09,253 --> 00:15:11,496 they turned their attention 308 00:15:12,739 --> 00:15:14,188 to the building's signature glass facçade. 309 00:15:14,189 --> 00:15:16,708 Joris: We wanted a glass volume to maximize views out, 310 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,092 maximum light coming into the office environment. 311 00:15:21,817 --> 00:15:23,577 And what we looked at 312 00:15:25,096 --> 00:15:27,040 is to create a dynamic over the length of the facçade, 313 00:15:27,064 --> 00:15:29,790 as if this building is in motion. 314 00:15:31,206 --> 00:15:33,286 And we did that by playing with the faceted triangles 315 00:15:35,451 --> 00:15:39,282 that go from a flat facçade on the south side 316 00:15:39,283 --> 00:15:41,767 to a completely faceted pineapple structure 317 00:15:41,768 --> 00:15:43,804 on the north side. 318 00:15:44,702 --> 00:15:46,358 So this transition makes that, 319 00:15:46,359 --> 00:15:48,429 when you observe the building from distance, 320 00:15:48,430 --> 00:15:50,630 it seems to be in constant flux with light, with clouds, 321 00:15:50,811 --> 00:15:53,192 with sunlight playing on the triangles. 322 00:15:53,193 --> 00:15:55,125 It seems to be a kind of moving object 323 00:15:55,126 --> 00:15:56,886 over this static classical building. 324 00:15:57,922 --> 00:16:00,821 Corina: The finished effect 325 00:16:01,926 --> 00:16:02,823 means the glass is constantly changing 326 00:16:02,824 --> 00:16:04,480 as you walk around it. 327 00:16:05,861 --> 00:16:07,149 There's something of the effect of the glittering sea 328 00:16:07,173 --> 00:16:09,969 or fishy scales. 329 00:16:12,350 --> 00:16:14,070 Narrator: The gigantic extension was secure, 330 00:16:14,490 --> 00:16:16,665 glistening above the old firehouse. 331 00:16:17,907 --> 00:16:19,875 But there was still no physical connection 332 00:16:20,738 --> 00:16:23,291 between the two structures. 333 00:16:23,292 --> 00:16:24,852 How do you connect two massive buildings 334 00:16:25,674 --> 00:16:28,434 with the least impact possible? 335 00:16:28,435 --> 00:16:30,395 They decided to use the firehouse's old dry tower. 336 00:16:33,233 --> 00:16:36,029 Philippe: You do an extension to a building... 337 00:16:36,926 --> 00:16:39,273 At one place or at one moment, 338 00:16:39,274 --> 00:16:41,314 the two parts have a place where they meet together. 339 00:16:42,484 --> 00:16:46,452 What we see is 340 00:16:46,453 --> 00:16:47,764 maybe the only physical touch between old and new 341 00:16:47,765 --> 00:16:50,699 is the dry tower. 342 00:16:51,527 --> 00:16:53,804 When we see the dry tower, 343 00:16:53,805 --> 00:16:55,323 we see a little bit of masonry above the roof, 344 00:16:55,324 --> 00:16:57,404 and then we see the start of a glazen elevator shaft. 345 00:17:00,191 --> 00:17:02,952 The elevator starts in the old dry tower, 346 00:17:04,471 --> 00:17:08,405 go to the glazen shaft, 347 00:17:08,406 --> 00:17:09,959 and then enter in the new building. 348 00:17:13,170 --> 00:17:15,724 Joris: Although you enter the lifts 349 00:17:17,139 --> 00:17:19,179 at the bottom of the existing building in the tower, 350 00:17:19,383 --> 00:17:22,041 the lifts take you up to the new building and connect, 351 00:17:23,421 --> 00:17:25,541 but the structure of these lifts is hung independently 352 00:17:25,941 --> 00:17:27,701 from the steel structure of the new building, 353 00:17:28,944 --> 00:17:31,118 so there is, it's not actually touching the brickwork 354 00:17:31,119 --> 00:17:32,879 of the existing tower. 355 00:17:34,087 --> 00:17:35,915 The existing brickwork tower acts as a sleeve 356 00:17:35,916 --> 00:17:38,159 in which the steel structure is hung 357 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:39,988 independently from the brickwork, 358 00:17:39,989 --> 00:17:41,819 completely loose from each other. 359 00:17:42,647 --> 00:17:44,822 Corina: The amazing thing 360 00:17:46,065 --> 00:17:47,375 is that both of these buildings are separate. 361 00:17:47,376 --> 00:17:48,776 Replace the bricks, and good as new. 362 00:17:50,069 --> 00:17:52,350 Of course, that would be a very expensive change of heart. 363 00:17:56,454 --> 00:17:58,870 Narrator: The radical new extension was in place, 364 00:18:00,044 --> 00:18:01,942 transforming the original fire station, 365 00:18:03,289 --> 00:18:06,118 seamlessly combining groundbreaking architecture 366 00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:08,949 with a sense of history 367 00:18:10,365 --> 00:18:12,445 to bring a forgotten firehouse into the 21st century. 368 00:18:13,057 --> 00:18:15,887 Joris: I think actually that our project 369 00:18:16,992 --> 00:18:19,131 allowed this building to be reinstated 370 00:18:19,132 --> 00:18:21,372 as an important landmark within the antwerp urban fabric. 371 00:18:22,204 --> 00:18:24,931 There might have been all kinds of other scenarios 372 00:18:26,243 --> 00:18:28,209 where this building would have been demolished 373 00:18:28,210 --> 00:18:29,486 and something new would have been built. 374 00:18:29,487 --> 00:18:31,247 I think it was very important also for zaha herself 375 00:18:31,248 --> 00:18:33,208 to keep this existing building, to stay with this, 376 00:18:34,251 --> 00:18:36,805 and to have a separate layer coming over it 377 00:18:37,495 --> 00:18:40,187 to layer the city, 378 00:18:40,188 --> 00:18:42,121 instead of demolishing and rebuilding. 