All language subtitles for Building.Giants.S05E04.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
In Germany, an elite team
of engineers is embarking

on a colossal
construction project.

They are building
a new superhub

at one of Europe's
busiest airports.

The team must battle
surging groundwater,

a cramped site...

It's very difficult to move
because of the size.

...and Mother Nature...

[speaking in German]

...to establish a vital
transportation hub

that will handle up to
19 million passengers a year.

This mega airport ranks
in a league of ambitious

new engineering wonders
that are bigger, faster,

taller, and more
advanced than anything

ever constructed before.

This is the inside story of
the extraordinary challenge of

building these giants.

Frankfurt, Germany,

the financial capital
of Europe,

where medieval buildings
sit in the shadow

of some of Europe's
tallest skyscrapers.

Located in the center
of the city is a key

transportation hub with rail,
river, and road links to

the rest of Europe and beyond.

Frankfurt Airport is
the busiest in Germany,

with flights to and from more
than 300 destinations.

Passenger numbers are
expected to rise by 50%

in the next 10 years.

CEO Stefan Schulte must ensure
the airport keeps up

with demand.

[speaking in German]

The airport has two terminals,

but with around 70 million
passengers annually,

they are at maximum capacity.

[Stefan speaking in German]

Engineers cannot expand
Terminals 1 or 2

because both are surrounded
by highways and buildings,

so they're developing
a brand-new terminal

to the south on the site
of a former military base.

To build this 1.9 million
square-foot mammoth hub,

the team constructs a vast main
building for the check-in hall,

security, and departure lounge,

complete with 112
check-in counters.

From the terminal's core,
three new boarding piers

stretch for nearly a combined
mile across the airfield

to create more than 30 aircraft
parking spaces.

A 226-foot-tall control tower
oversees the traffic.

And a driverless people mover
carries more than 8,000

travelers an hour
between terminals.

Christoph Mäckler is
the project's architect.

He envisions
an efficient terminal

that eases the stress
of air travel.

For me, it's very important to
make a warm terminal,

a good-feeling terminal,
where you feel good

as you feel at home.

Christoph's design keeps
the entire airport experience

on one floor.

Passenger flow is
very, very important

in such an airport.

Sometimes, if you look at
the airports worldwide,

you go up and down
and you don't find your way.

So this is why we said
we have to do all the things

on one level in a way.

Turning Christoph's vision into
reality is a huge logistical

and engineering challenge.

It's up to project manager
Sven Fuchs to make it happen.

The size that Terminal 3 has,
it's about 25 soccer fields.

It's more or less
a new airport.

Building on such a massive
scale requires a lot of land.

The chosen site presents
engineers with a big challenge.

It's located on
a waterlogged plateau.

This makes building
the foundations for

the new terminal
very difficult.

[Sven] If you're going
below the five meters,

we have to deal
with groundwater.

Doing the excavation
in the water is purely

slowing you down, because now
you have not only the soil

you have to control, meanwhile

you have also
to control the water.

The team devises an ingenious
plan to create a stable

and dry foundation.

First, they dig down 18 feet
to the top of the water table.

Next, they divide the site into
separate excavation fields.

They then line these zones with
7,700 tons of steel sheet piles

to hold back
the saturated ground.

They dig each field
down to 36 feet

to allow the groundwater
to flood the pits.

Engineers then drive 3,500
micropiles into the ground to

support the concrete base.

A specialized rig pours
underwater concrete to seal

the base and form
a watertight seal.

Once the concrete is cured,
pumps remove the water to

reveal the underground
structure that will become

the basement of the terminal.

If the team isn't able to
achieve a perfect seal

around the pit,
the entire build could flood.

Failure is not an option.

[Sven] It's important
because it's the basis for

the entire building.

You have to make surveys,
you have to measure

the groundwater level,
so you have to be sure that

you know what is
waiting for you.

The engineers begin
the excavation in 2015.

They use a fleet of excavators
and trucks to remove

23.6 million cubic feet
of earth

and create pits
up to 36 feet deep.

The team stops when it reaches
a depth of 16 feet.

Digging deeper will flood
the pit and cause the walls

to collapse.

To prevent this,
engineers install

495,000 square feet of
steel sheets

to make retaining walls.

[Sven]
The aim of the sheet piling is
to stabilize the surrounding

ground area to avoid that
sand and soil is falling

into the pit.

Now that the walls
are installed,

the team digs
the pits deeper.

But as expected,
the groundwater soon seeps up

and fills the holes.

The next challenge is to seal
the bottoms of the pits.

