All language subtitles for How.Did.They.Build.That.2021.S02E05.Skywalks.and.Suspensions.1080p.WEB.h264-CAFFEiNE_track3_[eng]

[music]

[Male narrator]: How do
you build a glass bridge

out over the Grand Canyon?

We all thought it was
an April Fool's joke.

[Narrator]: What engineering
secret makes a library

defy the laws of gravity?

[Ellie]: It's just
completely bonkers.

It looks like it's gonna
fall down at any moment.

[Narrator]: And how do you
build a museum tough enough

to survive anything
Mother Nature throws at it?

[Eric]: We had to design
inside the piers

for the impact of a car

travelling at
2 metres per second

[Narrator]: This is the
age of the extraordinary.

[Hayley]: It's like one of
those insect-eating plants,

only enormous and white.

[Narrator]: Where ingenious
engineers have unleashed

unchecked creativity.

Now their secrets are revealed

as we discover the amazing
stories of their construction.

This is an incredible feat
of planning and engineering.

[Narrator]: To try
and understand...

how did they build that?

How to take the most
breath-taking selfie

at the Grand Canyon
is a question

that's been troubling
minds since...

Well, since selfies
began, really.

We've gone up in a helicopter.
We've tried the VR simulator.

But to really get
the heart pumping,

how about walking out over
the canyon and staring down,

past your shoes, into
the gaping 4000-foot abyss?

"Come on, Jay,
that's impossible!"

I know that's
what you're saying.

Impossible? Says who?

[Narrator]: The Grand Canyon
in northern Arizona.

One of the Seven Natural
Wonders of the World.

Created by nature,
its stunning beauty

has made it one of the most
famous and most visited places

in the United States.

Back in 1903, President
Teddy Roosevelt declared,

"Leave it as it is."

He said,
"You cannot improve on it.

The ages have been at work
on it and man can only mar it."

And for more than a century,

the spirit of that idea
held true

with the millions of visitors
taking a peak over the edge,

white water rafting through it,

or for the lucky few,
taking it all in from the air

That is, until in 2003,

when the Hualapai tribe
decided to build

a very special viewing platform

that's anything
but run of the mill.

[Hayley]: When you're
building in a landscape

as beautiful as this,
everything has to be perfect.

[Narrator]: So they created
a glass-bottomed walkway

that stretches 70 feet
out over the edge.

It's just really cool
how you can look down

and see straight down.

Oh my goodness, this is scary.

I've seen the sign that
says, "I chickened out."

Well, it pushes you out
into the canyon itself.

So it's a very nice feeling.

[Narrator]: Without
visible supports,

the structure appears to float

4000 feet above
the canyon floor.

It's a dizzying
engineering achievement

[Corina]: The skywalk
is not really for those

with a distrust in engineering.

In fact, it's an act of
faith just to walk out there.

[Narrator]: This is
the Grand Canyon Skywalk,

a big dream that almost
pushed designers and engineers

over the edge.

So how did they build it?

Carved 6 million years ago
by the mighty Colorado River,

the Grand Canyon
is 277 miles long,

18 miles across at its widest,

and over a mile deep.

It's so large,
it creates its own weather.

It's also home to
the Hualapai tribe,

which owns over a million
acres in northwest Arizona.

In 2003, they seize
the opportunity

to share their culture

and raise funds
for the local community

by creating somewhere
special for visitors to enjoy

an unparalleled
view of the canyon

at an important tribal landmark.

This spot, Eagle Point, is very
sacred to our Hualapai people.

As you can see, there's a
rock formation of Eagle Point.

Historically, what our
forefathers and our medicine men

would do was come here
to this specific spot

to pray for the wellness
and well-being of our people.

And from here, the Eagle carries
the prayers up to our creator.

[Narrator]: It is an
extraordinary place

with an incredible view.

Simply perfect

and deserving of something
completely out of the ordinary.

Together with a developer,

they hatch a ground-breaking
plan to build a glass bridge

out over the canyon.

[Ruby]: We knew that the skywalk

was definitely the
first in the world.

And we knew that it would put

Hualapai Grand Canyon West
on the map.

[Corina]: Many grand designs
are built simply to serve

the egos of billionaires.

But this bridge will bring real
benefit to the local community.

[Narrator]: That's if
they can actually build it,

because besides the
brand-new cultural centre,

the design calls for
a 150-foot steel bridge

that extends 70 feet out

before curving back
in a huge horseshoe

and re-joining land.

