All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S04E04.Labyrinth.of.the.Dead.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator: dark tunnels
Filled with the remains

Of millions of bodies.

Selwood: it's like
You're disappearing

Into an underworld
For which there is no map.

Narrator:
A heavily fortified structure

That's been ripped apart.

We're used to seeing
Engineering imposed on the land.

But here, we see
A natural revenge

Of nature against engineering.

Of nature against engineering.

Narrator: and alien-looking
Buildings on the open ocean.

Meigs: this place
Is really isolated,

And that might be a clue

As to why it was built
Here in the first place.

Narrator: engineering marvels
Now abandoned,

Ruins shrouded in mystery.

Within these decaying structures
Are the echoes of history.

They speak of death
And destruction,

But also human ingenuity
And endeavor.

But also human ingenuity
And endeavor.

Each haunted shell
Ready to be unmasked

And tell its own unique story.

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

*

20 miles east
Of berlin, germany,

Set amongst thick woods
And peaceful lakes

Set amongst thick woods
And peaceful lakes

Is an innocuous-looking
Complex of buildings.

*

Nothing about this site betrays

The dark secrets
That lie at its heart

Until you explore
A small anonymous building

Quietly tucked away.

Inside a spartan office,

Equipment speaks
Of a different age.

But this is just the
Entrance to a secret world.

But this is just the
Entrance to a secret world.

Gough: at first, it looks like
A typical leisure center

Or a sports complex.

But then, beneath,
Hidden from prying eyes,

Is a secret underground bunker.

Narrator: rooms full of
Industrial-scale machinery

Once powered this covert site.

And judging
By the equipment on show,

Security must have been vital.

Bell: rooms packed full of
Monitors and listening devices.

It looks like something
Straight out of a spy movie.

It looks like something
Straight out of a spy movie.

Narrator: why the sophisticated
Surveillance?

Were they watching
Willing subjects?

A clue to this
Facility's sinister past

Can be found behind
A curious door.

Nusbacher: this is the kind of
Door you'd expect to see

Inside a submarine.

Bell: can you imagine

Bell: can you imagine

Descending down
Into this secret chamber,

Entering through a
Submarine-style pressure lock?

Must've been
A daunting experience.

Narrator:
Inside lurks a huge chamber

Full of training equipment.

A room packed with medical
Supplies eerily awaits visitors.

And other haunting
Rooms lie silent.

Nusbacher:
Why would you create this?

Nusbacher:
Why would you create this?

And then, why would you hide it?

I find that really creepy.

*

Narrator:
Hard to believe now,

But this facility was
Once at the epicenter

Of an ideological struggle
Between east and west.

During the cold war,

This site was firmly
Behind the iron curtain

As part of communist
East germany,

As part of communist
East germany,

Known as the german
Democratic republican or gdr.

And at that time, a proxy
War was being fought

On sports fields
Around the world.

Nusbacher: so, the communist
Athletes had to win

For the greater glory, not
Of their country so much,

But for the greater
Glory of communism.

And the east german athletes
Also had the burden

And the east german athletes
Also had the burden

Of the fact that east germans

Thought that they were
Absolutely the best communists.

Narrator: multiple-olympic
Kayaking champion

Torsten gutsche remembers
This intense rivalry.

[ gutsche speaking german ]

Interpreter:
The gdr has always been

One of the most successful
Canoe nations in the world.

There was ongoing competition

Between hungarian, gdr,
And russian athletes,

Between hungarian, gdr,
And russian athletes,

Who were also very strong.

The gdr was a small country.

And, of course, as
A socialist state,

They wanted to prove to
The capitalist countries

That socialism was
Superior to capitalism.

And, of course, sport was one
Of the best ways to prove it.

East german athletes
Did very, very well.

Over and over again,
East german athletes

Succeeded in
International competition.

Succeeded in
International competition.

Narrator: for a decade
Stretching from 1976,

East germany won more medals

Than all but the
World's two superpowers

And broke numerous
World records,

Punching well above their weight

In terms of
Population and status.

But a murky secret lay
Behind all this glory.

It used to be that
East german athletes

It used to be that
East german athletes

Were known for being completely
Pumped up on steroids...