Engineers use a giant
robotic arm to pump nearly

1.4 million cubic feet
of special concrete

into the holes.

When the pump is running,
a team of divers works for

hours at a time to guide

the hose along the floor
of the pit.

[Sven]
The work of the divers,

it's also work that needs to be
done precisely because we're

laying the fundament
for the entire building.

A month later, the concrete is
completely cured.

It's time for the engineers to
find out if the seal around

the pit is waterproof.

The bilge pumps fire up.

The water level
in the pits drops.

And the team sees the concrete
floor for the first time.

We can say that the finishing
of the excavations and starting

pouring the concrete slab
and then afterwards pumping out

the water was the first big
success for the entire project.

By late 2019,
the basement level is dry

and the building work
can begin.

Engineers in Germany are
building the brand-new

Terminal 3
at Frankfurt Airport.

They've sunk foundations into
waterlogged ground to give this

mega-building a firm base.

Now it's time to erect
the structures above ground.

19 million passengers
every year will pass through

Terminal 3's check-in hall.

To keep the crowds flowing,
architect Christoph Mäckler

designs an open-plan layout
with a 59-foot-high ceiling.

It's a huge room.

And you feel welcome.

You don't get nervous
to find your way.

You just know where you are
and where you have to go.

Engineers must top this
structure with a 355,000

square-foot steel roof,

the equivalent of about
seven football fields.

This is the roof.
And it's not only a roof.

It's a room, a room
for technical systems,

which you need for the hall.

But building and installing
this giant roof is

a huge challenge.

The first stage is to erect
the reinforced-concrete walls

and floors of the lower
two levels.

The team then installs
the 30 steel columns

for the check-in hall.

Next, they build a 59-foot-tall
temporary steel structure

with five horizontal
tracks across the roof.

They use a crane to assemble
each of the five nearly

1,800-ton roof sections.

A hydraulic cable system then
pulls each one along

the tracks, one after another,
into their final position.

Once all five sections
are in place,

the temporary structure
is removed.

Any mistakes during this
process could be catastrophic.

[Sven]
When moving such big parts,
you have to make sure that

every piece works fine,
because if some piece or some

of the steel supporting
structure or the hydraulic

presses are broken,

then you will get misalignment
of the structure.

Over the next two years,
the team builds the walls

and floors at
the two lower levels.

Workers pour 7 million
cubic feet of concrete

and cut 66,000 tons of steel.

They then erect a 59-foot-high
steel skeleton to support

the roof of the check-in hall.

Now the team must tackle

the most challenging part
of the build,

installing the enormous roof
of the check-in hall.

The pressure is on for
project manager Stefan Sorli.

[speaking in German]

Engineers connect hydraulic
presses to the roof section

using steel cables.

With the system in place,

they drag the first section
into position.

Slowly but surely,
the section advances about

a foot at a time.

As it moves across the rails,
even small variations in forces

across the roof section could
spell disaster.

To stop this, the team uses

smart presses that
automatically correct a twist.

[Stefan Sorli in German]

Stefan's team constantly
monitors the roof section

to spot any
dangerous misalignment.

It's painstaking work.

Finally, the first
roof section is in place.

Stefan and his team continue to
place all of the roof sections.

Specialized crews can now

install the terminal's
air conditioning,

power,

and networking infrastructure.

[Sven]
To put a roof like this
together, it's a team effort.

And therefore, all of
the people, all of the teams

that worked on it,
we are very proud of them.

It's a big milestone in
the build of this megaterminal.

But more challenges lie ahead
for Sven and his team.

Engineers in Germany are
building an ambitious

new terminal
at Frankfurt Airport.

When completed,

it will serve 19 million
passengers every year.

To board them comfortably
and on time, the terminal needs

33 gates with jet bridges.

And Terminal 3 will have long,
narrow structures called piers

to accommodate that many gates.

We see here one of the piers.

You have three levels here,
two passenger levels on ground

and first floor.

You need the overhang here
because you have a free street

for the buses for
transportation and so on.

Special Y-shaped columns will
support this overhang.

[Christoph]
So we need here columns

which don't disturb the flow

on the airfield.

You get more free space
between the columns.

Instead of two columns,
which are going to the ground,

you have only one column.

Terminal 3 needs three piers
up to 2,000 feet in length.

They must be this big to deal
with a large volume of

passengers and planes, as well
as hold the ventilation system.

But building structures this
long from concrete creates

a big challenge.

Concrete shrinks as it dries.

The piers will fracture

if they're built as
single lengths.

