All language subtitles for Building Giants Series 2 Part 8 NYC Mega Skyscraper 1080p

Narrator:
In new york city...

[ whistles ]

Let's go, let's go!

This elite team of engineers

Is embarking on
an epic endeavor.

Man: Get the job done,
that's what we do.

Narrator: They're attempting to
build the world's

Tallest residential skyscraper.

Man:
The magnitude of this building,

It's an incredible marvel.

Narrator: Soaring 1,550 feet
above manhattan

And constructed from
thousands of tons

Of steel, glass, and concrete...

Pretty tight squeeze.

The team is pushing to complete

This record-breaking
build in only 60 months.

Man: How are you getting
the debris box

Up on that bridge
and up my tower crane?

Out of your mind!

You don't have it.
You don't have it.

Narrator:
To construct this colossus,

The team must battle
relentless traffic.

[ car horns honking ]

See, now he's coming
in the right angle.

...High altitudes...

We're up so high than
when you look down

It doesn't even look real.

Narrator:
And brutal winter cold.

Man:
Everybody has to do their part

In order for the whole
thing to work, you know?

We're all parts of the whole.

Man:
Heads up, guys. Heads up.

Narrator: This skyscraper
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.

♪

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

♪

Narrator: New york --

The biggest city
in north america...

Home to some of the tallest
skyscrapers in the world.

The skyline is as busy

As the streets
and sidewalks below.

For more than a century,
new yorkers have been

Finding space
by building upwards.

We don't have the space.

The only space that
you have is the sky.

Kids, don't do this at home!

[ men laughing ]

Narrator: Today,
in the heart of the city,

A team of engineers
is attempting to build

An extraordinary new
sky-piercing mega-structure.

Man: I love it! I love it!

Narrator: A supertall tower,

Right in the center
of manhattan,

Overlooking central park,

Where residents will
live in ultimate luxury

Above the city.

New york has one of
the best skylines

Of any city in the world.

Narrator: World-renowned experts
in supertall buildings,

Adrian smith and gordon gill

Are designing
the new skyscraper,

Called central park tower.

The chance to change
that skyline forever

Is very historic.

Narrator:
This cutting-edge skyscraper

Will soar more than a quarter
of a mile into the air

And become the tallest
residential tower in the world.

When you start going
above 50, 60, 70 stories,

You're in rarefied air,

And that's where it
begins to be very special.

♪

Narrator: This is the concept

For their spectacular
new skyscraper.

At its base sits
a 320,000-square-foot,

Seven-story flagship
department store.

Above, an elegant, slender tower
soars skyward

Resting on
a gravity-defying overhang.

More than 12,000 custom-designed
glass panels

Will cover the 620,000
square foot exterior.

Inside, 179 of the most
luxurious apartments in new york

Will have show-stopping
views of central park

And the city's skyline.

Some will even have
swimming pools in the sky.

This remarkable mega structure

Will punch through the clouds
at 1,550 feet,

The highest roof in america.

But building this tall
isn't easy.

We have never done
a building like that before.

In fact, nobody has.

Narrator:
The elegant design will create

One of the most slender
skyscrapers in the country,

Which poses some
serious challenges.

It is challenging from
a structural standpoint.

The thinner they are
and the taller they are

The more robust
the structure has to be.

Narrator: At the top,
wind speeds can hit

More than 75 miles per hour.

This super-tall slender
structure will push the limits

Of skyscraper design.

There's a science and an art

To designing these very
tall, thin structures.

Narrator: This is the plan.

First, they will
excavate more than

75,000 cubic yards of rock.

To create the foundation,
they will pour

A slab of concrete more
than eight feet thick.

On top of this solid base,

They'll build
a strong concrete core.

Every floor of the tower
will hang from this monolith.

Every 20 stories, solid walls
extend out from the core

And connect to
special belt walls.

These thick concrete
walls help to take

The immense load of
the structure above,

As well as store
the plumbing, heating,

And air conditioning units.