379 00:18:43,501 --> 00:18:46,779 Philippe: We have a larger building 380 00:18:46,780 --> 00:18:48,679 with a bigger capacity, 381 00:18:49,576 --> 00:18:51,681 working 500 people in it now. 382 00:18:51,682 --> 00:18:53,402 And we have also a remarkable site now here, 383 00:18:54,167 --> 00:18:57,101 a site maybe forgotten in the past. 384 00:18:58,171 --> 00:19:02,140 Ellie: What we have here is a building 385 00:19:02,141 --> 00:19:03,659 that deeply respects the original 386 00:19:04,384 --> 00:19:06,385 and gives it space. 387 00:19:06,386 --> 00:19:07,938 Yet it also reacts against it, 388 00:19:07,939 --> 00:19:09,459 with something so crazy and outlandish. 389 00:19:10,528 --> 00:19:13,082 The overall effect is that we have these two structures 390 00:19:13,773 --> 00:19:15,913 that exist together 391 00:19:16,776 --> 00:19:17,984 but have their own identity. 392 00:19:29,547 --> 00:19:33,447 Narrator: Deep in the heart of New York's Manhattan island, 393 00:19:33,448 --> 00:19:35,967 one of the most prestigious addresses in the city 394 00:19:36,692 --> 00:19:39,488 has a new resident. 395 00:19:40,282 --> 00:19:43,112 An 88-story skyscraper, 396 00:19:44,459 --> 00:19:46,459 one of the highest residential towers in the world. 397 00:19:46,944 --> 00:19:49,774 It's classed as a "super tall." 398 00:19:51,190 --> 00:19:53,536 Corina: There's only about 146 of them in the world. 399 00:19:53,537 --> 00:19:57,264 Nehemiah mabry: It's really become a club 400 00:19:57,265 --> 00:19:58,989 that people are desperate to be a part of. 401 00:19:58,990 --> 00:20:00,510 Narrator: Not just tall in the extreme, 402 00:20:00,923 --> 00:20:03,822 but at just 92 feet across, 403 00:20:03,823 --> 00:20:05,687 it's also very slim 404 00:20:06,895 --> 00:20:08,455 and vulnerable to the city's wild winds. 405 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,486 Debbie sterling: 432 park Avenue 406 00:20:12,797 --> 00:20:14,557 is 15 times higher than the width of its base. 407 00:20:14,558 --> 00:20:17,870 Narrator: To create luxury apartments 408 00:20:17,871 --> 00:20:20,494 with unspoiled views, 409 00:20:20,495 --> 00:20:22,495 the engineers had to do away with internal columns. 410 00:20:23,014 --> 00:20:25,672 The project would cost $1.25 billion 411 00:20:27,018 --> 00:20:29,780 and push skyscraper engineering to its limits. 412 00:20:31,333 --> 00:20:34,060 This gravity-defying wonder is 432 park Avenue. 413 00:20:39,652 --> 00:20:41,412 It's 2011, 414 00:20:42,517 --> 00:20:43,797 and on a small plot in Manhattan, 415 00:20:44,691 --> 00:20:46,331 an ambitious plan is being put into action 416 00:20:46,866 --> 00:20:49,627 to build a 92-foot-wide tower 417 00:20:50,732 --> 00:20:52,837 and just under 1,400 feet in the sky... 418 00:20:54,494 --> 00:20:57,186 Dimensions never seen before in skyscraper engineering. 419 00:21:02,226 --> 00:21:04,066 Engineer hezi mena was tasked with figuring out 420 00:21:04,884 --> 00:21:06,920 how to build this developer's dream. 421 00:21:08,232 --> 00:21:10,683 Hezi mena: It's not a normal typical building. 422 00:21:11,994 --> 00:21:13,994 It's very tall, small footprint, it's very slender. 423 00:21:14,894 --> 00:21:17,690 There was a lot of challenges. 424 00:21:19,001 --> 00:21:21,001 It's a tremendous effort put in for over five years 425 00:21:22,073 --> 00:21:24,904 from start to finish. 426 00:21:27,286 --> 00:21:29,114 Narrator: This super-tall, super-slim design 427 00:21:29,115 --> 00:21:31,635 was difficult enough to build as it was, 428 00:21:33,084 --> 00:21:35,365 but there was another curveball coming the engineer's way. 429 00:21:39,470 --> 00:21:41,590 With the apartments needing to fetch $75 million plus, 430 00:21:42,887 --> 00:21:45,683 no one wanted internal columns 431 00:21:46,857 --> 00:21:48,377 getting in the way of luxury interiors. 432 00:21:50,032 --> 00:21:52,794 They told the engineers to get rid of them. 433 00:21:54,174 --> 00:21:56,901 Joshua: Taking away columns is all well and good, 434 00:21:58,109 --> 00:21:59,669 but unfortunately they're very important 435 00:21:59,939 --> 00:22:02,389 for holding up the structure. 436 00:22:02,390 --> 00:22:03,700 If you take them away, úthen you need an alternative way 437 00:22:03,701 --> 00:22:05,261 to carry those loads down to the ground. 438 00:22:06,394 --> 00:22:08,434 Nehemiah: Columns are what make a building stand up. 439 00:22:08,534 --> 00:22:10,914 You take away that structural support, 440 00:22:10,915 --> 00:22:12,848 and...[imitates explosion] 441 00:22:13,987 --> 00:22:15,387 Narrator: With a building this tall, 442 00:22:16,265 --> 00:22:18,025 you need a way to hold up the weight of 88 floors. 443 00:22:18,026 --> 00:22:20,097 Normally this is done with internal columns. 444 00:22:20,718 --> 00:22:22,996 Without them, 445 00:22:24,481 --> 00:22:25,688 they needed a way to support this super-tall skyscraper. 446 00:22:25,689 --> 00:22:28,001 Hezi: So like a typical 20, 30-story building 447 00:22:28,830 --> 00:22:31,279 would have a central core, 448 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:33,281 what we call the backbone of the building. 449 00:22:33,282 --> 00:22:35,002 And that will hold wind and the earthquakes, 450 00:22:35,630 --> 00:22:37,873 seismic, horizontal forces. 451 00:22:39,150 --> 00:22:41,118 Ellie: This is the backbone of the building. 452 00:22:42,291 --> 00:22:43,891 It's what gives buildings their strength. 453 00:22:46,779 --> 00:22:48,055 Narrator: For 432 park Avenue, 454 00:22:48,056 --> 00:22:50,438 at 88 stories high, 455 00:22:51,162 --> 00:22:52,543 that wasn't enough. 456 00:22:53,302 --> 00:22:55,718 The engineers decided 457 00:22:55,719 --> 00:22:57,202 to make the building's outer shell super-strong 458 00:22:57,203 --> 00:22:59,205 to reinforce the structure. 