Project manager
Christian Bierend and his team

devise a solution.

[speaking in German]

This is how his team
will do it.

Workers will build the pier as
eight separate

smaller structures.

In between each is
a three-foot gap.

Next, they will erect
86 Y-shaped supports along

the sides of the pier sections

before they cast the concrete

for the overhanging floor
on top.

They will then use more
concrete to fill in the gaps

between the eight structures
and create one long pier.

On top, they will install
a huge steel frame to house

the ventilation systems.

Finally, they will attach 14
jet bridges to allow passengers

to move between
the terminal and aircraft.

In early 2019, the team begins
constructing the shells for

Pier H and Pier J.

It's a huge
logistical challenge.

You have to bring together
the concrete manufacturer,

you have to bring
the scaffolding in,

and, of course, you have also

to avoid that you are
interfering with

the airport itself.

Workers cast the floors
and walls from thousands of

tons of concrete with steel
rebar inside for reinforcement.

[Sven]
So we're using here for most
of the buildings

reinforced concrete.

The concrete itself,
it's to carry the load,

and the reinforced parts
within it are for the tension.

With the concrete sections
in place,

the engineers' next challenge
is to install the Y-shaped

supports that hold up the roofs
of the piers.

The 86 supports for Pier J are
made in a factory and then

brought to the site.

[Sven]
When you are doing it
in a plant, you get a better

quality, especially
on the surface.

And then just
install it, erect it,

and you are faster on site.

Once on site,
a truck-mounted crane lifts

each 25-ton column.

The team must then carefully
guide them into place to rest

at a seven-degree angle.

Once all 86 columns are
installed, the team builds

the passenger level.

Next, they install the giant
roof trusses onto the top floor

of the structure that will
carry vital ventilation

and electrical systems.

To do this, the team uses
a gigantic crawler crane.

It's a delicate operation.

[Sven]
The job of a crane driver is
very unique and special.

I mean, he carries all
the responsibility

for the lift.

Most of the times,
he even cannot see where he is

lifting to which position,

so he's also relying
on other people.

The final challenge is to
attach the jet bridges.

These are the movable walkways
that connect the piers directly

to the aircraft doors.

But getting them to the site is
no simple task.

Christian Belser is in charge
of the installation.

[Christian Belser in German]

As the sun rises,
the team starts the operation.

But the weather takes a turn
for the worse.

[Christian Belser in German]

Workers battle the wind
to wrestle

the 66-foot-long bridge
into position.

With the job done,
Christian checks that

the electrical systems are
working correctly.

This jet bridge is now ready
for action,

and the next crucial stage of
construction can begin.

Engineers in Germany are
building a mega terminal

at Frankfurt Airport.

Aircraft arriving and departing
the new Terminal 3 must

navigate the network of
taxiways between the runway

and the ramp, or "apron."

The ramp is the paved area
where aircraft

are parked, loaded, and fueled.

Jörn Muthmann leads a team of
controllers that directs

aircraft to and from
the ramp and the runway.

[Jörn]
The most important thing is to
avoid conflict on the apron

between arriving
and departing aircraft.

And if there would be nobody
taking care of organizing

the traffic on the surface,
then you would have a chaos.

Controllers need
an uninterrupted line of sight

to the terminal's full ramp.

The problem is the existing
control tower for Terminals 1

and 2 has no clear view of
the Terminal 3 ramp.

So the team needs to build

a new 226-foot-tall
concrete tower.

On top, they must then install
a control room with

a 300-degree view of
Terminal 3's ramp.

It's a huge
engineering challenge.

[Sven]
When erecting an apron tower
with 69 meters high,

you only can do it in parts
because you have to consider

that the concrete needs
to dry out before

moving on to the next level.

To overcome this,
engineers use a technique

called "climbing formwork."

They cast the walls and floors
of the tower in sections.

When the concrete
for one layer is cured,

the team then raises
the formwork

up to the next level.

[Sven]
Using a climbing formwork
gives you the benefit that

you can do the first and second
floor, you do the learning

there, and then you just
move on,

and from level to level,
you will get faster.

It takes workers six months to
complete the concrete tower

and build the steel skeleton
of the control room.

Now they can start work
on the panoramic windows.

Senior construction manager
Benedikt Goldbach

oversees this task.

Each pane of glass weighs
almost 2,000 pounds.

The team must lift all 15 panes
nearly 200 feet into the air

and install them with
pinpoint accuracy.

It's delicate work.

Contact with a piece of
scaffolding on the way up

could damage a pane.