...Which resulted in liver
Damage, reproductive damage,

Birth defects for
Their children,

Tremendous difficulty
For decades to come.

Bell: the health of east
Germany's young athletes

Was sacrificed in the name
Of glory and propaganda.

Narrator: and the east german
Government was complicit.

Narrator: and the east german
Government was complicit.

A directive called
State plan 14.25

Coordinated
A sophisticated system

Of steroid use
Throughout the country.

But the world was getting
Wise to their dishonesty.

Nusbacher: all of the athletic
Governing boards in the world,

The olympic committees,
The athletics commissions,

The olympic committees,
The athletics commissions,

They were all starting
To do blood testing,

So the east germans
Could no longer cheat

By using steroids.

Narrator:
So, how could east germany

Continue to stay ahead
Of the competition?

Their answer was this --

The kienbaum training facility.

[ gutsche speaking german ]

Interpreter:
This was a top-secret location.

Therefore, it was a great honor

Therefore, it was a great honor

For us athletes to train here.

It was very impressive.

Bell: this secret facility
Was developed

As an alternative to
The steroid programs

That had served
The east germans so well.

Narrator: built in 1979,
This state-of-the-art center

Was fitted with
All the usual gear --

Equipment you would expect to
Find in any sports facility.

*

*

But why did they need
A top-secret bunker

To achieve success

And what made this
Chamber so unique?

*

Narrator: east of berlin,

Hidden in an otherwise-typical
Leisure complex,

Is a peculiar sporting
Chamber built in 1979.

Nusbacher: so, the east germans
Create a sports training

And development facility
That will be entirely done

At high-altitude air pressure.

At high-altitude air pressure.

That means very little oxygen,

Very little air pressure.

Narrator: a colossal ventilation
System extracted air

Until it simulated the pressure

Found at an altitude
Of 13,000 feet,

Inducing athletes to
Produce more red blood cells

And increase endurance.

Nusbacher:
They're hoping that the bodies

Are going to get used to
Working with little oxygen.

Are going to get used to
Working with little oxygen.

And then, when they go
Back to regular altitude,

Their blood and their tissues
Are going to be saturated

With all that lovely oxygen

And the east germans are
Gonna keep on winning.

Narrator: this, however,
Was no training utopia.

[ gutsche speaking german ]

Interpreter: compared to the
Regular training outside,

It was very exhausting
To train in here

It was very exhausting
To train in here

Due to the simulated
Altitude and air pressure.

It was physically
Very demanding.

It was very monotonous.

The light in this room
Was very unpleasant,

The air was unpleasant,

And the atmosphere was
Very unpleasant, too.

Gough:
For two weeks at a time,

They were locked in
This underground bunker,

Training 12 hours a day
With no natural light

And no understanding how
This high-pressure chamber

And no understanding how
This high-pressure chamber

Was affecting their
Long-term health.

Nusbacher: you've gotta pity
Those east german athletes.

They were good at their sports,

But that turned them
Into special lab rats.

Narrator:
The constant monitoring

Was not just for
Performance analysis.

East germany's secret
Police, the stasi,

Were notoriously ruthless,

And these athletes
Were prized assets.

And these athletes
Were prized assets.

[ gutsche speaking german ]

Interpreter: there was the issue
Of national security

During the gdr era.

Therefore, you had to
Be a bit more careful

With the people you didn't know.

There were cameras everywhere

And we didn't really understand
Why they were filming.

Narrator: for some,

Living in this repressive
Police state was too much.

More than 600 elite
Sports men and women

More than 600 elite
Sports men and women

Defected to the west.

Branded traitor athletes,
Some were pursued by the stasi

Before the fall
Of the berlin wall

And then the reunification
Of germany in 1990.

Since then, numerous
Athletes have claimed

They were either forcibly
Or unwittingly doped

At kienbaum and other
Facilities across east germany.

But while torsten knows he
Never consciously doped,

He also believes
He was fortunate

He also believes
He was fortunate

And never given steroids.

He simply had to deal with

A strange-but-legal
Underground environment

That pushed his
Body to the limit

And left him with
Unpleasant memories.

Interpreter: in this room,
I had a very oppressive feeling.

We were sitting very
Close to each other

And we were constantly
Under control.

That's why we were quiet.