459 00:23:02,829 --> 00:23:04,589 Hezi: This building has a backbone, 460 00:23:04,590 --> 00:23:05,832 which is also the central core. 461 00:23:07,075 --> 00:23:08,869 But we also supplemented the exterior columns, 462 00:23:08,870 --> 00:23:11,631 so together they are providing the stability 463 00:23:12,356 --> 00:23:14,531 that the building needs. 464 00:23:16,567 --> 00:23:18,367 Narrator: They inserted supersized steel rebar 465 00:23:18,707 --> 00:23:20,813 into the concrete outer shell 466 00:23:21,538 --> 00:23:23,849 for added strength. 467 00:23:23,850 --> 00:23:25,851 Corina: To make concrete stronger, 468 00:23:25,852 --> 00:23:27,991 you put steel reinforcement into it. 469 00:23:27,992 --> 00:23:30,192 Ellie: And in this case, it's a gigantic piece of steel. 470 00:23:33,653 --> 00:23:35,309 Narrator: Architects Chuck knapp and Gloria glass 471 00:23:35,310 --> 00:23:36,967 kept a section of this super thick rebar 472 00:23:37,588 --> 00:23:41,626 as a souvenir. 473 00:23:41,627 --> 00:23:43,570 Chuck knapp: You can see the size and the diameter. 474 00:23:43,594 --> 00:23:46,182 These are major rebar, and... 475 00:23:46,183 --> 00:23:48,011 Gloria glass: In general, 476 00:23:48,012 --> 00:23:49,634 they are this size, you know, right? 477 00:23:49,635 --> 00:23:50,669 Chuck: The information'súon the side of the bar normally. 478 00:23:50,670 --> 00:23:53,810 Not this, this is screw, 479 00:23:53,811 --> 00:23:54,949 because they need to be able to screw these in the couplers, 480 00:23:54,950 --> 00:23:58,056 so it's a different animal. 481 00:23:58,057 --> 00:24:00,541 Um, but it's pretty big. 482 00:24:00,542 --> 00:24:01,542 And this thing's only about an inch, inch and a half, 483 00:24:01,543 --> 00:24:03,200 and it's very, very heavy. 484 00:24:05,858 --> 00:24:07,203 Narrator: It wasn't enough, though, 485 00:24:07,204 --> 00:24:09,550 just to have a super strong facçade. 486 00:24:09,551 --> 00:24:11,726 Corina: It had to be tied to the core of the building, 487 00:24:12,968 --> 00:24:14,568 that area that houses the elevator shaft. 488 00:24:16,558 --> 00:24:20,423 Narrator: This supersized rebar 489 00:24:20,424 --> 00:24:21,744 made the outside of the skyscraper 490 00:24:22,391 --> 00:24:24,323 incredibly strong, 491 00:24:24,324 --> 00:24:26,602 but the engineers made it even stronger, 492 00:24:26,603 --> 00:24:29,043 connecting it with steel beams to the concrete elevator shaft, 493 00:24:29,606 --> 00:24:32,436 which acts like a spine 494 00:24:33,472 --> 00:24:35,024 running down the length of the building. 495 00:24:35,025 --> 00:24:36,992 The skyscraper's core and reinforced exterior 496 00:24:38,511 --> 00:24:40,911 gave it the strength to tower almost 1,400 feet into the air. 497 00:24:43,136 --> 00:24:46,105 But this height made it vulnerable 498 00:24:47,002 --> 00:24:49,141 to New York's infamous winds. 499 00:24:49,142 --> 00:24:50,799 Hayley: A skyscraper is a structure 500 00:24:51,524 --> 00:24:53,491 that people live in. 501 00:24:53,492 --> 00:24:55,182 You hang out there, you sleep there. 502 00:24:55,183 --> 00:24:56,805 And if the architects and engineers 503 00:24:57,841 --> 00:24:59,738 don't do anything about the wind, 504 00:24:59,739 --> 00:25:01,139 then you're really going to feel it, 505 00:25:01,741 --> 00:25:03,984 especially if the building's thin. 506 00:25:03,985 --> 00:25:06,643 Ellie: All structures that we build move, 507 00:25:07,367 --> 00:25:08,783 but in tall structures, 508 00:25:10,232 --> 00:25:11,923 they're particularly prone to being moved by the wind, 509 00:25:11,924 --> 00:25:14,281 and the thinner the structure, the more vulnerable they are. 510 00:25:14,305 --> 00:25:17,067 Narrator: The skyscraper was vulnerable 511 00:25:18,171 --> 00:25:19,965 to turbulence created by the wind. 512 00:25:19,966 --> 00:25:23,210 If the wind was strong enough, 513 00:25:23,211 --> 00:25:24,729 it could make the building shake, 514 00:25:24,730 --> 00:25:26,870 making it uninhabitable 515 00:25:27,940 --> 00:25:29,540 and even risking damage to the structure. 516 00:25:33,152 --> 00:25:34,635 Joshua: When you have a tall, thin structure like this 517 00:25:34,636 --> 00:25:36,535 and when the wind strikes it, 518 00:25:37,881 --> 00:25:39,260 the wind then wants to pass around the building, 519 00:25:39,261 --> 00:25:41,159 creating turbulence on the back side. 520 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,160 That turbulence creates vortices and swirls of wind 521 00:25:43,300 --> 00:25:46,233 which pass up the full height of the building, 522 00:25:46,234 --> 00:25:47,821 and the turbulence creates the swirls 523 00:25:47,822 --> 00:25:50,306 to first be on one side, 524 00:25:50,307 --> 00:25:51,756 and then the other, and then the other. 525 00:25:51,757 --> 00:25:53,585 This is called vortex shedding, and what it does 526 00:25:53,586 --> 00:25:55,587 is it starts to actually to buffet the building sideways 527 00:25:55,588 --> 00:25:57,228 even though you're blowing it straight on. 528 00:25:57,728 --> 00:25:59,368 Now, any building has a natural frequency. 529 00:25:59,972 --> 00:26:01,492 Think about pushing a child on a swing. 530 00:26:02,353 --> 00:26:04,113 If you push the child at the right frequency, 531 00:26:04,563 --> 00:26:05,943 the child will start to go higher. 532 00:26:07,013 --> 00:26:08,566 Same thing happens to a building. 533 00:26:08,567 --> 00:26:10,429 If these vortices start to form 534 00:26:10,430 --> 00:26:11,914 and push the building at the right or the wrong frequency, 535 00:26:11,915 --> 00:26:13,995 then the vibrations will start to get out of control. 