It will appear unsupported,

hovering 4000 feet
above the river below.

Its floor will be made from
46 panels of super-strong glass.

Taking the walkway will
be like walking on air,

giving visitors a hair-raising
view down into the valley below.

But designing is one thing.

Constructing is
something else entirely.

[Hayley]: With a structure
that's never been built before,

you're heading into the unknown.
But with this structure,

the unknown happens to be
at the edge of a cliff.

[Narrator]: This monumental task

falls to engineer
Scott Klempke and his team.

A friend of a friend brought in
a set of plans, a new project,

and said, uh, "Bridge
over the Grand Canyon."

And we all thought it
was an April Fool's joke.

And we started paging through it

and saw that it was
literally a horseshoe bridge.

We started looking
at it seriously

and thought it was something
we could perform well on.

And we focused all of our
attention to this project.

[Narrator]: The first
challenge Scott and the team

have to overcome is
creating foundations on land

that will be strong enough
to support a 600-ton bridge

that only touches the
ground at two points.

They turn to a piece
of engineering magic

called a cantilever.

The skywalk is
cantilever engineering

at its absolute purest.

Only its integral strength
allows it to extend

that breath-taking 70 feet
clear of the cliff edge.

But it's a heavy structure,

so it's gonna need some serious
anchoring to its host rock.

[Narrator]: Thankfully,
the site's geology

makes it perfect for the job.

[Ruby]: The rock within the area

was the strongest
here at Grand Canyon West

to hold a building
of this magnitude.

[Narrator]:
In 2004, seven years of

planning and wondering is over.

It's time to bring in
the equipment

and see if they can
translate the design on paper

to reality in the rock.

Work begins on the foundations,
which involves the engineers

drilling down 50 feet
into the cliff face.

They then fill
each hole with concrete

that's reinforced with
tons of heavy-duty steel rods

known as rebar.

It will create
a series of micropiles

anchoring the
bridge to the cliff

and stopping it from
toppling over the edge.

[Scott]: There's a
cluster of micropiles...

Dozens, maybe, maybe 30 of
them going down about 50 feet.

[Narrator]: The team then pours

a huge slab of reinforced
concrete

which connects
all the micropiles,

and onto which the sky bridge
will eventually fix.

So that's a massive footing up
top here, connecting all those.

[Narrator]: With the
foundations in place,

the plan is to transport
the 50-feet-long

steel sections of bridge

that have been fabricated
in Salt Lake City

to the site by truck.

But the remoteness
of the location

and rough road to get there

mean drivers will
only come partway.

We had, you know, $100,000
rigs sitting there,

and they would stop, and
they wanted to be offloaded.

And we had to put them
on short-load trucks

and haul them in.

[Narrator]: One by one,
the pieces of the bridge

are hauled to Eagle's Point.

The next challenge
is figuring out exactly

how they're going to fix

the 600-ton bridge
of steel together.

They decide that instead of
building off the foundations

and out into thin air,

they're going to assemble
the entire bridge

50 feet back from
the cliff's edge.

It would be with cranes
and cages and safety nets

and all kinds of things.

So much faster,
simpler, cleaner.

Corrective work
could be done easier

when it's on property
here like this.

Pre-assembling the
skywalk on solid ground

definitely have its benefits,

Construction workers are not
exposed to the sheer drop

to the rocks below.

Plus, it's just way easier
to inspect the structure

and, if needed,
make any changes.

[Narrator]:
Easier to build, yes.

But will it be
easier to install?

[Hayley]: Then you've got
this huge problem

of moving this
structure into position.

I'm glad that's not my job.

[Narrator]: On the edge
of the Grand Canyon,

a massive project is underway
to build a sky bridge

which will float over
the 4000-foot drop.

It's an enormous job and
fraught with difficulty.

Now, having built it
50 feet back from the edge,

they have to work out
how to move the 600-ton bridge

out over the canyon.

With no instruction manual,

they look to the
past for inspiration.

The only thing I've
ever heard it used for

is the Egyptians
and the pyramids.

I have never seen
anything like that.

Typically, you can use
cranes in cantilever.

This is such a heavy structure

that we couldn't have
enough crane work out here

to lift it up
and set it in place.

[Narrator]: The plan is
to lift the 600-ton bridge

with hydraulic jacks up onto
multiple 2-inch rollers.