We didn't talk much

Because we didn't know
Who might be listening.

And another question is,

And another question is,

Was this training
Good for our health?

These are the questions
Which I cannot answer.

*

Narrator: today, kienbaum
Operates as an olympic

And paralympic training
Facility for a united germany,

But its hidden
Chamber lies empty,

A reminder
Of a very different time.

This was a pioneering approach
To sports performance.

This was a pioneering approach
To sports performance.

You often hear of top
Athletes or soccer teams

Going up into the mountains

At training camps
At high altitude.

This was creating
Those conditions,

But in a secret
Underground bunker.

*

Narrator: in the beating heart
Of paris, france,

Lies a dark secret buried
Deep beneath the streets.

Bell: this has gotta be

One of the spookiest
Places in the world.

It's a bit of a labyrinth.

Selwood: it's like you're
Disappearing into an underworld.

There are no other places
You've been that are like this.

Narrator: decorated tunnels
Snake endlessly

Through the damp rock.

It's only when
You look in detail

At what's making up
Those ornate designs

At what's making up
Those ornate designs

That you start realizing

This is something
Completely different.

Selwood: the walls around you
Begin to change.

At first, it's not
Clear what's happening,

But then you begin to see

That around you
Is no longer rock...

But human bones.

Bell: it's this confusing mix
Of death and art.

You want to feel
Horrified by what you see.

But somehow, at the same
Time, you're drawn into it.

But somehow, at the same
Time, you're drawn into it.

Narrator: these bones weren't
Simply thrown in a pile,

Nor was this purely
For functional storage.

Jerram:
What a horror story to me.

That's a crazy kind
Of place to be.

Bell: there has to have been
A reason for doing this,

A reason that involved
The whole city,

'cause there's just no way

That you could keep
Something this big quiet.

Selwood:
Why are there this many bodies

Buried just meters below one
Of the world's greatest cities?

Buried just meters below one
Of the world's greatest cities?

Narrator:
The long stacks of human bones

Lining these tunnels have been
Here for around 200 years.

But for the majority,

This wasn't their
First resting place.

Bell: there were a number
Of cemeteries around the city,

But they were swelling
Under the weight

Of the huge number of
Bodies they contained.

Of the huge number of
Bodies they contained.

And you can imagine
The stench of death

That was sweeping
Through the streets

Being utterly unbearable.

Narrator: although paved over
Today, in the 18th century,

Les innocents was the
Largest cemetery in paris.

Having been a dumping
Ground for dead bodies

For around 800 years,

An estimated 2 million
People had been buried here.

An estimated 2 million
People had been buried here.

Selwood: even the biggest
Cemetery eventually gets full,

But the parisians
Continued to stuff

Ever more bodies into them.

Bell: they'd run out
Of space in the ground,

So they were
Digging up old bones

And packing them into
The roofs and walls

Of the buildings
Surrounding the cemetery,

And it was only a matter of time

Before this would come
Back to haunt them.

Narrator:
In the spring of 1780,

Narrator:
In the spring of 1780,

Unusually heavy rains began
To add greater pressure

On the cemetery walls
That were already buckling

Under the weight of the dead.

Selwood: these rains soaked
Into the ground,

Expanding everything,

With the terrible consequence
That the cemetery walls burst,

Causing a mixture,

A slurry of sodden earth
And decomposing bodies

To slide out into the streets

And into
The neighboring properties.

And into
The neighboring properties.

Narrator:
Archeologist sylvie robin

Explains how
The french authorities

Reacted to this grisly event.

[ robin speaking french ]

Interpreter:
A doctor was sent on location

To perform a health
And safety assessment

And a decision was made

To evacuate the entire
Area for public safety.

Bell: news of this gruesome
And filthy site

Bell: news of this gruesome
And filthy site

Seemed to be the final straw.

A solution had to
Be found and fast.

Narrator: this dark subterranean
World was the answer --

The paris catacombs.

Interpreter:
We are currently 20 meters

Beneath the parisian streets

In the district of
Denfert-rochereau

On the left bank.

We can see here a decoration

Which is cross-shaped inserted
Into the wall of bones.

Which is cross-shaped inserted
Into the wall of bones.

We can also see a repetition
Of femurs and skulls,

Some of which are
Presented facing outwards

And others showing
The back of the skull.

