Build It Bigger
Architect Danny Forster takes you inside some of the most head-scratching builds in the world. Join Danny as he meets the men and women tackling the unique challenges of constructing the tallest buildings, the most effective military tanks, the largest luxury cruise ships, and the most extreme thrill rides. How do you build a 3,113-foot-long wooden roller coaster in winter temperatures of minus 40 degrees? Or get your workers safely to and from a worksite on a skyscraper that's 1,614 feet above street level? Or dig a water tunnel - along the San Adreas Fault and 1,000 feet below the earth's surface - without it collapsing on itself ... or flooding? Our intrepid host answers these puzzles and more. Don't miss the big stories behind these even bigger engineering marvels.
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Season 5
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1
E1
Rebuilding New York's Subway
Danny takes us to New York City, where the largest public works project in the country is happening: a $15 billion expansion of the NYC transit system. He heads 150 feet underground to find out what can be done without shutting down the city above.
Apr 8, 2011 -
2
E2
Drought-Proofing Australia
After 13 years of record-breaking droughts Melbourne looks to secure its future with a $3.5 billion desalination plant that will turn saltwater into freshwater. Danny joins crews as they build two undersea tunnels, 29 buildings and 52 miles of pipeline
Apr 15, 2011 -
3
E3
Azerbaijan's Amazing Transformation
After decades of Soviet occupation, Azerbaijan is reinventing itself. With a $6 billion a year renovation and over 500 new developments, Danny Forster goes behind the scenes of Baku's construction projects: the Flame Towers and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center.
Apr 22, 2011 -
4
E4
London's Olympic Aquatic Stadium
The London Aquatics Centre will host 44 swimming & diving events during the 2012 Olympics and live on as a new addition to the London landscape. Danny Forster goes with crews as they construct one of the most advanced swimming facilities ever built.
Apr 29, 2011 · 44m -
5
E5
Constructing Serbia's Largest Bridge
Danny Forster joins crews as they construct Serbia's newest national icon. The Sava River Bridge in Belgrade will be the world's largest single pylon cable stayed bridge and improve a critical freight corridor connecting central Europe to the East.
Jun 18, 2011 · 43m -
6
E6
Amsterdam's Futuristic Floating City
The Netherlands is running out of land. Nearly 70% of its land, which comprises half its population lies beneath sea level. Rather than fight back the sea, engineers are radically making it an ally, using it to create real estate where none exists.
Jun 25, 2011 -
7
E7
Building Mumbai's Modern Airport
The $2 billion Mumbai Airport Expansion project is one of India's most ambitious undertakings ever. If they succeed, it could completely change the way airports are designed.
Jul 2, 2011 -
8
E8
Turkey's Mammoth Hydropower Dam
Crews are now carving out the Turkey's largest construction site in the country's most challenging terrain by building one of the tallest and strongest dams ever made.
Jul 9, 2011