The team's solution is
to attach each pane

to 12 supersized suction pads.

A crane then lifts the glass
to the control room.

[Sven]
We have to make sure that
we handle all the glass panels

carefully, because they are
very heavy, very expensive,

and of course just made
for our project.

The lift begins.

The glass makes it to the top
of the tower.

Workers inside the control room
then maneuver

the pane into the window.

It takes the team two weeks
to put in all 15 panes.

Another team then installs
its computer

and electrical systems.

[Jörn]
Well, we are in the brand-new
apron control tower south.

It's definitely one of the best
views here on the airport.

We have an altitude of
69 meters.

This huge altitude helps to
have the full picture of

the whole apron here
in the south.

From here, Jörn's team will
coordinate the takeoffs

and landings for the 19 million
passengers who will pass

through Terminal 3 every year.

The next challenge is how to
get passengers to the new

terminal in the first place.

A team of engineers in Germany
is racing to complete

the new Terminal 3
at Frankfurt Airport.

Many passengers flying
from the airport arrive

at its train station and move
between terminals 1 and 2

via a monorail.

Engineers must build a new
transportation system that can

ferry 8,000 people every hour
between all three of

the airport's terminals.

Wolfgang Holzhausen is
in charge of the project.

We decided to construct
or develop a new system

independent from the existing
system, with 5.6 kilometers

long, a new track here for
the new system, and you can go

directly here to
the Terminal 3.

This is how Wolfgang
and his team will do it.

They will build an elevated
railway that runs between a new

station at Terminal 1,
around the airfield,

to a station at Terminal 3.

They must install 310 giant
concrete girders to

support the track.

The approach to Terminal 1 is
the most challenging section.

Engineers must install 47
concrete pillars that raise up

the track 43 feet to meet
the new station.

The existing buildings here
make the space tight.

So the engineers must carefully
thread the final two girders

between two cranes to
complete the job.

Work on the super sky train
begins in July 2019.

The first challenge is building
the raised sections of track.

Over three years,
the team installs the 47

concrete frames that hold up

the elevated parts
of the track.

The next challenge is to place

the girders on top
of the frames.

Self-propelled modular
transporters bring each

220-ton girder to site.

The girders are so heavy
and unwieldy that the team must

use a pair of mighty cranes to
lift them from each end.

The cranes lift the girders
directly from the transporters,

swing them to the install site,

and lower them into position.

It's very difficult to move
because of the size

and the weight they have.

If a girder twists or slips,
it could spell disaster.

Over the course of three years,
the team installs 310 girders,

and constructs the new stations
for the sky train.

Today, the team must lift
the final two steel girders

into place at the station
for Terminal 1.

They've saved the most
difficult lift for last.

[Wolfgang]
Here's a very narrow area

because we have
the Sheraton Hotel here

and the Terminal 1
at the other side,

and in between
there are all these roads,

so the place to put the cranes
for lifting the girders is

very, very narrow here.

The Terminal 1 station
is beside a narrow road that

must be clear
when the airport is open,

so the team must do this lift
in darkness when the airport is

closed, and they must complete
it in under five hours.

The margin for error is slim.

The team must weave
the 75-foot-long, 14-ton beam

through the gap
between the crane booms.

If they get this wrong,

the beam could crash
into one of the cranes.

After four hours,
the beam slots perfectly

into place.

We did a good job
with all the team.

And yeah, it was
a really great challenge.

And yeah, we did it at last.

The final components are
the trains that will take up to

8,000 passengers
between terminals 1, 2,

and 3 every hour.

The problem is traditional
metal train wheels are slow.

They must accelerate gently
and brake early

to prevent wheel spin.

This adds critical seconds
to every journey.

The solution is this special
two-carriage train made in

a factory in Austria.

It has rubber tires that have
more grip than metal wheels.

Artur Lier is in charge of
getting the trains ready for

Terminal 3's opening.

What is the benefit here

for this --
let's say for the wheels?

We are much faster.

So we can accelerate much
faster than with the metal

wheels, and we can brake
much faster.

So we can actually transport
more people.

But vehicles with tires have
no rails to steer them.

So the engineers build in
a guide rail that ensures

the train stays on the track.

What we have here is
a fully automated train.

In the middle of the rail or
on the floor, what you can see

here is a kind of guiding rail,

and this is how we are actually

able to steer the whole vehicle.

The SkyLine is almost ready to
receive its first passengers.

It's very exciting to see
finally the system running,

what was working
for years to achieve it.

I'm definitely proud.

Now the team must test every
system before Terminal 3 opens

to the public.