And just behind there,
Behind this wall,

Is a buildup of bones.

Narrator:
But this attention to detail

Was a step beyond just
Solving the city's problem.

This had thought
And meaning to it.

So, was there a dark ulterior
Purpose to this place?

A site of worship
Of the dead perhaps,

Or something stranger still?

*

Narrator:
In the 18th century,

With the cemeteries
Of paris overflowing,

A quick solution was needed.

But to dig a vast
Underground network like this

Would've taken decades.

So, how was this possible?

Selwood: some of
The best-loved attractions,

Like the cathedral of
Notre dame or the louvre,

Like the cathedral of
Notre dame or the louvre,

Are built out of
Parisian limestone.

This came from quarries

That originally were on
The outskirts of paris

But, as the city expanded,
Came to be under paris.

Rumors are that it's around

About 170 miles
Worth of tunnels.

And man-made excavations
Of the rocks,

Which were now beneath
The feet of parisians,

They didn't really
Know they were there.

Narrator:
Mapping of the mines

Showed a vast network of tunnels

Showed a vast network of tunnels

And access shafts
Across the city.

In the end, almost
A mile of these passages

Were linked together

And allocated as
The new catacomb space.

And in december 1785, the work
Of moving the bodies began.

Selwood: it was a gruesome

But a very
Sophisticated operation.

Bodies had been buried
In paris for centuries.

Bodies had been buried
In paris for centuries.

All of these had to be dug up,

Placed into carts at night,
And taken to the catacombs,

Where an estimated two or four
Million bodies were placed.

[ speaking french ]

Interpreter:
We are stood at the bottom

Of the original chute used
For disposing of the bones.

It is through this well,

Which was initially used
To extract the stone,

That all the bones
Were disposed of.

You can imagine the 20-meter
Drop that they experienced.

You can imagine the 20-meter
Drop that they experienced.

Once they piled
Up on the ground,

They were then distributed
Throughout the quarry.

Jerram: the process
Had to almost be

On an industrial scale,

Every night for
Night after night

Moving many, many bones
Through the system

And down into the underground.

Really quite
A bizarre undertaking.

Narrator:
It took just two years

To empty les innocents
Into the catacombs,

But decades more
To shift the contents

But decades more
To shift the contents

Of paris' other cemeteries.

However, the bones down here

Don't look like they
Were just thrown in

Or even simply
Stacked to save space.

So, was there a dark secret
Behind the design of this site?

[ robin speaking french ]

Interpreter:
This decoration was the idea

Of an inspector for the
General quarry inspections

Called hericart de thury.

He imagined this whole
Underground walkway

He imagined this whole
Underground walkway

With a slightly morbid display

Destined to make us
Think about death

And to welcome visitors.

Selwood:
What he did was to change it

From just being
A collection of bones

Into an experience
That had soul.

He gave these people back a life

That modern visitors
Can reflect on.

Narrator: in 1860,

The last bones were placed
Inside the catacombs.

The last bones were placed
Inside the catacombs.

And ever since,
The only bodies to enter

Have been members of the public

Hoping to explore the dark
Depths of this city's heart.

*

Today, this macabre site
Still draws visitors

Into its eerily quiet interior,
With surprising results.

Selwood:
The catacombs has succeeded

In doing something
Truly extraordinary,

Which is that most
Visitors leave

With a sense of sereneness

And having been uplifted.

There is something deeply
Soulful and powerful

About what they've
Achieved in the catacombs.

*

Narrator: on the outskirts
Of liege in belgium,

Narrator: on the outskirts
Of liege in belgium,

Not far from the border
Shared with germany,

Are the shattered remains
Of a vast structure.

Selwood:
It's a zone of destruction.

Clearly, something very
Violent happened here.

There's a sense that once
There was an immense tragedy.

Nusbacher: and we're used
To seeing engineering

Imposed on the land.

But here, it's as
Though the earth

Has tried to suck this piece
Of architecture back inside.

Has tried to suck this piece
Of architecture back inside.

Selwood: there are sections
Of triangular installations

With circular elements.

It's an incomprehensible, ugly,
And rather distressing site,

Vast area of mangled
Concrete and metal.