On the outside,
the team will hang

More than 10 million pounds
of aluminum and glass

On the sides of the building,

Weather-proofing the structure
against harsh winter winds.

Finally, they cap the building

With a super-thick
concrete slab

That ties
the entire structure together.

♪

Construction begins in 2013.

Workers clear the site
and start the foundations.

The team excavates
an enormous cavern

That extends all the way down to
the bedrock.

It takes more than 46 months
to build the first 12 floors,

But this is where
the real challenges begin --

At just 300 feet high,
the building begins

To take on a whole new
character and shape.

There's never been any tower

With this level of
complexity in this town,

And probably around the world.

Narrator: It's structural
engineer yoram eilon's job

To put the extraordinary
design plan into action.

One of the biggest challenges
we have on this tower

Is nearly a 30-foot cantilever

This tower is projecting out
over a neighboring property.

Narrator: Throughout new york,

Buildings overhang
their neighbors.

This clever design feature
creates additional living space

For apartments on higher floors.

Eilon: What we did in this
tower is design

As much free space as
possible for end users.

Narrator: This overhang is
called a cantilever.

Central park tower
will take the idea

Of the cantilever
to the extreme --

And it causes major
structural challenges.

♪

Most buildings support
the weight of their floors

And roof through their walls,

But at central park tower

2,700 square feet of
each floor reach out

And overhang
the neighboring building.

It's the biggest cantilevered
structure of its type

In the world.

With nothing to
support it from below,

Engineers install huge
supporting shear walls

Throughout the width
of the whole structure.

The walls channel below
to the overhanging section

Towards the central core.

To counteract the extra
weight on one side,

The core is connected
to a lattice

Of enormous steel beams
and vertical super columns

That extend deep
into the foundations,

Anchored into the bedrock.

This will hold the tower
up straight.

With the cantilever holding up,

The building rises
higher and higher.

As the seasons pass
into winter,

The extra load
hanging off the side

Puts enormous pressure
on the core.

Every time you go
another floor higher

It seems like you can see
something else, you know?

Narrator: The core is the most
vital part

Of the whole structure.

It rests on the shoulders of
justin meyer

To make sure the core
can take the strain.

Meyer: The core of the building
carries the elevators,

It supports the floor,
and it's a central part

Of the building.

Yeah, baby!

Narrator: To keep on schedule,

They need to construct
an entire new story

Of the core every 11 days.

But as the wintry conditions
bare down on them,

The team struggles
to keep up the pace.

Meyer: The crane can't work over
a certain wind speed,

And if the crane can't work,
then we can't get material.

♪

♪

Narrator: In new york city,

An elite construction team
is attempting to build

The world's tallest
residential tower.

The unusual design
of this skyscraper

Relies on a super-strong
central concrete core.

Man: Go, go, go.

You got it, you got it.

Narrator:
Any kinks in its construction

Could set the project
back weeks.

Man: One five and a half, right?
Same for the four-footer.

Narrator: Justin meyer oversees
the construction of the core.

Right now we're taller than
the empire state building.

And we're helping to shape
the skyline, you know?

How good is that?

Narrator:
To build the super-strong core,

Workers position special
interlocking metal panels

Called formwork
to create a mold.

The formwork surrounds
reinforced steel cages.

Once complete,
workers fill this mold

With high strength concrete.

This creates a tough, rigid box

With walls up to
five feet thick.

To make a strong join
to the section above,

Workers leave steel
bars protruding

From the top of the form work.

They repeat this
process again and again

Until they reach
the very top of the building.

The whole core is a rigid piece
of steel-reinforced concrete

Tied together from
top to bottom --

A monolithic structure
nearly 1,500 feet tall.

♪

For the first 83 floors
of the building,

The team use an automatic system

That lifts up the formwork,
steelwork, and walls,

Level by level,
quickly and effortlessly.

But now
the real challenge begins.