It's a system very similar to
the way the ancient Egyptians

moved the sone blocks
to build the pyramids.

As the bridge edges
out over the drop,

huge steel plates
placed onto the back

act as a counterweight
to stop it tipping over.

Then, a winch cable
will be attached

to the front of the bridge.

As the cable is tensioned,

the bridge will start to move
towards its final resting place.

Get it wrong, that's
going to be 4000 feet down

at the bottom of Grand Canyon.

It took two full days,
very slowly,

to move the structure
out in place.

We dropped it down
onto these plates.

And over the course
of that night,

we had welders out here

constantly welding
the structure down.

[Narrator]: The
bridge is in place.

But the challenges
are far from over.

The next step is to create a
walkway that's strong enough

to safely handle over
1 million visitors every year,

but clear enough to appear
that when you look down,

you're walking on air.

[Hayley]: But this
isn't ordinary glazing.

This is structural,
laminated glass,

which can be incredibly strong.

To create the strength,

engineers layer the glass with
different polymers and plastics

to make it less like
the windows in your house

and more like bulletproof glass.

[Narrator]: Manufactured by a
specialist company in Germany,

the glass is almost
3 inches thick

and made up of five separate
layers bonded together.

On top, it has one
final sheet of glass

that can be replaced if damaged

and a layer of plastic film
to protect it from scratching.

Altogether it weighs in
at over 80,000 pounds

and takes around three weeks
to be lifted into place.

In September 2006, the
bridge structure is in place.

But there is one last challenge
the engineers have to overcome.

It's called positive feedback.

It happens where a small
disturbance is amplified,

and it can result in disaster.

[Hayley]: Once a
bridge moves a little,

everyone on it moves
in sync to compensate,

and this is like adding
fuel to the fire.

[Narrator]: Pedestrians
unconsciously start moving

in time with the natural
sway of the bridge.

And that amplifies it,
making it worse and worse.

[Hayley]: The Millennium
Bridge in London

had to close 2 days
after it opened.

[Narrator]: Afraid the same
thing could happen here,

the team tests out
their secret weapon...

Kevin.

All right, so my
colleague, Kevin,

is out bouncing on the bridge.

You can see the motions
being picked up here.

So what I'm doing right
now is trying to bounce

at the natural
frequency of the bridge.

So it's kind of hard to tell
when you're bouncing like this,

how it's moving,
but if I stop for a second,

you can really feel
it start to go.

[Narrator]: Inside the
anchored base of the skywalk,

they've fitted a damper system.

Once it's properly calibrated,

this should reduce
any bounce in the bridge.

[Andy]: So the graph is
showing here how much amplitude

we're getting,
acceleration in G's.

So we're hitting about
0.1 G's acceleration,

so a tenth the force of gravity.

[Narrator]: Now they turn
on the mass dampeners

to see how much of
an effect they have

on the bridge's movement.

[Andy]: So this is the
big mass block, all this.

That's 1450 kilograms.

And then in behind here,
you can see on the other side,

is there are viscous dampers.

It's like a shock absorber to
draw the energy of the system.

[Narrator]: Like the shock
absorbers in your car,

these should absorb
the movement in the bridge

created by Kevin jumping.

In fact, they should enable the
bridge to withstand 800 people,

each weighing 200 pounds,

and all jumping up and
down at the same time.

[Andy]: Ultimately, we
don't want them to know

this is even here.

They want to think the bridge
is perfectly stable, smooth.

As long as that happens,
we've done our job.

[music]

[Narrator]: In 2007, with
the build finally complete,

the bridge opens to the public,

sharing the Hualapai tribe's
rich cultural heritage

and an awe-inspiring view.

[Ruby]: The first time
you're a little scared,

but definitely
it's never the same.

Every time you walk on the
skywalk, it's never the same.

I'm a little scared just
cos it's a far way down.

[chatter]

It gives a bit of us as Hualapai

that the tourists
and the visitors

will come and take with them

to feel that they
shared that aha moment.

That's... that's
a real [unintelligible].

[laughing]

[RoseMarie]:
And they really took

that step of faith, of courage,
and they got it here,

and kind of made you feel
that backbone of, you know,

being Hualapai.
It's a proud sense.

[Narrator]: This leg-shaking
engineering marvel

gives tourists
an unbeatable view

over one of the Seven
Natural Wonders of the World,

while also helping the
Hualapai tribe thrive.