A team of engineers races to
finish Frankfurt Airport's

new Terminal 3.

Workers install
security systems,

prepare the marketplace area
for the first passengers,

and test the baggage
handling system.

The designers of Terminal 3
want the experience of using it

to be as frictionless
as possible.

So they run special trial days
with volunteers to iron out

any kinks ahead of its opening.

Max Schulze Schwienhorst is
in charge of the trials.

[Max]
A trial day is a day where
we test our processes

here in Terminal 3.

So, starting from the curbside
arrival of the passengers,

going through check-in,
security control, up to

the boarding gate, and then on
the way back also look at

the arrival process.

So, arriving at
the fixed bridge,

going to baggage reclaim,
and then also

leaving the terminal.

All 300 passengers must make it
to their gates on time,

and every piece of luggage

must be delivered
to the right place.

The first test is for
the sky train to ferry

passengers from the train
station to Terminal 3

in just eight minutes.

[recording]
Please do not leave any
luggage on the train.

The passengers board

and the train sets off.

It has no driver.

An operator in a control room
monitors the journey.

The train travels at nearly
50 miles per hour.

It arrives at Terminal 3
right on time.

The passengers step off
the sky train into

the magnificent check-in hall
with its towering

59-foot-tall ceiling.

Their next stop is
the baggage drop.

Around the world, nearly 28
million bags are lost,

stolen, or delayed each year.

Terminal 3 aims to eliminate
baggage problems to make

the passenger experience as
smooth as possible.

[Max]
The baggage system for us is
extremely important,

as it's handling thousands of
bags of our passengers.

And these passengers want to
arrive with their bag

at their destination.

On average, airlines mishandle
around 6.3 in every 1,000 bags.

The staff at Terminal 3 aims to

lose no bags during
today's trial.

So ideally, we see 600 bags
in our outbound baggage hall,

by the end of the day at
the right destination.

Terminal 3 is one of the first
to install a new smart baggage

handling system.

It should ensure that every bag

makes it onto
the correct plane.

Today, it is being tested under
real-world conditions.

[Max]
The baggage handling system
itself is a complex system

that, from a mechanical
perspective, but also from

an IT and programming
perspective, that needs to be

tested quite well.

The system is called
Luggage Recognition

Artificial Intelligence,
or LuRAI.

It is the responsibility of
Rolf Felkel to make sure that

it correctly logs
and tracks every bag.

LuRAI is a solution that
we have developed,

a special computer vision model
that we have built on our own,

and we have trained it to
generate a kind of fingerprint

for each bag in the baggage
handling system.

LuRAI takes photographs of
a bag from multiple angles

to document
its color, shape,

and distinguishing features.

So we compute the fingerprint
once, we compute it twice,

and then we compare
the two fingerprints.

And if they are identical,

then we know exactly, OK,
this is the right bag.

Each piece of luggage also
travels in a tub fitted

with a microchip.

As the tubs move through
the system, scanners on

the conveyors read the chips
and steer the bags to

the correct destination.

[Rolf] In the end of the day,
the user experience is improved

by this kind of technology,

because the rate that a
passenger is missing his luggage

at his destination airport
is much lower.

With bags checked in,
the passengers

head to security.

Lines at security gates are
backing up.

At peak times, waits of more
than an hour are common at

many airports.

Frankfurt wants
to slash that time.

Our goal is that passengers

don't wait longer
than 10 minutes.

To meet that target, Terminal 3
has redundancy built in,

to handle peak demand
and bypass breakdowns.

[Katie]
If some lane is not working,

we can switch to different lanes
here because

we definitely have
enough capacity.

Lanes use smart cameras that
read the lines to automatically

adjust the length by opening
or closing barriers.

As hoped, the average wait time
for passengers in today's trial

is just 10 minutes.

[Katie]
It's really precious to
identify system failures

and the system bugs in advance,
as you can imagine, because now

we still have enough time

to eliminate and to fix
such things.

Finally, the passengers make it
to their gates.

Not one bag is lost,
and the passengers breeze

through the terminal.

The trial is a huge success.

Frankfurt's Terminal 3 will
boost passenger numbers

by 19 million every year,

and cement Frankfurt as a major
European transportation hub.

This remarkable engineering
feat is a testament to

the ingenuity of the hundreds
of workers that built it.

This is what we worked for
the last years, day and night.

I'm very proud because it was
very difficult to do this.

At the end,

it's a fantastic building,
and it works.

It's been years in the making,
but now this giant new terminal

has come to life.