Man:
Go! Let's go! Let's go!

Narrator: The crew are
installing the final 16 floors

By hand.

The highest levels of
the tower will have

The tallest ceilings
and best residential views.

But this means the walls here
are much taller

Than anywhere else in the tower.

We just came out of
our typical floors

And we're going into
atypical floors.

So our typical floor
was 12 feet tall,

Now it's gonna be 16 feet.

This is the first time
we're using this system.

It's all manpower.

Narrator: Justin has to
coordinate the carpentry team

Placing the core formwork above.

Man: So the 0.6 I think
is the cross brace.

It's a shorter.

And another team far below

Piecing together the steel cages

That sit inside the formwork.

Jamie!

You're up there!

Thank you.

But the one thing
justin can't coordinate

Is the weather.

Some days are worse than others.

Some days
it can be pretty bad.

You know, we're at
1,200 feet in the air

So even on the street to up here

Is a big difference.

Narrator:
The team works fast to complete

The formwork mold by hand.

They only have
a couple of days left

To finish the level
and stay on schedule.

♪

But justin is concerned.

A blizzard is blowing in

That could stop them
in their tracks.

Meyer: Obviously there's
a storm coming in.

The crane can't work over
a certain wind speed.

And if the crane can't work,

Then we can't get
material up,

And you can't really build
the next floor.

Narrator: Workers need to place
hundreds of formwork panels

With millimeter precision.

We got more planks?
Bring me some planks, too.

Let's put some planks.
Right here.

We'll go right out of here.
Yeah, we'll do this whole.

Narrator:
After only a few hours' work,

The mold for the core
has taken shape.

Justin is ready to insert
the sections of steel,

Called rebar,
into the core,

But mother nature
has other plans.

The blizzard blows in
earlier than expected,

And the snow starts to fall.

Yeah, well, it is
a little bit cold.

The temperature has dropped.

As long as you have
the right gear on

And you keep moving,
the heat's in the tools.

Narrator: It's not just
the temperature

Justin is worried about --
it's the safety of his crew.

You have to be a little
more careful, obviously.

We have laborers
that shovel the snow,

Shovel the paths out of the way.

Narrator:
The freezing conditions

Force them to abandon putting
up the formwork by hand.

Meyer:
We're gonna wrap it up now

'cause it's starting
to come down heavy.

It's getting to a point now

Where it's starting
to get dangerous.

♪

♪

Narrator: In new york,
an elite construction crew

Is assembling the tallest
residential building

In the world.

But a brutal blizzard
has shut down the site.

Meyer: Enough is enough.

Mother nature does
what she does.

Narrator: The following morning,
the weather clears up.

The snow is melting,
and the team begin

To make up for lost time.

As you can see, we put up
all of these extra wall forms

From yesterday.

Narrator: They're ready to
install the steelwork

Into the core.

Space on the construction floor
is crammed,

So justin is relying
on another crew

Working 75 levels below

To assemble the steelwork
and get it to the top floors.

All right, matty watch
those 32-footers!

Perfect!

This is the steelyard --

On the roof of the eighth floor.

Man: This is where it happens.

We're creating here segments
of the reinforcement,

And we hoist them
up using the crane.

It helps the faster
construction process overall.

Upstairs they're waiting
for us to make sure

This steel's ready.

It has to go in on time.

Watch your hands,
watch your hands,

Coming in, coming in.

Narrator: Scott manganelli heads
up a crew

That assembles
thousands of panels

Of prefabricated steel.

Hundreds of steel bars in all
different shapes and sizes

Arrive on site everyday.

The team has to bend,
shape, and cut the steel

To form cages that slot
between the formwork

For the core.

They tie each bar together
by hand

Using metal wire.

So right now we are putting
the finishing touches on this.

This is the core beam.

This goes right by
the elevator shaft.

Narrator: Precision is key.

Each cage has to fit perfectly
inside the formwork panels

That shape the core
being constructed above.