This is truly a
bridge like no other.

[music]

Now, if I were
lucky enough to own

a large and priceless
art collection,

my absolute number-one
priority would be to find

the safest possible environment
in which to have it stored

and displayed for
future generations.

You know the kind of place...

A blizzard-prone
Canadian forest,

middle of a major
flood plain which,

when it's not under water,
gets 15 feet of snow.

Now, that's where
I'm building my gallery!

[Narrator]: In 2012,
a wealthy entrepreneur

gives an internationally
renowned firm of architects

a challenge.

He wants to create an
extraordinary building

which will be as beautiful as
the art it's designed to show.

It has to fit perfectly
into the environment,

but be tough enough to survive
whatever's thrown at it.

Which in this case, is
going to be quite a lot,

given that the
area is prone to...

raging blizzards...

severe flooding...

and serious earthquakes.

This building has to endure

one of the most
inhospitable locations

in the whole of North America.

[Narrator]: Defying
the challenges,

the architects and engineers

create an award-winning
building that does exactly that.

This is the Audain Museum
in Whistler.

So how did they built it?

[Narrator]: British Columbia.

Home to the Canadian
Rocky Mountains...

stunning coastlines...

dense rainforests...

and to developer and
philanthropist Michael Audain.

By 2012, Michael has spent
over 60 years building up

an irreplaceable
collection of art,

including one of the largest
of First Nations masks

in the world.

[Michael]: We began
to think, well, what?

What shall we do with it,
with the collection?

Rather selfish just
to keep it to ourselves.

I grew up in a town that
lacked a public art gallery.

It's very important for me

that children have
access to art museums.

It may change their
lives forever.

[Narrator]: Michael
decides that the answer

is to build a very
special gallery

that will be open to the public.

The first challenge
is choosing where.

What he was looking for
was a site with trees.

And for him, it was very
important that the context

of the museum be a forest
like natural British Columbia

[Narrator]: In 2012, the
team finds just the spot...

7000 feet above sea level,

in the middle of a forest
in the town of Whistler.

It was a perfect site,
as far as we're concerned.

[Narrator]: It's a
small site in a clearing

in a pristine piece of forest.

But it's not the
easiest place to build.

Michael's determined
not to fell any trees.

And the clearing isn't
big enough for the museum.

The problems don't end there.

Building on a river
flood plain in Whistler?

Your building better be ready.

[John]: Outside of the
protection of the dyke

that protects
Whistler Village from

the really torrential
floods that are possible

with Fitzsimmons Creek.

And building on this side
of the dyke within the forest

was beautiful, but
we were vulnerable to

very severe flooding.

[Narrator]: Add to that, it
will also have to deal with

an annual snowfall
of more than 15 feet.

And it will need to
be earthquake proof.

But Michael has set
his heart on the site.

So it falls to the
architects and engineers

to create something
that will work here

despite the challenges.

They come up with
an awe-inspiring

two-storey structure

that will rise 65 feet
from the forest floor.

To overcome the problems
of the size of the plot

and create enough space,

it will bend around
the mature trees.

The galleries and walkways
will be lined wall to wall

with thousands of feet
of triple-glazed windows

to make the most of its stunning
location and keep out the cold,

while the rest of the building
will be clad in local wood,

allowing it to merge seamlessly
into the forest setting.

It will be lifted 16 feet
off the ground on six legs

to protect it from
flooding and earthquakes,

while a special pitched roof
will protect the building

and art inside from
the heavy snowfall.

[Ellie]: This is just a
great example of a building

working with nature
rather thn fighting against it.

Here the designers
have adapted the building

so that it works
with the environment

rather than just
bulldozing right through it.

[Narrator]: Michael
isn't immediately convinced.

It was a bit of a shock.

Initially, what they
showed us looked to me like

an upside-down canoe on stilts.

[Narrator]: But after
overcoming his initial surprise,

Michael signs off on the design,

and in 2013,
construction begins.

The first challenge
the engineers face

is to make sure the
building can stand up to

any amount of flooding

The team will have to come up
with something that not only

looks stunning, but can also
withstand the worst excesses

of flooding that can
come with climate change

in the years ahead.

[Narrator]: If the floods of
the past are anything to go by,

this poses a real
and present danger,

because they've swept
through Fitzsimmons Creek,

near where the museum is
being built, countless times.