Narrator: all around the city

Are other strange and
Unique concrete forms,

Cracked and ignored for decades.

Cracked and ignored for decades.

But this one seems to have
Suffered the gravest fate.

The area is so vast, the
Destruction is so complete,

That you're left
With the feeling

That these ruins have
A big story to tell.

Nusbacher:
What turned something so mighty

Into something so pathetic?

Narrator:
After decades of european wars

In the 19th century,

In the 19th century,

A decision to build
Up defenses in belgium

Led to the creation
Of this fort in 1888.

Nusbacher: when built
In the late-19th century,

It was the last word on
Fortification technology.

With poured concrete,
Quickfire artillery,

And disappearing mounts,

It was the absolutely acme of
Europe's military technology.

It was the absolutely acme of
Europe's military technology.

Narrator: but having laid
Untested for over 25 years,

The first world war soon
Threatened to throw this fort

Into the frontline as
An obstacle in the path

Of a marauding german army
On their way to france.

Belgium is invented

To be a buffer between
Germany and france.

This means that belgium
Has got to be prepared

For attack from the east.

For attack from the east.

Corum: a small section
Of the belgian border

Where the germans have
The terrain to advance

And where the rail lines
Run through is liege.

If you want to
Protect your country

Against a german invasion,
This is the obvious point.

Narrator: with the defense
Of liege paramount,

This once-state-of-the-art
Structure

Would soon be taking on the
Full force of modern warfare.

Would soon be taking on the
Full force of modern warfare.

This is fort loncin.

But the level
Of destruction seen today

Shows that ultimately it
Wasn't up to the task.

So, what unexpected
Force could obliterate

The latest in belgian
Military defense?

*

Narrator: on the outskirts
Of liege, belgium,

Is fort loncin.

Lying in ruins now, in its day,

This was the pinnacle
Of military design.

Corum:
When these forts are designed,

They are essentially
Invulnerable.

There is no weapon of the 1880s

That can breach the walls

That can breach the walls

Or destroy the armor
Of this fort.

Narrator:
Designed with a low profile

To make it harder to
Target from distance,

Across its surface was
An array of retractable

And rotating artillery turrets.

And if the enemy
Did somehow manage

To get close enough to attack,

They would be faced not
With high walls to climb

But deadly ditches to traverse.

As local expert
Victor vandarperren explains,

As local expert
Victor vandarperren explains,

These were effectively
Kill zones.

The guns were placed
Behind armored walls

With clear lines of sight,

And at the far end were curved
Columns, designed to send

The ricocheting lead
Pellets around the corners.

There was simply
No place to hide.

The belgians meanwhile
Would be safely tucked away

Inside the underground
Network of rooms and tunnels.

As the shots rang out

Signaling the start
Of the first world war,

Liege was immediately
In the firing line.

But fort loncin alone

Was never enough to
Protect the whole city.

This was just one part of a
Much larger fortified position.

This was just one part of a
Much larger fortified position.

Nusbacher:
If you can stop the germans

Getting across
The river meuse at liege,

Then you can stop
The germans invading france.

Because of the strategic
Significance of liege,

You couldn't defend
It with just one fort.

Liege was encircled by
A pattern of 12 forts.

Liege was encircled by
A pattern of 12 forts.

Narrator: together the
Outward-facing ring of forts

Was a formidable defense.

But the invading german army

Had close to 4 million troops
Compared to belgium's 200,000.

Germany had no respect for
Belgium as a military power.

They thought the belgians
Had a paper army

And cardboard fortresses.

Nusbacher:
The germans attacked quickly.

The belgians send
Them away quickly.

That shows that,
For a day or two,

That shows that,
For a day or two,

The belgian fortifications
Around liege

Are pretty effective.

Narrator: but when a heavier
Attack followed,

That defensive ring was pierced

And the germans marched straight
To the heart of the city,

Bringing with them
A weapon the belgians

Were simply not prepared for.

The big bertha was
The largest gun in the world

At the time.

It was a howitzer with a
Shell size of 42 centimeters.

It was a howitzer with a
Shell size of 42 centimeters.

Nusbacher: they're able to turn
Up with effectively

A 16-inch naval gun on wheels,

And they're able to fire
Armor-piercing shells

Right into the walls of
The belgian fortifications.