Manganelli:
Measurements are crucial.

The pocket size is exact.

Concrete is exact.

There's no two inches out
or two inches in.

Everything has to be perfect.

Narrator: This is intricate work
that requires nimble fingers

And a lot of cooperation.

Cool.
Just one single wire at a time.

We're just holding it up.

It's like a hammock tie!

Hammock tie's a good tie, yes.

Narrator:
Embedding steel cages

Inside the solid concrete core

Gives it even greater strength.

But such an enormous building
requires a lot of steel

With no obvious
place to store it.

Manganelli: We are getting
limited with space

But right now we are
standing on top of a pool.

For right now I'm glad it's here

Because we have literally
tons and tons of steel here.

Narrator: Every single level
needs hundreds of steel cages,

So just keeping track of them
all is a huge challenge.

Eight number 11s, l2800.

Give me the angles on
the west side, please.

It's a puzzle --
every single day:

Piece by piece, you could
start in the left corner,

Northeast corner, south corner.

Sometimes you have to
start in the middle

And work your way out.

Every day is an adventure.

When you think you
know everything,

A new problem arises,
but you just have to

Roll the punches
and get it done.

Narrator: Workers lift
the finished steel cages

To the crews working high above

With a 14 ton capacity crane
mounted on top of the building.

Manganelli: The crane is the
most important tool on the job.

From picking rebar to wood,
to just getting things

Off the truck,
it's very important.

If it's a windy day
and the crane's not running,

That could stop
the whole project.

Narrator: The cages can weigh
several tons,

Far too heavy to
manipulate by hand,

So the crew on the ground
has to ensure

That the crane lifts them
at the perfect angle.

Obviously the heavier load,
the heavier the sling,

The longer the load,
we have to spread out

Different picking point areas.

Narrator: It will take more
than three minutes

To reach the top.

Every single time a load goes up
I have to look up.

You can't determine how
the wind's gonna push the load.

Narrator: Halfway up,
the load starts to spin

In the high winds.

Manganelli: God forbid, I don't
want it to hit the window,

I don't want it to hurt anybody.

That would be a catastrophe.

We don't want that,
especially at this height.

Narrator: But the steel cages
successfully reach

The top of the building.

-Heads up, guys. Heads up.
-Heads up! Heads up!

Narrator: And justin prepares to
drop them into the core.

After a while you get used
to seeing them up in the air.

You know, you have
faith in the guys

That are doing their jobs.

Narrator: The team repositions
the cage

So that it hangs vertically

And slowly maneuvers
it down into place.

The cage fits precisely
inside the formwork,

And the core of central
park tower grows

Another 16 feet taller.

As workers begin
putting timber down

To create the floor above,
the work site begins

To look more like
a living space.

So now we've erected
our formwork,

And as you can see,
it creates openings and walls

In certain columns.

So now you can kind
of see the floor

Start to take shape.

We're ready for concrete.

Narrator: The team mixes
super-strong concrete

And pours it into the mold.

They leave it overnight to cure
and become rock solid.

♪

Removing the formwork reveals
the brand new walls of the core.

Justin gives the new section
a final check.

It's always nice when
you remove the formwork

And the walls are straight
and they're correct

And they're in the right spot.

So, makes it easier
moving forward, you know?

Narrator:
Over the next few weeks,

The team builds
higher and higher.

They've made good progress
through the winter

And with the arrival of spring,

They've reached the final
few floors of the tower.

To add extra strength
to the top of the tower

On floor 94, the team
has to cap it off

With a huge concrete slab
more than four feet thick.

This concrete floor
has to be thicker.

Our intent is to add mass
to the top of the building.

Narrator:
Structural engineer yoram

Has designed one of
the biggest concrete pours

Of the whole build,

At the very top.

But getting this much
concrete this high in the sky

Is a huge challenge.

The roof of central park tower

Is the tallest roof
in new york city.

