- 5 weeks ago
A 9,000 ton timber roof is built without stopping flights at Portland International Airport. A museum is buried to keep it cool in Dubai's desert heat. And San Francisco's most hated building gets built against the odds.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00How do you build a massive airport expansion with a nine-acre roof without disrupting a single flight?
00:08We had to keep the existing airport open and operational.
00:11Some people have said it's like doing open-heart surgery while you're running a marathon.
00:16How do you create a breathtaking building in the middle of the desert that provides its own water and power?
00:24It was a real opportunity to show that you can do something totally sustainable.
00:27And if you can do it there, you can do it anywhere.
00:31And an iconic tower that defines the city skyline but is hated when built.
00:37The controversy was so vitriolous that he said, that's it, I'll never do anything in San Francisco again.
00:44Welcome to a world where anything is possible.
00:49The space where innovation and creativity collide.
00:54This isn't just impressive, it's revolution.
00:57Where the only limit is human imagination.
01:02This wasn't just ambitious, it was audacious.
01:06No one had ever attempted anything like it.
01:11Unpacking the miracles and mysteries of construction.
01:16Sometimes buildings can change the world.
01:20And this is one of them.
01:21To ask, how did they build that?
01:32Whoever said the journey is more important than the destination could have been talking about this next beauty.
01:36A game-changing airport terminal so sustainable, stylish and inviting, it's worth missing your flight just so you can enjoy it for an extra three or four hours.
01:45I'm not kidding.
01:46Because no matter what type of ticket you have, Portland International is first class all the way.
01:51From Singapore's Changi to Abu Dhabi's dazzling Zaid International, there's no better way for a city to welcome visitors than with an incredible airport.
02:07But if you were touching down in Portland, Oregon, in 2017, that wasn't the greeting you got.
02:17The original airport was built in 1956 and it was actually nine different buildings that have been kind of stitched together over the decades.
02:26The small and outdated terminal was best known for its geometric pattern carpet, which became popular on social media.
02:36But with passenger numbers expected to double to 35 million by 2045, Portland International needs to wow them with more than just carpeting.
02:48We needed more room for passenger ticketing, baggage systems, security checkpoints.
02:53So the airport put out a call for architects to design a stunning expansion program.
03:00Local firm ZGF are determined to be chosen.
03:05This was hugely important to us and we just put everything in it to ensure that we could win.
03:14After some serious brainstorming, they're ready to pitch their idea.
03:19They came to us with this concept of a walk in the forest.
03:22And being this natural resource state, it really resonated with us to have our airport literally be what we're about.
03:29We want to create a building that's built upon the materials that are from our region.
03:35In this case, it was wood.
03:37It's the twinkle of the light and it hits the moisture in the leaves.
03:40It's the smell of the wood.
03:42It was a chance to redefine what is the front door to our city.
03:46The new Portland Airport terminal will create one million square feet of dramatic space.
03:59A new terminal that will welcome the millions of travelers passing through it each year.
04:04But first, they'll have to find a way to support the new building on the soft, sandy soil underneath.
04:15Then, they'll need to create a terminal that's double the size while the airport is still in operation.
04:21And it needs to be super eco-efficient so that they can have its energy consumption.
04:31Finally, to bring it all together, they will have to create the world's biggest timber roof.
04:37Installing all 9,000 tons of it without disrupting a single one of the 400 flights a day.
04:43Oh, and it also has to stand up to some of the most powerful earthquakes in America.
04:54This is a very ambitious project because we had to keep the existing airport open and operational 24-7 while we're building right on top of it.
05:04Some people have said it's like doing open-heart surgery while you're running a marathon.
05:09Work begins in March 2020.
05:12Finally, installing the new utilities needed for the expanded airport means excavating 35 feet below ground.
05:22And nothing about the site is going to make it easy.
05:26The challenge is we're right next to a river.
05:29We have silty sand.
05:30And the problem with construction in that soil is that when you make deep excavations,
05:36you've got to get men and equipment down to place the new materials.
05:40But sandy soil will collapse, and that's a safety hazard.
05:46When you're building something big, you typically start by digging down and supporting the sides as you go.
05:51But here, the soil is sandy and loose like quicksand.
05:56The minute you dig into it, it wants to cave right back in.