536 00:26:16,264 --> 00:26:18,161 Narrator: The engineers started to take out windows, 537 00:26:18,162 --> 00:26:20,613 letting the wind rush through floors 538 00:26:22,097 --> 00:26:24,248 that contain the skyscraper's pumps and other utilities. 539 00:26:24,272 --> 00:26:27,033 Hezi: We found that when you make these penetrations 540 00:26:28,138 --> 00:26:29,829 in the building at certain locations, 541 00:26:31,210 --> 00:26:33,170 it reduces the wind pressures by about 20% to 25%. 542 00:26:35,214 --> 00:26:37,941 Hayley: Every twelfth floor is open to the air. 543 00:26:38,804 --> 00:26:40,806 That lets the wind blow through. 544 00:26:41,427 --> 00:26:43,015 Really clever. 545 00:26:44,223 --> 00:26:45,943 But it doesn't solve the problem completely. 546 00:26:47,985 --> 00:26:49,953 Narrator: To make sure the skyscraper 547 00:26:51,264 --> 00:26:53,127 could survive even New York's strongest winds, 548 00:26:53,128 --> 00:26:55,048 the engineers had another trick up their sleeves. 549 00:26:56,338 --> 00:26:59,134 The masterstroke, the brilliant engineering trick, 550 00:27:00,377 --> 00:27:03,035 is hidden away at the very top of the tower, 551 00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:05,900 on the 84th floor... 552 00:27:07,453 --> 00:27:09,813 Two secret giant machines that directly counteract the wind. 553 00:27:11,802 --> 00:27:14,633 Joshua: The wind acting on the building 554 00:27:15,323 --> 00:27:17,220 wants to make it sway. 555 00:27:17,221 --> 00:27:18,153 To stop that happening, they've used tuned mass dampers, 556 00:27:18,154 --> 00:27:21,121 which means a huge lump of concrete 557 00:27:21,122 --> 00:27:22,570 high up in the building. 558 00:27:22,571 --> 00:27:24,434 It's an active system, 559 00:27:24,435 --> 00:27:25,677 which means that when the building 560 00:27:25,678 --> 00:27:26,713 wants to sway in one direction, 561 00:27:26,714 --> 00:27:28,922 the hydraulic Jacks 562 00:27:28,923 --> 00:27:29,751 will move that lump of concrete in the other direction, 563 00:27:29,752 --> 00:27:31,718 counteracting that force 564 00:27:31,719 --> 00:27:32,822 and hopefully keeping the building 565 00:27:32,823 --> 00:27:34,962 not moving too much. 566 00:27:34,963 --> 00:27:36,964 Hezi: This particular building, 567 00:27:36,965 --> 00:27:39,070 we have a damper, weighs about 1,300 tons, 568 00:27:39,071 --> 00:27:41,471 absorbing the energy of the wind that exerts on the building. 569 00:27:43,489 --> 00:27:47,285 So it has to be fast enough 570 00:27:47,286 --> 00:27:48,926 so the occupant that sits in the apartment 571 00:27:49,806 --> 00:27:51,446 doesn't feel the movement of the building. 572 00:27:55,259 --> 00:27:57,295 Narrator: Which is good news 573 00:27:57,296 --> 00:27:58,952 if you've paid over $75 million 574 00:27:58,953 --> 00:28:00,506 for one of the incredible apartments. 575 00:28:03,889 --> 00:28:07,408 Ellie: 432 is without a doubt 576 00:28:07,409 --> 00:28:08,729 a feat of world-class engineering. 577 00:28:10,102 --> 00:28:12,863 It costs a staggering $1.25 billion to build, 578 00:28:15,348 --> 00:28:19,317 and by my estimation, 579 00:28:19,318 --> 00:28:21,198 it's about as beautiful as a skyscraper can get. 580 00:28:25,220 --> 00:28:27,947 Narrator: 432 park Avenue towers above the competition, 581 00:28:31,399 --> 00:28:34,677 giving it one of the most sought-after addresses 582 00:28:34,678 --> 00:28:36,956 in New York. 583 00:28:37,716 --> 00:28:39,475 Its best view as well, 584 00:28:39,476 --> 00:28:41,512 using clever engineering 585 00:28:42,582 --> 00:28:43,982 to take skyscrapers to their limits. 586 00:28:47,967 --> 00:28:49,520 On the rugged east coast of Scotland, 587 00:28:50,798 --> 00:28:52,627 a ship-building powerhouse had fallen quiet. 588 00:28:54,180 --> 00:28:57,080 But all of that was about to change, 589 00:28:58,288 --> 00:28:59,848 thanks to one extraordinary structure... 590 00:29:00,704 --> 00:29:03,776 The brainchild 591 00:29:05,019 --> 00:29:06,819 of one of the world's most radical architects. 592 00:29:08,747 --> 00:29:11,196 The Victoria and Albert museum in dundee 593 00:29:11,197 --> 00:29:13,993 rises from the river tay, 594 00:29:14,822 --> 00:29:16,099 forming a man-made cliff. 595 00:29:17,479 --> 00:29:21,172 This revolutionary design 596 00:29:21,173 --> 00:29:22,760 forced engineers to construct a huge dam 597 00:29:22,761 --> 00:29:26,315 in the middle of a raging river... 598 00:29:26,316 --> 00:29:29,077 Build a gravity-defying 86,000-square-foot shell 599 00:29:30,527 --> 00:29:34,219 in one piece of concrete, 600 00:29:34,220 --> 00:29:35,601 without a column in sight... 601 00:29:36,844 --> 00:29:38,569 And hang 3-ton slabs off impossible walls. 602 00:29:40,433 --> 00:29:44,505 Ellie: It looks like the forces of this building 603 00:29:44,506 --> 00:29:45,906 should just completely rip it apart. 604 00:29:47,889 --> 00:29:49,289 Narrator: So, how did they build it? 605 00:29:50,202 --> 00:29:52,963 In dundee, Scotland, 606 00:29:54,309 --> 00:29:56,552 the city's industrial heart needed a kickstart. 607 00:29:56,553 --> 00:29:59,073 The radical plan was to build Scotland's first design museum 608 00:30:00,315 --> 00:30:03,111 in the historic shipyards, 609 00:30:04,492 --> 00:30:06,435 where Scott's and shackleton's legendary antarctic ship 610 00:30:06,459 --> 00:30:10,738 had been built. 611 00:30:10,739 --> 00:30:11,981 Phillip long: It's been very important in this project 612 00:30:11,982 --> 00:30:13,466 to have a remarkable building. 