Narrator: This will push
the concrete team

To their limit in the busy
streets of new york city.

Man: This is one of the busiest
times in new york.

So it's really important
to have concrete here

At all times;
you never want to stop.

♪

♪

Narrator: In new york city,
an elite construction team

Is building the world's
tallest residential tower.

See section one?
Right.

Section one is six-footers.

Narrator: As the skyscraper
stretches higher and higher,

The team gear up to take on
their biggest challenge yet.

They must lay
a huge concrete slab,

More than four feet thick,

At the very top of the tower.

Delivering concrete to a work
site this high in the sky

Is a formidable feat,

Especially in the center of
new york city.

It's really important
to have concrete here

At all times.

You never wanna stop.

Narrator: To keep things moving,

The team uses an enormous
630 horse power pump

Which pushes 30 cubic yards
of concrete

Through a six inch pipe
every hour.

But even that isn't enough
to keep up the pace.

On the other side
of the building,

The crane lifts a 2,000-pound
bucket full of concrete

From the street, more than
1,600 feet into the air

Above the tower.

Any delay in fresh concrete
being delivered

Risks the slab curing unevenly,

Creating weak points
in a crucial part of the tower.

Workers must keep
the concrete coming.

♪

[ horns honking ]

Well, you're holding up traffic
in midtown manhattan.

Yeah, you get a couple looks.

A few beeps, couple screams.

You know.

[ whistles ]

Narrator:
Daniel bacheller oversees

The concrete operation

And manages road traffic
around the base of the tower.

It'll be nice when
you'll see a picture

On a postcard or
maybe in a movie,

And you see your building.

Narrator: Trucks have to deliver

40 cubic yard of concrete
to the site every hour,

Fighting the dense
manhattan traffic.

This is memorial day weekend,

One of the busiest
times in new york.

The amount of people
that pass this job,

The pedestrian traffic,
the car traffic,

It's incredible.

Narrator: The trucks
empty the concrete

Into the high-pressure pump.

Narrator:
The building is so tall,

It takes 20 minutes for the pump

To push concrete
to the top.

The team must double up
with the crane

On the far side.

Man: So you get four
buckets per truck.

Right now at this height it
takes us about eight minutes

For the bucket to
get up onto the deck,

Dumped, and then down
to the street again.

Narrator: With heavy loads

Flying high above
the city streets,

Dan has to stop
even more traffic

And close down a second street.

Our flagman has to
stop the traffic.

You're 1,432 up in the air,

It takes a good six, seven
minutes for that pick

To clear the street level.

Narrator: As the traffic around
the site gets worse,

Fresh concrete trucks
struggle to get through.

[ indistinct ]

Narrator:
It's a race against time,

And dan has to keep
the concrete flowing.

At the top, another team
is trying to spread

The concrete out
across the floor.

Man: This is a lot of concrete.

This is like 280 yards,

So it's gonna take us a while.

Narrator: At four feet thick,

This is one of the thickest
slabs of the whole tower.

Narrator:
Rafael ramirez oversees

This monster concrete pour.

Narrator: Rafael's main task

Is to ensure the team
doesn't pour wet concrete

Onto concrete that
is already dry.

This risks creating
a weak spot in the slab

Called a cold joint.

Narrator:
To keep the concrete strong,

The pump team must constantly
move around the floor

To cover the whole site evenly.

Carlos! Perfecto!

Messy work is an understatement.

It's hard work.

Narrator: The bucket team

Keeps the concrete topped off
with fresh loads.

With so many moving parts,
things can go wrong quickly.

♪

♪

Narrator: At the top of

The world's
tallest residential skyscraper,

A team of specialists
is racing to pour

A massive four-foot
thick slab of concrete.

Narrator: Workers are often
up to their knees

In wet concrete,

Striving to cover
every inch of the site

As quickly as they can.

The pump spits out the final few
yards of concrete.

The team has managed to
cover the entire site

Without risking any cold joints

Or weak points
in the structure.

