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Wed, Apr 7, 2010
Danny Forster takes us to Singapore, where the tiny island nation is doing something that's never been done before - building the first ever Skypark. A modern version of the hanging gardens of Babylon, this 7000-ton urban oasis will hang 650 feet in the air on top of 3 soaring skyscrapers.
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Wed, Apr 14, 2010
Host Danny Forster visits the world's tallest twisting structure, Kuwait's Al Hamra tower. Al Hamra's innovative twisting design and complex cladding enable it to combat Kuwait's harsh desert conditions like no other building. This massive feat of engineering features 2000 tons of limestone, advanced curved glass panels, and is capped by a 17-story open restaurant with amazing views of the Persian Gulf.
Wed, Apr 21, 2010
Five years after hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is reinventing hurricane protection, with the largest public works project in U.S. history. The centerpiece of the project - a massive 2-mile long, 26-foot high storm surge barrier - is designed to defend against the fiercest storms on earth. Brad Pitt's Make it Right foundation is also pitching in to help rebuild, constructing 150 of the most hurricane resistant homes in the world, in New Orleans' most devastated neighborhood. But with hurricane season looming, engineers have just 18 months to protect the Big Easy before the next hurricane hits.
Wed, May 5, 2010
Rio de Janeiro was recently awarded the two biggest sporting events in the world - the Olympics and World Cup. But before they'll be ready, they still have one major problem - frequent widespread blackouts. So now, Brazil is currently building one of the largest hydroelectric projects in the world. Host Danny Forster takes us into the wilderness 100 miles from Rio, where workers are rapidly building 5 massive canals, and tunneling through 7 mountains, to move a powerful river through two dams - all to make sure that while the whole world is watching Rio, the lights stay on.
Top-rated
Wed, May 12, 2010
Travel to the deepest place on Earth, Johannesburg, South Africa's Mponeng Gold Mine. South Africa's economy depends on gold, but recently, productivity has plummeted. Now, Mponeng is fighting back by digging deeper than man has ever gone, towards an untapped gold reef worth $10 billion. Setting a new depth record every day, workers blast through super-heated rock nearly 3 miles down, in the most remote and dangerous construction site on the planet.
Wed, May 19, 2010
The overhaul of the Bay Bridge is one of the biggest construction projects in the country right now. After almost a decade, California is nearing the crucial end of what has become its most expensive public works project ever, the $6 billion dollar rebuilding and earthquake-proofing of the Bay Bridge. This massive overhaul involves building an entirely new approach into San Francisco, retrofitting the 4.5-mile double suspension bridge with more than 17 million pounds of structural steel and completely replacing the 2.2-mile cantilever bridge with a self-anchored suspension bridge, a skyway, and new touchdown into Oakland.
Wed, May 26, 2010
The Victorian government has invested nearly $270 million to create one of the most innovative stadiums ever built - the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. Melbourne wanted their new stadium to be the crown jewel of their sports district - an icon for the entire city - so they've commissioned the most structurally innovative arena in the southern hemisphere. The stadium will be a living, breathing work of art on the outside, and the ultimate athlete and spectator experience on the inside.
Sat, May 29, 2010
Welcome to the world's longest work site -thirty- five miles long. Right now, Switzerland's government is spending $18 billion to revolutionize European transit, using the world's largest Tunnel Boring Machine to build the longest tunnel in history - the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Connecting from Southern Germany to Northern Italy, the GBT will circumvent the winding mountain passes that serve as the current transit system, getting people and goods across the Alps up to 3 times faster, and safer than ever before.