613 00:30:14,329 --> 00:30:16,054 This is a new design museum, 614 00:30:16,055 --> 00:30:18,015 so it seemed right to look for an ambitious design 615 00:30:18,299 --> 00:30:20,473 that would inspire people to come and see the building, 616 00:30:21,785 --> 00:30:24,442 a building by an architect who is so brilliant 617 00:30:24,443 --> 00:30:25,858 at responding to a particular place, 618 00:30:27,239 --> 00:30:29,359 about the relationship between the river and the city. 619 00:30:30,863 --> 00:30:33,590 Narrator: Visionary Japanese architect kengo kuma 620 00:30:34,729 --> 00:30:36,835 designed this brutalist masterpiece. 621 00:30:38,008 --> 00:30:40,700 He used Scotland's stunning landscape 622 00:30:41,287 --> 00:30:43,048 for inspiration. 623 00:31:08,763 --> 00:31:11,559 Narrator: The plan... 624 00:31:12,940 --> 00:31:14,112 To lay the foundations in the middle of the tay river, 625 00:31:14,113 --> 00:31:16,564 while battling the Scottish weather 626 00:31:17,427 --> 00:31:18,738 and protecting local wildlife... 627 00:31:20,257 --> 00:31:23,053 To cast a giant concrete shell 628 00:31:24,468 --> 00:31:26,446 that uses nothing but its own strangely shaped walls 629 00:31:26,470 --> 00:31:29,956 for support... 630 00:31:29,957 --> 00:31:32,441 And hang the signature cladding, 631 00:31:32,442 --> 00:31:34,961 with pieces weighing up to 3 tons 632 00:31:34,962 --> 00:31:36,584 from the gravity-defying walls. 633 00:31:38,034 --> 00:31:40,795 Their first task was to lay the foundations, 634 00:31:41,830 --> 00:31:44,592 but this wasn't going to be easy. 635 00:31:46,007 --> 00:31:48,047 The design called for a huge portion of the building 636 00:31:48,458 --> 00:31:50,667 to stick out into the tay. 637 00:31:52,151 --> 00:31:54,391 @corina: There are serious issues with building in water. 638 00:31:55,258 --> 00:31:58,019 Debbie: Building in water is incredibly difficult. 639 00:31:59,089 --> 00:32:01,849 You've got to hold back an entire river 640 00:32:01,850 --> 00:32:04,231 while you're building. 641 00:32:04,232 --> 00:32:05,632 Narrator: How do you lay foundations 642 00:32:06,338 --> 00:32:07,959 in the middle of a river? 643 00:32:07,960 --> 00:32:09,720 Structural engineer Dan clipson 644 00:32:10,859 --> 00:32:13,206 had to tackle this monumental task. 645 00:32:13,207 --> 00:32:15,761 Dan clipson: Building in the water 646 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:18,418 isn't fundamentally different from building on the ground. 647 00:32:18,419 --> 00:32:19,765 @the foundations of the building 648 00:32:20,869 --> 00:32:21,939 still need to go down to bedrock. 649 00:32:21,940 --> 00:32:23,664 So whether it's in the river 650 00:32:23,665 --> 00:32:25,011 or on the land behind the river wall, 651 00:32:25,012 --> 00:32:26,253 we're still piling down 20 meters into the rock 652 00:32:26,254 --> 00:32:27,894 to get a good foundation for the building. 653 00:32:29,119 --> 00:32:31,079 Dundee is a very nice sunny city most of the time. 654 00:32:31,259 --> 00:32:33,259 It's also cold and wet in winter, like many places. 655 00:32:34,538 --> 00:32:36,658 So the weather plays quite a key part in construction. 656 00:32:37,472 --> 00:32:39,509 We're working by a tidal river, 657 00:32:41,028 --> 00:32:41,787 working in a climate that has extreme colds during the winter 658 00:32:41,788 --> 00:32:44,824 and rain and wind. 659 00:32:46,205 --> 00:32:48,205 They all need to be considered during construction. 660 00:32:48,759 --> 00:32:50,359 Narrator: They had to lay the foundations 661 00:32:50,727 --> 00:32:52,590 on a seriously difficult site. 662 00:32:52,591 --> 00:32:56,249 To make it possible, 663 00:32:56,250 --> 00:32:57,871 they decided to build a dam 664 00:32:57,872 --> 00:32:59,352 out of 12,500 tons of stone and earth, 665 00:32:59,805 --> 00:33:02,911 called a cofferdam. 666 00:33:03,947 --> 00:33:05,948 Corina: A cofferdam is an enclosure 667 00:33:05,949 --> 00:33:08,054 built within a body of water 668 00:33:08,055 --> 00:33:09,883 to allow the enclosed area to be pumped out. 669 00:33:09,884 --> 00:33:11,924 Ellie: That means that you can get on with your work 670 00:33:12,714 --> 00:33:14,682 in a nice dry environment. 671 00:33:15,890 --> 00:33:17,730 Narrator: The cofferdam would let the engineers 672 00:33:18,617 --> 00:33:20,480 extend the existing dockside, 673 00:33:20,481 --> 00:33:23,448 pushing the site into the tay. 674 00:33:23,449 --> 00:33:25,900 Building the dam was a race against time. 675 00:33:27,281 --> 00:33:29,766 Phillip: There are protected species in the river, 676 00:33:30,629 --> 00:33:32,768 particularly a species of seal, 677 00:33:32,769 --> 00:33:34,598 and so we had a very short time-scale 678 00:33:36,083 --> 00:33:38,483 that would allow us to build our foundation out in the river. 679 00:33:38,637 --> 00:33:42,122 We went on site in march in 2015, 680 00:33:42,123 --> 00:33:43,987 and we had to make sure 681 00:33:45,368 --> 00:33:46,575 that all of that work that was done out in the river 682 00:33:46,576 --> 00:33:47,896 was done by the beginning of June, 683 00:33:48,819 --> 00:33:50,419 the beginning of the seal pupping season. 684 00:33:51,132 --> 00:33:53,893 Narrator: The local grey seal population 685 00:33:54,618 --> 00:33:57,482 lives close to the site. 686 00:33:57,483 --> 00:33:58,725 Their breeding season was just around the corner, 687 00:33:58,726 --> 00:34:01,591 and the second it started, 688 00:34:02,833 --> 00:34:04,433 all work in the river would have to stop. 689 00:34:06,423 --> 00:34:09,391 The construction team 690 00:34:09,392 --> 00:34:10,737 hammered massive steel slats into the riverbed, 691 00:34:10,738 --> 00:34:12,912 filling in the centre with rubble 692 00:34:14,121 --> 00:34:15,466 to hold back the force of the tay river. 