Narrator:
With a range of 9 miles,

The big bertha was now able
To shoot the forts in the back

And with fort loncin,
The new command center

For the defense, it was
Soon in the cross hairs.

For the defense, it was
Soon in the cross hairs.

But could the big bertha
Alone cause this scene

Of utter carnage?

Or did something else add
To the hellish inferno

About to rain down on the fort?

*

Narrator: with liege under
German control in 1914,

Fort loncin was now
Housing the belgian command,

But the big bertha was
Aimed straight at it.

The belgian forts
Around liege were built

To defend against
The very best artillery

Of the late 19th century,

But time has moved on.

But time has moved on.

Narrator:
That final shot had pierced

Narrator:
That final shot had pierced

The 2.5-meter-thick
Concrete roof

And ignited
12 tons of explosives,

Trapping and killing
350 men below

And sending a brutal shock wave
Tearing through the fort.

The key vulnerability,
And it was a fatal one,

Was that the concrete in
The 1880s that they used

Did not have metal
Reinforcing rods.

The concrete was
Simply poured in.

The concrete was
Simply poured in.

And this was in no way
Capable of withstanding

20th-century artillery.

Narrator:
The belgians were defeated.

Despite a brave fight,
They had met an enemy

With far superior power
And far heavier weaponry.

But not all was lost.

Fortresses are created
To delay an enemy,

To slow them down.

The belgians did
A pretty heroic job.

The belgians did
A pretty heroic job.

Nusbacher: liege was able
To slow the german advance

Into france for long
Enough for the french

And british forces to
Reorganize and stop the germans

Achieving their aims
At the beginning

Of the first world war.

Narrator: the bodies of those

Who valiantly gave
Their lives in defiance

Of the invading army still
Lie beneath the ruins.

*

Standing near
The coastline of florida

Is a strange row of structures

That appear to be lost at sea.

*

*

From a distance, you see these
Sculpted, organic forms.

They're incredible, they're
From a different planet.

Meigs: such a spooky sight.

Was it some kind
Of military instillation?

Some research center?

Maybe it looks like
Something some crazy monks

Would've built
In the greek isles.

There's something
Timeless about it.

Narrator:
The unique design suggests

Narrator:
The unique design suggests

This was intended as
Something revolutionary.

Bell:
It feels like an ambitious plan

However you look at it.

Whatever someone was
Trying to achieve here,

It was certainly
Pushing the boundaries.

Narrator:
So what were these strange,

Dome-shaped structures for?

And what unforeseen event
Left them stranded out here?

*

Reilly: right now we're heading
Down towards cape romano.

Reilly: right now we're heading
Down towards cape romano.

It sits in the ten
Thousand islands.

The average depth here is
About 3 1/2 feet,

So very tricky to navigate.

A lot of boats run
Aground on a daily basis.

Makes it a little more
Difficult to get down there.

Narrator:
Captain chris reilly

Has been navigating
These waters for 20 years

And knows the dangers
Hidden beneath the waves,

But the shallows aren't
The real concern down here.

One of the things about
This area is constantly,

We're getting hit by hurricanes.

It's just constant high wind
And rough seas to deal with.

It's just constant high wind
And rough seas to deal with.

Coastal florida is not an
Easy place to build anything.

If you're gonna
Build something here,

You have to really want it.

Bell: there's nothing between
You and a potential hurricane

Or storm racing its
Way across that water.

This is a dangerous place to be.

Narrator: to choose
Such an exposed location

May have been asking
For trouble,

But for bob lee, a retired
Oilman with big ideas,

This needed to be built
At all costs.

This needed to be built
At all costs.

Meigs: when bob lee
Discovered this area

On the coast of florida,

He fell in love with it,
As many people do.

But for him, it wasn't
Enough to just live

On some golf course
Or in some condo.

He really imagined
Getting closer to nature.

Barratt: anyone who lives
Or sails in that area

Knows what a harsh
Environment it is,

But for bob to actually build
There on the edge of the earth,

I think everyone must've
Thought he was crazy.

I think everyone must've
Thought he was crazy.

Narrator: these weren't just
Any old structures, though.

This was bob's dream.

The cape romano dome home.

But how did it end up
Stranded in the water?