Now, a highly skilled team
of masons

Moves in to smooth the surface
of the concrete

To create the finished floor.

Very quickly,
it's hard enough to walk on.

Narrator:
The successful completion

Of this super-thick floor
at the top of the tower

Is a huge milestone
for the team.

♪

Central park tower
is an enormous undertaking.

There can be hundreds
of workers onsite

At any one time.

One of the major problems
with such a workforce

Is how to feed them.

If you don't eat good,

You're not gonna be able
to work good.

You're not gonna be
able to think good.

Narrator:
It's jennifer patafio's job

To provide food for
everyone onsite.

Here you go, hon.
You got your fork?

In a makeshift cafe
on the tower's 43rd floor.

What sandwich?

Mustard or mayo?

The difference between
this and a restaurant

Is, a restaurant,
people come in gradually.

We get hit and we get hit hard,

And they all get off
at the same time

So we could get
slammed with 100 guys.

Narrator: Running a cafe
so high in the sky

Creates unusual
problems for the staff.

Patafio: My first few days
coming up and down the hoist,

I was -- how can I
put this nicely?

Scared to death.

I was in therapy, I swear
to god, for one month.

Now I don't care about anything.

I wanna look at the view.

♪

Narrator: With the supersized
slab complete,

The concrete team
has nearly reached

The top of the building,
but there's another crew

That has a lot more
work ahead of them.

One, two, three!

21 floors below, this team races

To install the tower's
12,000 window panels

Into the outer walls.

All right, coming down!
Coming down!

Gale force winds
buffet the walls

And windows of this
supertall tower.

This isn't just a challenge
for the team

Manhandling the windows
inches from a 1,000-foot drop;

It's a challenge for
the building itself.

Man:
Joe, what's the hold up?

Narrator: To make safety
the priority,

Engineers must test
the tower's shape and design

Under every wind condition
before construction,

To make sure that its design
is robust enough.

To do this, they work with
aerodynamic experts

Here at one of the world's
most advanced wind tunnels

Just outside
toronto, canada.

Wind is very
unpredictable because

In the natural environment,
it will blow over

A variety of different
terrains and then it mixes

With the city centers in
which we build our buildings.

So it's very complex.

Narrator: The wind tunnel is
still the best way to

Simulate what wind does
to the skyscraper

In the real world.

The wind tunnel really is
the only way

To capture these effects.

Computationally,
we just aren't there yet

In terms of the computing power.

Narrator: Derek tests different
designs for central park tower

To determine the optimum shape
for it to beat the winds.

The original design of
the building was quite

Bluff and flat, so it
was basically a square

And that's really bad,
aerodynamically.

It can actually get the tower
moving and rocking

Back and forth.

Narrator: When wind hits
a tall structure

With flat bases --
like a skyscraper --

The air must flow around it.

This creates swirling
pockets of air

On the far side of the building
called vortices.

The vortices can cause
the building

To rock from side to side.

These movements can intensify

If the building shakes
at just the right speed.

This effect is called resonance

And could cause serious damage.

♪

The final design for the tower

Has an expertly tailored shape
to defy the winds.

Any skyscraper
design that's been

Wind tunnel tested and is
optimized for the wind

Really wants to
confuse the winds.

Narrator: This model
of the skyscraper

Has notches cut
into its corners.

The notches should
break up the wind

And prevent any shaking.

These notches really
effectively do the same thing.

So when the wind sheds
off the corner here,

It's shedding off at a different
rate than this side

And it really helps disrupt
and confuse the wind.

Narrator: As the tower tapers
towards the top,

The designers have cleverly

Changed the shape
of each corner.

Instead of a simple right angle,

The corners are notched with
an inset.

♪

Whilst small protrusions
also jut out into the sky.

♪

These notch shapes disrupt
the flow of the wind.

They stop large vortices
from forming

And prevent the skyscraper
from swaying.