693 00:34:15,467 --> 00:34:18,056 Dan: What was done in this case 694 00:34:19,229 --> 00:34:20,816 was a temporary bit of land was created, 695 00:34:20,817 --> 00:34:22,197 so the contractor installed a piled wall out into the river 696 00:34:22,198 --> 00:34:24,062 and filled it in with ground 697 00:34:24,890 --> 00:34:26,718 to create a new bit of land 698 00:34:26,719 --> 00:34:28,168 that we could then build the building on. 699 00:34:28,169 --> 00:34:28,825 We were constructing the building 700 00:34:28,826 --> 00:34:30,791 on top of solid ground, 701 00:34:30,792 --> 00:34:32,345 even though it was above the river. 702 00:34:32,346 --> 00:34:34,554 Narrator: The engineers drilled down 65 feet, 703 00:34:34,555 --> 00:34:36,419 anchoring the building's foundations 704 00:34:37,489 --> 00:34:39,077 to the rock bed on concrete piles. 705 00:34:39,767 --> 00:34:43,839 At the same time, 706 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:44,978 they would have to make sure the corrosive salt of the tay 707 00:34:44,979 --> 00:34:46,601 wouldn't eat away the foundations. 708 00:34:47,982 --> 00:34:50,102 They decided to use a concrete with a special formula, 709 00:34:51,192 --> 00:34:54,057 specifically designed to resist salt. 710 00:34:55,438 --> 00:34:58,819 Dan: Salt and chlorides are the enemy of our structure. 711 00:34:58,820 --> 00:35:01,789 So they cause corrosion 712 00:35:02,928 --> 00:35:03,722 and damage to the building over time 713 00:35:03,723 --> 00:35:05,792 that we have to prevent. 714 00:35:05,793 --> 00:35:06,621 The concrete mixes we've used in this building 715 00:35:06,622 --> 00:35:08,967 had to be different. 716 00:35:08,968 --> 00:35:10,037 We had to change them from what we'd normally do 717 00:35:10,038 --> 00:35:11,280 in order to make them more resistant 718 00:35:11,281 --> 00:35:13,420 to the elements, to the salts, 719 00:35:13,421 --> 00:35:14,628 to all of the things that are trying to attack the building. 720 00:35:14,629 --> 00:35:17,528 Narrator: The foundations were secure, 721 00:35:17,529 --> 00:35:19,185 and a new piece of land had been built into the tay river, 722 00:35:19,186 --> 00:35:23,603 ready for the next step of the build. 723 00:35:23,604 --> 00:35:26,004 The engineers now had to tackle the building's radical shape. 724 00:35:28,091 --> 00:35:30,887 They wanted the walls to support the entire structure, 725 00:35:32,475 --> 00:35:35,202 removing any interior columns from the gallery spaces. 726 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:41,241 But the leaning and twisting design 727 00:35:41,242 --> 00:35:42,642 threatened to tear the museum apart. 728 00:35:43,900 --> 00:35:46,592 Hayley: Normally you would never build walls 729 00:35:47,421 --> 00:35:49,387 that are sloping outwards, 730 00:35:49,388 --> 00:35:52,287 and that's because, 731 00:35:52,288 --> 00:35:53,564 as well as the usual gravitational forces 732 00:35:53,565 --> 00:35:55,566 that are pushing down on the building, 733 00:35:55,567 --> 00:35:57,533 you're adding an extra layer of strain 734 00:35:57,534 --> 00:36:00,260 as the walls are being pulled apart. 735 00:36:00,261 --> 00:36:03,850 Joshua: The shape of this building is, 736 00:36:03,851 --> 00:36:05,990 it's really incredible 737 00:36:05,991 --> 00:36:06,612 @and something that you don't see in architecture 738 00:36:06,613 --> 00:36:08,441 very often for a reason, 739 00:36:08,442 --> 00:36:10,236 @and that's because it just takes 740 00:36:10,237 --> 00:36:11,478 a lot of expertise, science, and maths 741 00:36:11,479 --> 00:36:13,308 to achieve what they've achieved here. 742 00:36:13,309 --> 00:36:15,689 Narrator: To get the calculations right, 743 00:36:15,690 --> 00:36:17,530 they used the very latest 3D computer modelling 744 00:36:17,589 --> 00:36:21,695 and sculptural techniques. 745 00:36:21,696 --> 00:36:23,776 Dan: This is a building that is a very modern design. 746 00:36:24,009 --> 00:36:25,906 We needed to use a lot of computational power 747 00:36:25,907 --> 00:36:27,387 to create the design of this building. 748 00:36:28,358 --> 00:36:30,256 We looked at the shape at the concept stage, 749 00:36:30,257 --> 00:36:32,396 and we could have put a frame in here 750 00:36:32,397 --> 00:36:34,077 and hung the facçade off the outside of it. 751 00:36:34,709 --> 00:36:35,813 It could have been a traditional building. 752 00:36:35,814 --> 00:36:38,333 The problem with that is 753 00:36:38,334 --> 00:36:39,403 we'd fill the building with a lot of stuff, 754 00:36:39,404 --> 00:36:41,267 and this is a museum, 755 00:36:41,268 --> 00:36:42,613 this is an art space, this is a gallery, 756 00:36:42,614 --> 00:36:44,580 this is a place for people to come and enjoy 757 00:36:44,581 --> 00:36:46,168 that we didn't want to fill with bits of steel and concrete. 758 00:36:46,169 --> 00:36:48,482 Historically we'd build buildings 759 00:36:49,621 --> 00:36:51,061 with the walls carrying the weight... 760 00:36:51,726 --> 00:36:53,382 Stone huts back in the dark ages. 761 00:36:53,383 --> 00:36:54,764 The walls carried the roof, 762 00:36:56,283 --> 00:36:57,835 and that was how we protected you from the wind and the rain. 763 00:36:57,836 --> 00:36:58,664 So we took the option of using the shell of the building 764 00:36:58,665 --> 00:37:00,666 as its structure, 765 00:37:02,081 --> 00:37:03,496 kind of going back to the old way of doing things... 766 00:37:03,497 --> 00:37:05,118 Make the outside of the building hold the building up, 767 00:37:05,119 --> 00:37:07,016 and then you don't need to put anything inside. 