06:00So getting support into place fast enough becomes a real nightmare.
06:05So the team turns to an ingenious solution.
06:09It was a process called soil freezing, where we can get a structural wall that is a solid sheet of ice,
06:17and then we can dig out within the center of it.
06:20It works by inserting tubes into the ground around the perimeter of your construction site.
06:29And then you pump in a liquid that freezes, and over time will freeze the soil.
06:36What it does is it basically creates a block wall around the perimeter.
06:41With the dangerous, soft ground conquered, work begins dismantling parts of the old airport in April 2021.
06:51The new terminal will be a huge, uncluttered, open space, if they can work out how to build it.
06:58The existing terminal had over 600 columns supporting the roof.
07:01The new design has only 34 columns for a footprint that's over 50% bigger.
07:06The minimal number of columns means the roof beams will span distances over 80 feet.
07:14The heavier the sections each column needs to support, the more force it needs to transfer into the ground.
07:23The old columns just won't be up to the job.
07:27To cope with all this extra strain, the engineers design a special Y-shaped column.
07:32The Y-shape is quite efficient for supporting the load because it keeps the load as it comes down the legs of the Y-shape.
07:40And to stop them splaying apart, we have a tension rod between the tops of the Ys.
07:47Made in a factory 10 miles away, the 55-foot columns are shipped to the site.
07:53In over 17 working days, each is carefully lifted into place.
07:58With the 34 columns all installed, the team turned its attention to their next challenge.
08:16Creating the enormous nine-acre roof that will sit on top.
08:20We wanted to make sure that this building has the smallest carbon footprint in terms of material.
08:28And that is the use of wood.
08:32In many ways, wood was the perfect choice.
08:35Oregon is almost half covered by forest.
08:38So you have all this timber readily available right at your fingertips.
08:42All of the timber came from Oregon and southwest Washington, within 300 miles of the airport.
08:51They really wanted to work with sustainable northwest, tribal communities, local timber industries,
08:58and capture the essence of the Pacific Northwest.
09:02But there's a problem.
09:07Standard timber isn't available in being strong enough to support the roof.
09:12The only way to create these spans with timber is to create what we call glue laminated beams or glue lamps.
09:23Rather than being solid timber, it is made up of a series of small laminations.
09:27And they are glued together and built up to create the larger sections of the beams.
09:33By using individual laminations, we can really key in the strength of the beam using different grades of laminations
09:39for where we need the strongest portions of the beam.
09:43It requires 3.7 million feet of wood.
09:47Once completed, it will be the biggest mass timber project of its kind in the world.
09:52It is a massive coordination effort to get this much timber processed through the mills,
09:58processed through the glue laminators, onto the project site.
10:03To speed things up, they assemble huge sections of the roof in an area at the end of the runways.
10:11The prefabrication was incredibly complicated.
10:14At times, it required over 1,000 workers working on their various trades.
10:17In August 2022, they are ready to install the first prefabricated section.
10:24Many the size of an American football field and weighing 700 tons have to be moved half a mile across the airport.
10:34They were lifted on several of these movers at one time.
10:38These massive wooden sections had to be installed during a tiny four-hour window in the middle of the night when there were no flights.
10:47Everything had to be precise.
10:49There was no room for mistakes.
10:53Once each module reaches the terminal, getting it in place is an even tougher job.
10:59There was a lot of stress and tension about, can you do this?
11:04The fear is the tower could lean over and fall.
11:08In Oregon, the team behind Portland International Airport is moving 18 huge wooden panels into position to cover the enormous roof.
11:21It takes a long time because it's very careful, very dangerous work.
11:27Those movers were not in perfect sync.
11:29They could have unseated or put stresses on the roof as they moved and pulled the roof apart.
11:37It takes six nights to carefully slide the first module into position.
11:43When the first piece was finally put into place, it was a huge relief.
11:46With 17 more pieces to fit, there's no opportunity to relax.
11:52You see that roof come together and this vision that we'd had on a piece of paper was becoming reality.
12:01It takes another three months of high anxiety night shifts.
12:05But finally, the last piece of the nine-acre roof is put into place.
12:09It was just a phenomenal thing to see that happen.
12:18The next threat to the project comes from deep below ground.
12:23They're building an earthquake country.
12:26You can't skip seismic precautions here.