Thanks to its clever design,
central park tower

Can stand strong, no matter
how powerful the wind.

♪

It took hours of
wind tests for derek

To perfect the tower's
wind-cheating shape.

Go ahead and start
the wind tunnel.

Narrator:
Huge fans create a gale

To pummel
the central park tower model.

Kelly: So this is the data

That's being collected
right now from the tests.

Man:
It is, that's correct.

Narrator: Hundreds of sensors
on the model

Provide data on how much
it's moving in the wind.

Derek compares the data
to an older design

To examine how it
stands up to storms.

Kelly: You can see
the final configuration,

The responses are
just a bit lower

Than where the red line
was in the previous design.

This one, the same thing.

Through these experiments,

Through these subtle tweaks
in the design,

We're able to reduce
the overall forces

Acting on the building.

Narrator: The wind tunnels shows

The new design successfully
breaks up the wind.

It's remarkable how subtle
changes in the geometry

Can have such a pronounced
benefit in the aerodynamics.

Narrator: Although barely
visible from the ground,

These notches are a crucial
part of the tower's design.

Man: Comin' down.

Narrator: On site, the window
team has reached the 72nd floor.

Now, they need to start

Working around the specially
designed notches.

As they get closer to these
corners, they run out of room.

It's definitely a tight squeeze.

It's definitely a little
more dangerous, too.

Narrator: Just as they approach
the most difficult section,

The clouds roll in.

They're working blind
in a whiteout.

Man: All right,
slack off, slack off.

♪

Narrator:
In midtown, manhattan...

Man: All right, comin'
down, comin' down.

Narrator: ...A fearless
construction crew

Balances on the edge
of a 1,000-foot drop

To install the glass walls
of new york's newest tower.

The team has to fit
the windows around

A specially designed corner

That will help the building
minimize wind resistance.

♪

The notch design at the corner

Leaves them with very
little room to maneuver.

Man: It's one big puzzle,

Making sure everything
comes together.

Making sure
all the layout's done,

All the anchors are set.

Narrator:
It's richie falasca's job

To oversee the installation
of the glass walls.

This is not a task
for the faint-hearted.

Man:
All right, player, bump down.

Man: Yeah, there's roughly
100 frames on each floor.

Every single panel on this
job has a specific location.

Basically every one has
a birth certificate.

So that specific panel
is actually

Intended to go in that
specific location.

Narrator:
The specially designed notches

That run
up the edge of the tower

Help to break up the wind,

But the notches
create extra corners

And make a tough job
even harder.

We're on the northwest
corner of the building.

You can see it's one
of our outside corners

With a column in
front of it which

Obviously makes our job
a little more challenging.

Narrator:
A huge supporting column

Blocks access to
the outer edge of the corner.

Obviously the safety lines
getting around the column,

Just any tripping hazards
around the column.

Basically setting some of
this crib wall on the blinds

With the anchors being at
the very far apex of the corner,

It makes it very difficult.

Definitely a tight squeeze.

It's definitely a little
more dangerous, too.

Yeah, that definitely went down.

Let me know when you guys
are go with the crab.

Narrator:
Several stories above,

Workers position a special
crane called the crab

To overhang the side
of the building.

They will use the crane to lift
the glass panels into position.

We always have two guys
on the bottom

And two guys on the top.

The guys on the bottom
are actually

Where the panels
are launched from.

They do actually
all the rigging.

Narrator:
The crab picks up the panel

And pulls it out beyond
the outer edge of the structure.

The team must
line the panels up perfectly

With the sections below for
them to click into position.

Man: Hold that.

Narrator:
They use brute strength

To wrestle it into place...

Man: Okay.

Narrator:
While balancing on the edge.

Falasca: Without units being
below it

Or adjacent units
being installed,

They basically can't interlock
like they are supposed to do.

Narrator: The crew tiptoe around
the supporting column

To slide the window into
the correct position.

Man: Hold up, hold up.