In 1991, the most
notorious was so powerful,

it destroyed homes
and bridges in its path.

What they come up with
seems remarkably simple,

but it's anything but that.

They're going to raise
the building up on legs.

[John]: The entire
building has been lifted

one floor above the ground,

which would allow the flood
and, more importantly,

the debris that the flood
carries through the site.

[Narrator]: They build
six towering 16-foot legs,

on top of which
the museum will sit,

lifting it above any floodwater.

These "piers" have three
super-strength steel columns

running through them,
making them strong enough

not only to withstand
raging water,

but anything it's
carrying along with it.

[Eric]: We had to design the
structure inside the piers

for the impact of
a car travelling

at 2 metres per second...

Or a log, whichever
was the heavier.

[Narrator]: Although the team
has overcome one problem,

they've made another
potentially worse.

The area sits on
two tectonic plates.

Their collision created
the beautiful mountains

around Whistler, but it also
means the region has a risk

of earthquakes.

Experts predict "the big one"
could strike at any time.

[Eric]: We are in a moderate
to high seismic zone.

So earthquakes definitely
govern the design in this area,

especially for a building that
is perched above the ground,

like this one.

[Narrator]: Usually,
in earthquake regions,

buildings have built-in sections
that buckle to absorb the shock.

But while they will
prevent it from falling down,

a tremor can still damage the
building's structural integrity.

So here, the engineering team
turns to a cutting-edge solution

developed at the
University of Toronto.

[Michael]: You can
imagine a buckled brace

is causing a lot of
damage to the structure,

and it's not really absorbing
energy in an optimum manner.

[Narrator]: Michael's invention,

called a Scorpion
Yielding Connector,

aims to solve both these issues.

[Michael]: When the brace
is activated in tension

and compression
during the earthquake,

then these fingers will yield
and dissipate energy through

permanent bending
in both directions

until the earthquake
motion stops.

[Narrator]: Twelve Scorpion
Yielding Connectors are placed

at each end of the
building's support columns.

[Eric]: It has the ability
to dissipate energy

even in a very severe
and long earthquake,

which was the goal here.

[Narrator]: Mother Nature still
has one more major challenge

for the designers to overcome.

Snow.

While it makes Whistler a
mecca for thrill seekers,

it also has a pretty
big impact on construction.

The snow loads here are about
five times higher than they are

in Vancouver an hour
and a half away.

It basically amounts
to the equivalent of

3 metres of fairly dense snow.

[Narrator]: The weight of that
much snow on a roof of this size

is phenomenal.

The traditional method
of dealing with it

is to build a very
strong roof structure.

But because the
building is on legs,

the engineers want it to
be as light as possible,

while the architects
don't want to spoil

the look of the interior.

[Eric]: We were
pretty keen to shed

as much of the snow
and as we could

[Narrator]: Their first
solution is to build the roof

at 50 degrees, a much
steeper pitch than normal.

And they clad it
in painted metal

to reduce friction and
help the snow slide off.

We went from having to design
for about 3 metres of snow

to designing for about a
metre and a half of snow.

So that made a
significant difference.

[music]

[Narrator]: After three
years of construction,

the $50 million building
is just about ready.

All it needs is the art,

including one of
Xwalacktun's pieces.

[Xwalacktun]: It's
the architecture.

It's the beauty.

I never saw anything
like this before.

It all looks just great.

[Narrator]: A stunning
piece of Xwalacktun's work

marks the entrance

and tells an ancient tale
of floodwaters descending

from the nearby mountain.

[Xwalacktun]: We are
on Salish territory

and the building stands
on a floodplain.

So why not tell a Coast Salish
story of a great flood?

[Narrator]: One that this
museum would sit above,

quietly protecting the stunning
British Columbian artwork

now housed inside.

I think this place is
not about being loud.

I think it's about paying
attention to the mountains.

That to me was like, wow,

that is so well thought out,
and clever, and insightful.

[Narrator]: In 2016, the
museum is about to open.

Michael Audain reflects
on achieving his dream

that everyone,
especially young people,

can enjoy his
extraordinary collection.

[Michael]: I hope that their
exposure to the building,

together with the art,

will give them an experience
that they will remember.

[Narrator]: The Audain
Museum has won numerous

architectural awards in
Canada and across the globe.