12:30This is one of the few places that can see this size of an earthquake.
12:34A megathrust earthquake with a magnitude of over seven could be catastrophic.
12:39So the team has to design a way for the nine-acre roof to withstand it.
12:46The Y columns support double steel girders.
12:49The steel girders sit on top of what we typically call base isolation bearing.
12:55What that allowed the roof to do is essentially float on top of the Y columns in a seismic event.
13:01We calculated up to two feet of movement where the roof would move independently of the Y columns.
13:06With the beautiful roof protected from earthquakes, in November 2023, they can start to wrap up the new terminal in 928 glass panels.
13:18But there's still a major hurdle to overcome, making climate control in the huge new space as sustainable as possible.
13:25The primary energy use was heating, and it was about half of the total energy usage of the entire airport.
13:35The team hopes the solution is under their feet.
13:39The airport sits above a huge aquifer.
13:42Water runs down through the sandstone at a constant 63 degrees Fahrenheit, regardless of the weather above ground.
13:48We've drilled a series of wells upwards of 500 feet deep to reach the aquifers down below.
13:58We draw the water out, then we pump the water into the mechanical systems for heating and cooling.
14:06It's a system that basically saves energy.
14:09For the finishing touch, the team crane in 72 trees to join the 5,000 plants.
14:17They'll help mediate the terminal's climate and create the architect's vision of a walk in the forest.
14:24In August 2024, the revolutionized Portland Airport proudly opens its doors to the public, giving the city an incredible gateway to greet new arrivals, as well as a glimpse of its iconic 1980s carpet.
14:44Watching people come in the front door and kind of look up and really have this amazing response to this building was pretty special.
14:59This place means a lot to me, and this is beautiful.
15:04The wood, I mean, it's so Oregonian, you know?
15:08Born from Oregon's forest, the roof is a majestic swooping sight, made possible by the clever columns, and complemented by a forest of plants and trees.
15:21It's a source of immense local pride.
15:26I know that our ancestors and everybody else that came before us are smiling down on us in a very proud and honorable way.
15:33As an immigrant, the Portland International Airport was the first doorway into my new country.
15:40And to have the opportunity to redefine what it could be, it shows you great hope in what America represents.
15:52This was a project of a lifetime for me and a lot of us, and we'll always remember this as probably the greatest project that we've ever been part of.
16:03If you saw a museum in the middle of the desert, you might think it was a mirage, unless you were in the middle of Dubai.
16:22In which case, that museum is a very real, state-of-the-art, 100% energy-efficient public space called Terra, which also produces its own water deep beneath the desert.
16:34Three floors deep, to be exact.
16:37The city of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates boast some extraordinary architecture, including the world's tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa.
16:47It also has to deal with one of the world's most extreme environments, with temperatures reaching over 125 degrees Fahrenheit.
16:56And climate change is making that worse.
17:00When the city's water has to be desalinated and you're dealing with these sorts of temperatures, the challenge is being able to live sustainably.
17:08But in 2013, it gets the chance to prove that the city can do just that.
17:14The city of Dubai won the bid to host the world exhibition here in our city.
17:19It's the first ever held in the Middle East, and they promised the world something groundbreaking, an expo dedicated entirely to sustainability.
17:29With the world watching, hosting the expo will not only be a great honor, but a very big challenge.
17:35There have been 34 world exhibitions since the first in 1851, and they are a chance to showcase what the host nation is capable of.
17:46But it means creating something extraordinary as a centerpiece.
17:52The first world expo showcased Crystal Palace in London, boasting 293,000 panes of glass, the greatest area ever seen.
18:02In 1889, Paris built the Eiffel Tower.
18:06At 1,000 feet, it was the tallest building in the world.
18:12Almost 125 years later, it's Dubai's turn to amaze the world and open minds.
18:19We wanted to talk about themes that matter to humanity.
18:23And one of those most critical themes were actually sustainability.
18:26The expo team calls for ideas, for the show's centerpieces.
18:32So the brief was simple, but not an easy one.
18:38We wanted to create the space that remained as a center that continues to educate, inspire action around environmental issues.
18:48Architects Grimshaw, the firm behind Britain's remarkable eco-attraction, the Eden Project, rise to the occasion.