768 00:37:07,017 --> 00:37:08,657 Because of the way the building is pulling 769 00:37:09,123 --> 00:37:11,400 on all the different bits of itself... 770 00:37:11,401 --> 00:37:12,608 The roof pulls on the walls, the walls pull on the roof... 771 00:37:12,609 --> 00:37:14,089 We had to design it as one big object. 772 00:37:14,956 --> 00:37:18,476 Narrator: To make the most of the exhibition spaces, 773 00:37:18,477 --> 00:37:20,317 the architect didn't want any interior columns. 774 00:37:21,308 --> 00:37:24,034 To achieve this, the shell of the building, 775 00:37:24,759 --> 00:37:26,727 the exterior walls, 776 00:37:27,797 --> 00:37:29,936 had to support the roof and themselves. 777 00:37:29,937 --> 00:37:32,698 No easy task, given their extreme shapes. 778 00:37:34,873 --> 00:37:37,634 The solution was to design the shell to work as one piece, 779 00:37:38,911 --> 00:37:41,638 using its own weight and steel reinforcements 780 00:37:42,536 --> 00:37:45,228 to hold the building together. 781 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,025 But there was a problem. 782 00:37:50,198 --> 00:37:52,130 The shell would be only structurally sound 783 00:37:52,131 --> 00:37:53,926 when the last piece was in place. 784 00:37:55,134 --> 00:37:56,854 Until then, the whole building was unstable. 785 00:37:58,448 --> 00:38:02,348 Joshua: So the leaning walls and the whole building 786 00:38:02,349 --> 00:38:03,970 is really held together by these tension forces 787 00:38:03,971 --> 00:38:05,931 pulling everything back towards that central core. 788 00:38:06,491 --> 00:38:09,872 Dan: The skin of the building itself 789 00:38:09,873 --> 00:38:12,012 is doing all the work. 790 00:38:12,013 --> 00:38:13,324 It's carrying the weight of the building, 791 00:38:13,325 --> 00:38:14,601 it's pushing and pulling with different forces, 792 00:38:14,602 --> 00:38:16,293 it's resisting the wind and the rain, 793 00:38:16,294 --> 00:38:18,536 it's keeping the building watertight, 794 00:38:18,537 --> 00:38:19,744 holding the facçade up and the cladding on the outside. 795 00:38:19,745 --> 00:38:22,437 But it's primarily supporting the building. 796 00:38:22,438 --> 00:38:24,509 Narrator: They used their advanced computer model 797 00:38:25,544 --> 00:38:27,097 to make the walls super-efficient, 798 00:38:28,582 --> 00:38:30,982 making them as thin as possible, and more importantly, light. 799 00:38:31,999 --> 00:38:34,726 Dan: That resulted in some of the walls 800 00:38:35,451 --> 00:38:37,486 being half as thick. 801 00:38:37,487 --> 00:38:39,005 They went from 600 millimetres down to 300 millimetres, 802 00:38:39,006 --> 00:38:40,765 which is a significant saving in materials 803 00:38:40,766 --> 00:38:42,974 and reduces the weight of the building, 804 00:38:42,975 --> 00:38:45,356 the size of the foundations. 805 00:38:45,357 --> 00:38:46,771 It's a lot of positive outcomes from that. 806 00:38:46,772 --> 00:38:48,567 Narrator: Now they faced the challenge 807 00:38:49,775 --> 00:38:51,335 of building the 81,000-cubic-foot shell. 808 00:38:52,916 --> 00:38:55,678 This would only be stable 809 00:38:56,955 --> 00:38:58,818 when the last pour of concrete had hardened. 810 00:38:58,819 --> 00:39:01,442 It wouldn't be able to support its own weight 811 00:39:02,167 --> 00:39:05,307 until the very end. 812 00:39:05,308 --> 00:39:07,068 Dan: Because of the shell we had to make, 813 00:39:08,173 --> 00:39:09,207 it was like casting a giant mold. 814 00:39:09,208 --> 00:39:11,417 We had to finish the casting 815 00:39:11,418 --> 00:39:12,625 before we could take the mold away, 816 00:39:12,626 --> 00:39:13,936 'cause in a partially completed state, 817 00:39:13,937 --> 00:39:16,145 the building isn't stable. 818 00:39:16,146 --> 00:39:18,320 Narrator: As the shell started to go up, 819 00:39:18,321 --> 00:39:20,241 the builders had to add more and more formwork... 820 00:39:20,806 --> 00:39:24,464 The molds that hold the concrete... 821 00:39:24,465 --> 00:39:25,865 To support the precarious structure. 822 00:39:26,674 --> 00:39:29,400 If they removed a piece too early, 823 00:39:29,401 --> 00:39:30,761 the whole structure would collapse. 824 00:39:31,748 --> 00:39:33,440 After a year and a half of constant work, 825 00:39:34,579 --> 00:39:36,443 the last concrete pour was completed. 826 00:39:37,513 --> 00:39:39,480 It was time to take off the formwork 827 00:39:40,688 --> 00:39:42,408 and see if all the calculations were correct 828 00:39:43,173 --> 00:39:45,293 and if this one-of-a-kind design would support itself. 829 00:39:47,799 --> 00:39:50,733 Phillip: Finally, 830 00:39:51,975 --> 00:39:52,666 after nearly two years of it coming into place, 831 00:39:52,667 --> 00:39:54,564 it came down, 832 00:39:55,634 --> 00:39:56,428 and it was a very, very exciting moment 833 00:39:56,429 --> 00:39:58,187 to see that formwork removed 834 00:39:58,188 --> 00:40:00,052 and the shell of vanda dundee 835 00:40:00,915 --> 00:40:02,538 finally born, finally revealed. 836 00:40:05,299 --> 00:40:06,779 Narrator: When the molds were removed, 837 00:40:07,957 --> 00:40:09,637 the black concrete underneath was revealed. 838 00:40:10,235 --> 00:40:12,479 It was colourized with a pfa paint, 839 00:40:13,203 --> 00:40:15,689 or pulverized fuel ash, 840 00:40:17,069 --> 00:40:18,989 made from the waste of coal-fired power stations. 841 00:40:19,071 --> 00:40:21,936 At last, 842 00:40:23,213 --> 00:40:24,766 the vanda's groundbreaking shell was complete. 843 00:40:24,767 --> 00:40:26,967 But architect kengo kuma wasn't going to leave it there. 