It's too tight.
All right.

Narrator: The panel needs to
click into the corner

At a 45 degree angle.

Man: Nice, very nice.

Narrator: The workers have to
squeeze outside the column

To fit it into place.

Man:
All right, let me get the --

Narrator:
This requires nerves of steel.

♪

Nice.

Narrator: The tricky corner is
finally in.

With the corner turned,
the team picks up the pace

For installing
the rest of the windows.

We turned the corner
as of this morning.

Getting around the corner
is obviously something

Challenging for us with
the giant column here

And making sure all the anchors
are buttoned up.

Narrator: The nearly
13 foot tall panels

Now cover every inch of
the apartment

In floor to ceiling windows,

Creating the ultimate view.

With the apartment
now watertight,

There are only
27 more stories to finish

Before central park tower
will be ready for residents.

The apartments that
overlook central park

In manhattan will be
home to billionaires,

So the interior design has to be
the ultimate in luxury.

As engineers race to
complete construction,

World-renowned designer
lauren rottet

Plans the interiors
of each apartment.

The views are stunning
and you'll have them

Absolutely nowhere else
in the world.

But these particular interiors

You probably won't have anywhere
else in the world either.

So really we designed
them complementary.

Narrator: Lauren and her team
meticulously design every

Touch and fixture, from the taps
to the light switches.

Rottet: What is the true
meaning of luxury?

It's not just pretty,

It's all the way down to
the tiny details:

Is it the best?

Narrator: Lauren must ensure
that everything

Is engineered to perfection
for the residents.

Even the wood grain
pattern on the cabinets

Runs seamlessly across
doors and drawers.

Truthfully if someone
were to move in,

Put down a few rugs
and a couple of nice pieces

Of art and some candles
and flowers, they'd be okay.

It'd be beautiful.

♪

Narrator:
Inside the skyscraper,

A team of carpenters
and stone workers

Are racing to turn lauren's
intricate designs into reality.

Larry giacobbe is in
charge of installing

The eye-wateringly expensive
marble countertops.

We do god's work, with marble.

Narrator: Larry's team uses
diamond-tipped tools

To cut the heavy marble to
the right size and shape.

All right, ready?
One, two, three.

Narrator: Lifting each slab
into position by hand

Requires a delicate touch.

Well, this piece was
about 150 pounds.

The next one's
probably 200 pounds

'cause it's bigger, it's longer.

Narrator: Each marble slab can
cost hundreds of dollars.

If larry's not careful,
they could crack in half.

A lot of the time if you don't
pick this up right,

It could crack on the vein,
you know?

So that's why you
gotta be careful.

Narrator: Larry must ensure that
workers install thousands of

Marble slabs in the right place.

It's a giant jigsaw.

We haven't had one yet
that hasn't matched.

They know what they're
doing up in the quarries.

They've only been doing
it for what, 2,000 years?

Beautiful, look at the vein.

See how the vein
matches perfectly?

Narrator: It takes larry's team

Three weeks to install
the marble on a single floor.

The team is now
in a frantic race

To complete
the lavish interiors.

With only a few weeks
until central park tower

Will welcome its first
residents, the team

Has to pull out all of the stops
to get the job done.

Giacobbe:
Everything is done right,

The floor,
the cabinets, the slab.

♪

Narrator: The completed
central park tower

Will be the tallest residential
building in the world.

With the highest roof in
the western hemisphere,

This record-breaking tower

Changes the new york
skyline forever.

Smith: I've been working all
my career to be able to

Participate in the design of
a building in new york city.

So it's been very special.

Narrator: Residents can enjoy
the extraordinary views

In the most luxurious
apartments in new york city.

This job, what we've
done on this job,

I've never done before,
nobody's ever done before.

Man: A skyscraper of this
height and this magnitude

In new york city, I don't
know if it'll be done again.

So it's very special to be here.

I think people will
look at it in awe.

I hope they appreciate
what went into building it.

♪