18:55It was a real opportunity to show that you can do something that's totally net zero, totally sustainable.
19:01And if you can do it there, you can do it anywhere.
19:05I remember sitting in the room where Grimshaw were presenting their initial sketches.
19:11It just looked like a tree, it was a building, and this notion of the structure being inspired by nature
19:16was precisely one of the key foundations of what it is that we wanted to create.
19:21Called Terra, it will be an extraordinary and beautiful building.
19:29Inspired by nature, it will be net zero, where any greenhouse gases released are offset by those removed,
19:37a beacon to sustainability.
19:40Despite the sun and the 122-degree heat, they will look to the natural world for ways to keep it cool.
19:46A large canopy will harness the weather to cool the air underneath,
19:52which at 400 feet wide will need to be super strong without using materials that create a huge carbon footprint.
20:01Somehow, it will need to power itself, cool itself, and make its own water.
20:08It's massively ambitious, but it also wins the competition.
20:13For everyone involved, the pressure to deliver is huge, because the whole world is watching.
20:24In September 2017, work begins on the site.
20:30The single biggest challenge on this project was making it net zero.
20:36And they had to look at every single aspect of the build to work out how to pull it off.
20:41In Dubai's desert heat, the team behind Terra is looking for a way to cool the 240,000-square-foot building
20:52without relying on air conditioning.
20:57What you do, first of all, is think about how design and ingenuity can solve the problems before technology.
21:04The solution is remarkably simple.
21:08We realized from the beginning we could actually sink half the building below ground,
21:12and that immediately keeps the building naturally cool.
21:15The team digs 45 feet under the desert.
21:19Sand is a poor conductor of heat.
21:21Think of sticking your toes in at the beach.
21:24The sand is scorching the walk-on, and it's cold underneath.
21:27So, you can use that to cool anything you put underneath.
21:33The remaining part of the building, we effectively took the landscape over the top of it.
21:38So, it's all underneath a very heavily insulated garden.
21:42The team has to excavate three stories down.
21:46Finally, they're ready to start the build.
21:49The question is, with what?
21:51Concrete is an enormous contributor of the world's CO2 emission.
21:57It's said that if the cement industry were a country,
22:00it would be the world's third or fourth largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
22:07Not ideal if you're trying to create an eco-friendly building.
22:11At the moment, it's impossible to build a building without using some concrete,
22:14especially at any scale.
22:15We had to use concrete to the main foundations and slabs.
22:18The challenge is, how can they build something strong enough
22:22using as little concrete as possible?
22:26Their solution is ingenious.
22:29But we used a new technique called bubble deck.
22:32By putting spherical balls throughout the structure,
22:36it actually uses 30% less concrete and makes the whole structure lighter as well,
22:40but yet with the same strength.
22:43Not only that, these hollow balls added to the concrete
22:47are made of recycled plastic.
22:50In October 2018, with the structure well underway,
22:55the team turns its attention to the canopy that's going to cover it.
22:59We were really inspired by the gaff tree,
23:01which are these solo trees that you find in the desert on their own,
23:05and they provide shade for everyone in a very harsh environment.
23:08The plan is to build a huge gaff tree-like canopy,
23:13400 feet wide and 115 feet above the ground, to sit on top.
23:18It was a challenge straight from the start,
23:20because it's not perfectly symmetrical.
23:22There's a slight imbalance one way,
23:24and things can buckle.
23:27With winds of up to around 80 miles per hour,
23:30the gaff tree canopy will need to be pretty strong.
23:33What they come up with sounds simple, but it's incredibly clever.
23:39It's like the spokes on your umbrella.
23:43Each one is individually engineered to cope with the forces that are placed upon it.
23:49So we have 36 ribs, as we call them,
23:55and they are up to about 85 meters long
23:58if you unfold them from their curved shape.
24:01They craned the sections of the canopy into place,
24:04attaching the ribs one by one.
24:08I'll never forget that moment, you know,
24:10watching the first one go in, the second one go in very slowly,
24:13and once they got into a flow, it went a little bit faster and faster.
24:16But until they're all in place, it has no integrity,
24:21so we had to prop them as they go up.
24:24Because you've got that radial arrangement,
24:27we were able to add a series of concentric tension rings,
24:31which tied all of those together,
24:34and meant that as they try to fall,
24:37it creates a tension which balances them against one another,
24:40so it's hugely efficient.