844 00:40:27,977 --> 00:40:30,980 He had big plans for the finish. 845 00:40:41,784 --> 00:40:44,476 Narrator: He wanted to use giant concrete blocks 846 00:40:45,995 --> 00:40:48,276 to mimic the craggy appearance of Scottish coastal cliffs. 847 00:40:50,171 --> 00:40:52,933 But it turns out, creating a random natural pattern 848 00:40:53,899 --> 00:40:56,730 is harder than you think. 849 00:40:59,836 --> 00:41:01,716 Dan: If you look at the facçade of the building, 850 00:41:02,736 --> 00:41:04,909 at the external panels from outside, 851 00:41:04,910 --> 00:41:06,428 you'll see that they all look slightly different. 852 00:41:06,429 --> 00:41:08,810 There's a random pattern to them. 853 00:41:08,811 --> 00:41:10,328 They step in and out, they step up and down, 854 00:41:10,329 --> 00:41:12,021 they kind of weave around 855 00:41:13,401 --> 00:41:14,333 and create this sort of vision of this cliff face, 856 00:41:14,334 --> 00:41:15,818 of this random assortment. 857 00:41:16,888 --> 00:41:18,544 In reality, they're not that random. 858 00:41:18,545 --> 00:41:20,625 If we did an entirely random pattern for the facçade, 859 00:41:20,926 --> 00:41:22,514 if every plank was just generated 860 00:41:23,411 --> 00:41:25,516 by some mathematical formula, 861 00:41:25,517 --> 00:41:26,345 the risk is that two or three planks next to each other 862 00:41:26,346 --> 00:41:27,726 would look similar enough 863 00:41:29,003 --> 00:41:30,210 that your brain would see them as the same, 864 00:41:30,211 --> 00:41:31,660 so we had to create this algorithm 865 00:41:31,661 --> 00:41:33,386 that allowed us to fine-tune things 866 00:41:33,387 --> 00:41:34,733 to make sure the architects 867 00:41:35,907 --> 00:41:37,355 could look at the building from every angle 868 00:41:37,356 --> 00:41:39,334 and they could tweak and adjust until it looked just so. 869 00:41:39,358 --> 00:41:42,844 Narrator: With the shell working as one piece, 870 00:41:42,845 --> 00:41:44,743 it was ready to take 871 00:41:45,779 --> 00:41:47,918 the massive weight of the cladding. 872 00:41:47,919 --> 00:41:50,119 All in all, there are 2,500 pre-cast rough stone panels, 873 00:41:50,680 --> 00:41:53,511 weighing up to 6,600 pounds each 874 00:41:54,581 --> 00:41:58,584 and spanning up to 13 feet. 875 00:41:58,585 --> 00:42:00,207 Hanging them was going to be a challenge. 876 00:42:01,588 --> 00:42:04,522 Dan: The facçade panels 877 00:42:06,006 --> 00:42:06,834 are made from a concrete and reconstituted stone material. 878 00:42:06,835 --> 00:42:08,871 They weigh an awful lot. 879 00:42:09,665 --> 00:42:11,735 The facçade, the panels 880 00:42:11,736 --> 00:42:13,219 weigh about the same as the wall that's holding them up. 881 00:42:13,220 --> 00:42:15,117 The panels on a more vertical wall are smaller, 882 00:42:15,118 --> 00:42:16,429 panels on the more sloping walls are bigger. 883 00:42:16,430 --> 00:42:18,087 That presents another challenge 884 00:42:19,398 --> 00:42:20,398 because the walls that are sloping and twisting 885 00:42:20,399 --> 00:42:22,849 are working harder, 886 00:42:22,850 --> 00:42:24,264 and the cladding hung off them is heavier. 887 00:42:24,265 --> 00:42:25,507 So it's a sort of double whammy of challenge 888 00:42:25,508 --> 00:42:27,647 that we had to overcome in the design. 889 00:42:27,648 --> 00:42:29,315 Narrator: The anchoring points of the giant stone cladding 890 00:42:29,339 --> 00:42:32,721 had to be seriously heavy-duty. 891 00:42:32,722 --> 00:42:34,690 The engineers decided to set them in the shell 892 00:42:35,553 --> 00:42:37,762 when it was first being poured, 893 00:42:38,970 --> 00:42:40,764 letting the outer shell harden around them. 894 00:42:40,765 --> 00:42:43,491 This, though, left no room for error. 895 00:42:44,941 --> 00:42:47,181 Get it wrong, and the cladding wouldn't fit on the shell. 896 00:42:48,289 --> 00:42:51,982 In the end, every anchor except three 897 00:42:51,983 --> 00:42:54,226 was in the perfect position. 898 00:42:57,644 --> 00:43:00,025 The exterior of the building was complete, 899 00:43:01,130 --> 00:43:03,477 a testament to the Scottish landscape. 900 00:43:05,341 --> 00:43:09,482 Vanda dundee is proof that radical engineering 901 00:43:09,483 --> 00:43:13,624 can breathe new life into a long-neglected area, 902 00:43:13,625 --> 00:43:16,214 using the natural environment to redefine the urban landscape. 903 00:43:19,804 --> 00:43:22,600 Hayley: The end result is a beautiful building 904 00:43:23,428 --> 00:43:27,189 that is truly built to last, 905 00:43:27,190 --> 00:43:29,675 as tough and rugged and as beautiful 906 00:43:29,676 --> 00:43:33,886 as the Scottish landscape that inspired it. 907 00:43:33,887 --> 00:43:36,247 Phillip: Dundee's falling in love with its waterfront again, 908 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:39,478 and people that come to experience vanda dundee 909 00:43:40,687 --> 00:43:42,827 now have a new relationship with the river, 910 00:43:44,242 --> 00:43:46,242 which has been suchúan important part of this city. 911 00:43:46,969 --> 00:43:48,769 Narrator: Extraordinary engineering challenges 912 00:43:50,110 --> 00:43:52,070 had been overcome to create the designer's vision. 913 00:43:53,147 --> 00:43:55,874 Dan: I consider this to be a landmark project. 914 00:43:56,634 --> 00:43:59,463 I find it fascinating 915 00:43:59,464 --> 00:44:00,913 that people look at it as a piece of engineering 916 00:44:00,914 --> 00:44:03,122 as well as a piece of art and architecture. 917 00:44:03,123 --> 00:44:04,963 It's a visible piece of structural engineering.