Was it the winds of a hurricane
That shattered the dream

Or something else?

*

Narrator: in the exposed
Coastal waters of florida

Stands
The cape romano dome home --

A place built on the dream
Of an off-grid life.

Meigs: what's fascinating
About these structures

Is you can see that
They're futuristic,

But they're kind of
An old idea of the future.

You can see echoes of
The '60s and '70s here.

Narrator: this was all about
Escaping the modern world

Narrator: this was all about
Escaping the modern world

And utilizing the resources
Nature provided

So the design
Reflected this desire.

He had a gutter system
That went around

The base of the domes,
So that when it rained,

It would trickle down all sides

And get sent
To a 23,000-gallon cistern.

If you look at the bottom
Of this dome right here,

You'll see the concrete.

That's actually where that
23,000-gallon cistern was held.

He would filter
The water and that's how

He got his drinking
And bathing water.

Today we talk a lot
About carbon footprint

Today we talk a lot
About carbon footprint

And using natural environments,

But back in 1981, bob is really
At the forefront of that.

He went for it and these
Experimental buildings,

That's where our inspiration
For the future comes.

Narrator: but there was more
To the dome shape

Than just collecting water
And looking futuristic.

These were designed to
Withstand the brutal force

Of coastal storms.

Being this shape, there
Was no sharp corners

For the wind to catch on

For the wind to catch on

And it would actually
Roll right around the structure.

As well as the shape,
He also built it on stilts,

So that if there was a hurricane
And a major storm surge,

It would actually flow
Right under the property

And not affect the living space.

Narrator:
But for all the storm-proofing

And innovative features,
Did mother nature

Have something
Unexpected up her sleeve?

Taking on a construction
Project down here,

You'd be foolish not
To consider the impact

From storms
And hurricanes and waves.

From storms
And hurricanes and waves.

But looking at it today, it's
Clear that something happened

That wasn't planned for.

Narrator:
Four of the original six domes

Remain above water,
But it wasn't necessarily

The strong winds that
Knocked these two over.

Here change was
Happening underfoot.

When he completed the
Property in 1981 and moved in,

It was a three-bedroom,
Three-bath house.

2,500 square foot that sat
A quarter mile inland.

2,500 square foot that sat
A quarter mile inland.

So all of this was beach
Including a quarter mile out

In front of the property.

Narrator:
Built upon a deserted island,

The domes were never meant

To be completely
Surrounded by water.

So where did the land go?

Reporter: the water rises
In a storm surge.

A wind-driven tide
Of rapid flooding.

Narrator:
After 10 years of use, in 1992,

Narrator:
After 10 years of use, in 1992,

A category-5 hurricane
Hit florida

And a problem that had
Been slowly brewing

Beneath the waves
Began to surface.

The buildings were flooded,
The beach started to wash away.

This beautiful dream

Of this off-the-grid
Sustainable concrete home

Turned into
Kind of a bit of a nightmare.

Narrator: a year later,

Bob lee's family
Abandoned the domes.

Bob lee's family
Abandoned the domes.

But mother nature wasn't
Finished with them yet.

Bob thought about storms,

He thought about the
Severe climate in the area,

But what he didn't
Take into account

Was the shifting nature
Of the ground beneath.

Narrator: what was now starting
To become clear

Was that erosion
Was the real threat.

Reilly: the gulf of mexico has a
Natural north-to-south current.

Now you have all
This water constantly

Now you have all
This water constantly

Every single day
Pushing back and forth.

The inevitable storm surges
We get from the hurricanes

Did erode a little
Bit of the beach

And changed the coastline here,
Which caused more current

To flow north to south,
Which has made the sand

Shift a lot quicker.

Narrator:
The result was an island

Quickly being swallowed
Up by the ocean.

And with each passing storm,

The situation only
Seems to worsen.

Meigs: in the bible, jesus
Says, "The wise man

Meigs: in the bible, jesus
Says, "The wise man

Builds his house on stone

And the foolish man
Builds his house on sand."

Well, bob lee, with
All of his great vision

And creative ideas, he chose
To build his house on sand.

Bell: but now they appear
To be marooned at sea,

But who knows?

Maybe one day the tides
Will shift again

And the island will end up
Back underneath these domes.