It's an inspirational building,

honouring the region's past

and inspiring artists
of the future.

Next, a gravity-defying library.

To Austria now, where
one designer has used

a clever engineering trick
to give the impression

whole sections of this
spectacular building

are able to defy gravity
and float above the sidewalk.

It's called the
cantilever principle,

which maybe I could
explain for you,

but I think I'm gonna let the
experts do the heavy lifting.

[Mozart's Eine Kleine
Nachtmusik plays]

[Narrator]: The city
of Vienna in Austria

is famous the world over for
its extravagantly ornamental

Baroque architecture dating
back to the 17th century.

But in 2008, a university
there needed a new home

and decided it was time
to shake things up a bit.

If you have a reputation
for being a little old school,

putting up a jaw-dropping
building is a surefire way

to get noticed.

[Narrator]: To shape
the city's future,

they turned to a
legendary architect

with a reputation for
designing the impossible

[Hayley]: The
designers at Zaha Hadid

never do anything by halves.

But this building is on
a completely different level.

[Narrator]: Zaha
didn't disappoint,

dreaming up an
incredible building

to sit at the heart
of the new campus.

[Ellie]: It's just
completely bonkers.

It looks like it's gonna
fall down at any moment.

[Narrator]: A
construction so radical,

some of the build team
couldn't handle being on site.

[speaking German]

[Narrator]: Six storeys tall,

inside and out it leans over
at a crazy 35-degree angle,

while its piece de resistance
is an enormous reading room

that floats 85 feet
above the sidewalk below.

This radical design
is Vienna University's

Library and Learning Centre.

So how did they build it?

In 2007, Vienna University
of Business and Economics

wants to up its game and make
itself irresistible to students.

A site is chosen for
a huge new 25-acre campus

that will be home
to 20,000 students.

At its heart will be
a flagship building.

Something to stop
people in their tracks.

From the very beginning,
we really want to show

that the most important
we have at the university

are our students.

It was a very conscious
decision to put

the Library and Learning Centre
in the middle of the campus.

[Narrator]: Seeking an
eye-catching design,

the university chooses a
truly extraordinary architect,

her vision always pushing at
the boundaries of engineering.

Zaha Hadid

Amongst her recent successes

are the Guangzhou
Opera House in China

and the jaw-dropping Antwerp
Port Authority extension.

What she imagines for Vienna

can only be described as the
world's first extreme library.

One of seven new
buildings on the campus,

the library will be
the main showpiece...

Visually arresting,
engineeringly heart-stopping.

To stop the building
falling over,

the team plans to pour
enormous foundations

using almost 100,000 cubic
feet of reinforced concrete.

Then, they'll start work on
the vertigo-inducing building

with its 35-degree walls

by creating a hugely
strong system of pillars.

Next, nine prefabricated
steel sections

will be craned into place

to form the external
walls of the reading room

with its gravity-defying
80-foot overhang.

Finally, it will be clad
in two contrasting colours,

defining the different blocks.

Unique and futuristic,

it will be like nothing
the city has ever seen before.

We were very much impressed.

[Narrator]: In 2010,
the engineers get to work

building the foundations.

It's an important
stage in any project.

But here, it's
absolutely crucial...

because not only do they have
to resist the entire weight

of the building pushing down,

but also, the forces
created by the sloping walls

trying to tear the
foundations out of the ground.

[Corina]: In a normal building,
weight is distributed evenly

across the foundations.

But this building is
like an unbalanced seesaw,

pushing down on one side
and pulling up on the other.

These opposing forces are
going to put the foundations

under a serious
amount of strain.

[Narrator]: To stop the
building from tipping over,

the engineers devise
a clever anchoring system

with a series of concrete
piles set into the ground

that act like
the roots of a tree.

[Narrator]: The rear of
the foundations now act

like a counterweight, stopping
the building toppling forward.

For even more stability

and to deal the downward forces
of the rest of the building,

the engineers pour a rock-solid
12-foot-deep cement slab on top.

Now that the building
is going nowhere,

the teams start to construct the
steeply angled 35-degree walls.

The whole building is
actually tilting forward.

The direction of tilt gives you

direction of the
main entrance and plaza.

So, you know, always inside,

even if you've
turned some corners,

it is a kind of like a compass.

It gives a directionality
to all spaces.

[Narrator]: They may be
dramatic and even inspired,

but creating these slopes
isn't without its challenges.

The walls in traditional
buildings are vertical

for a reason...

They help them stand up.

Without that, the
engineers need to make sure

that this building
won't simply collapse.

[Nehemaih]: With a building like
this, weight is a huge issue.

You need to make sure
that every single piece

counterbalances itself
out weight-wise.

Every part has to be measured
to absolute precision

to ensure that
a weak link in the structure

does not risk making the
building collapse in on itself.

[Narrator]: Next,
can they pull it off?

[Narrator]: In Vienna, Austria,
work is underway to build

a challenging new
university building.

Using incredibly strong
base plates made of steel,

42 pillars, each 18 inches
thick and up to 120 feet long,

are bolted securely
to the concrete slab.

These will support
the 35-degree walls.

[Patrik]: Because these are
quite intricate geometries,

you have to fit and end up in
the right junctions and points...

Particular if you
want to build fast,

where you build
things simultaneously.

And the things are coming in,

if they don't fit,
then you have a problem.

[Narrator]: The problems
for the construction team

don't stop there.

The architects designed
walls to lean in

at seemingly impossible angles,

and almost all are crucial to
the strength of the building...

All of which proves too
much for some of the team.

[Narrator]: With
surgical precision,

the main building
is taking shape.

But if the team found
constructing

the 35-degree walls tough,

there's worse still to come.

In the spring of 2012,

they turn their attention
to the two-storey section

that will sit on top,

with an 80-foot chunk hanging
out over the sidewalk below.

It's made possible by using
an amazing piece of engineering

called a cantilever.

Cantilevers are an incredible
way of opening up spaces

and creating really
interesting builds.

[Narrator]: A cantilever is a
gravity-defying engineering tool

that at it its core
is very simple.

It's an overhang, only
supported on one side.

But instead of tipping over,

that force is transferred
through the building

and into the foundations.

This can be done in
many different ways.

But in Vienna, it starts
with 200-foot-long girders

locked on to a series
of leaning pillars.

[Narrator]: To make the
structure even more rigid,

colossal prefabricated
steel frames are craned in

to create the side walls.

When assembled and complete,
each wall weighs 300 tons.

[Narrator]: It takes days,
but the steel sections

weighing up to 50 tons
are bolted into place.

The next challenge is
to turn the cast concrete

and steel frames into
the dramatic, distinctive boxes

the Zaha Hadid team imagines.

[Patrik]: The dark grey cladded
elements are library elements.

And then the central
student facilities,

they're expressed in light grey.

So they're tied together
with some kind of ribbon move.

They're kind of
interlocking systems...

Not fully separate,
but always traceable.

[Narrator]: The team
turns to a cladding system

made from a very
special sort of material

called glass fibre
reinforced concrete

Glass fibre concrete panels have
become another useful weapon

in the construction armoury.

You can use these lightweight
panels to clad any building

with any colour
you desire for your build.

[Patrick]: This
technique is used a lot,

and you can do
very fine details.

We can also control
the colour quite well.

[Narrator]: The system
of adding dyes to the mix

during fabrication of the panels

means that you can choose
exactly the colour you want.

And because each panel
is made to measure,

they're very quick
to put into place.

Not only are they easy
to install, robust

and weather resistant,

but you don't need to
paint them every few years.

[Narrator]: It takes three
years to complete the build.

And in 2013, the
university's astonishing new

Library and Learning Centre

turns on its lights
and opens its doors.

Revealed is a
futuristic, dynamic space

in which to teach,
study or simply gaze.

The first moment in the
morning when you enter it,

you have, wow.

[Edeltraud]: It's breath-taking.

It's a nice combination of
aesthetic and engineering.

[Narrator]: Today
those 35-degree walls

that once petrified
construction crews

are a magnet for students
from around the globe.

[Jose]: That was one of
the most important things

that made me came here.

Like, wow, I will
study in that building.

It's fun. It's something
completely different.

[Narrator]: Up in the reading
room, rock-solid engineering

keeps that serious cantilever
holding everything up

over the campus...

broadening horizons
for those inside.

I think for the brain, it's
good that you have this view.

I'm very inspired by
this building, yeah.

[Narrator]: The Vienna Learning
Library is an architectural

and engineering wonder

that not only gives students
a breath-taking place to study,

but also gives them the courage
to question what's possible.

It's a monument
to what hard work

and ingenuity can achieve.