24:42In February 2019, all 36 are in place.
24:50And then, of course, it was that beautiful moment
24:52when it was time to de-prop the canopy and remove the support.
24:57Now, they have to hope what goes up won't come crashing down.
25:02It's a moment where you hold your breath.
25:04It stands up to the test.
25:11So that was a sigh of relief when it was all there
25:14and stayed where we wanted it to be.
25:18With the main structure complete,
25:19they face their next challenge, green power.
25:23The challenge can often also be the solution to change,
25:28and so one thing we do have is an abundance of sunshine,
25:32albeit very hot.
25:34Before, the team looked to the ground for sustainable solutions.
25:38Now, they look to the sky.
25:41Over the top of it, the roof canopy has over 6,000 square meters
25:46of very highly efficient monocrystalline photovoltaics.
25:51To you and me, that's solar panels.
25:54Over the next few months,
25:56the 86,000 square feet of roof canopy
25:59slowly transforms into a sea of energy-producing panels.
26:04But we realized that wasn't enough
26:06to meet all of the power demands,
26:08and particularly the cooling in the summer.
26:10Although it'll provide 4 gigawatt hours per year,
26:14in the words of Captain Kirk,
26:15Scotty, we need more power.
26:17So we thought, well,
26:18if we create a series of shading structures,
26:20it can both shade everyone down below,
26:23but it can also harvest more energy.
26:26Again, the team looks to nature for the design.
26:30We were inspired by these dragon blood trees,
26:33and they have these beautiful waxy leaves
26:35and canopy that shades down below.
26:39The plan is to create 18 of them,
26:41and each will harvest the sun.
26:43Those, of course, also covered
26:45with an additional 4,000 square meters of solar panels,
26:48so an additional engineered solution.
26:50The genius doesn't stop there.
26:53Rather like a sunflower,
26:54they can track the sun.
26:55So they start in the morning facing east,
26:57and at the end of the day, face west.
27:00In August 2019,
27:02they start constructing the energy trees.
27:05They have to keep them very light and nimble.
27:07So we actually made them all out of carbon fiber,
27:10because it's extremely lightweight but incredibly strong.
27:14Mounted on motors,
27:15each will be capable of moving to follow the sun.
27:19The rotating nature of the E-trees,
27:22that can increase the production of the energy trees
27:25by up to 25%.
27:26The panels are bifacial,
27:28which means they're collecting sun directly from the sky
27:31and also the reflected sun off of our light-colored pavement.
27:36That gives us all the energy
27:38that Terra needs throughout the year.
27:41The team turns its attention to the next challenge.
27:44Water.
27:45Terra will need almost 2 million gallons a year,
27:49and that's a problem.
27:51Because water is so precious in this part of the world,
27:55the water that we get from our tap
27:57is actually desalinated water from the ocean.
28:01Salt is removed by pumping the brackish water
28:04through very fine filters.
28:06But to do this at scale is super energy-intensive.
28:15In Dubai, the team are building Terra,
28:18the centerpiece for the 2020 Expo.
28:21In the middle of the desert,
28:23it will somehow have to provide its own water.
28:26They plan to do it with morning dew.
28:30It's seriously clever stuff.
28:32They first make a concrete tapered column
28:36over 30 feet high,
28:37and at the top,
28:39they put a massive metal funnel
28:41with sides sloping down at a 30-degree angle.
28:45The membrane collects water,
28:48but it doesn't allow it to sink in.
28:49It forms little beads.
28:50So it's exactly the same way
28:51as an amphibian fog beetle works,
28:54and it has the same thing on its shell.
28:55So in the beetle's case,
28:56it then collects it on its head and drinks it.
28:59We basically collect all of that
29:00and, of course, bring it back
29:01and bring it into the system.
29:03As well as providing its own water,
29:06it also reuses it, too.
29:10This time, nature is more than just the inspiration.
29:16This is greenery that's doing a job.
29:18It's not just there to look nice.
29:20Across the site,
29:21the team plants over 100 different species,
29:24including some astonishing grass reeds.
29:28So those reeds are actually taking
29:31the dirty water from the building
29:33and they're cleaning it.
29:35The captured water is chamelled
29:37over the bed of roots.
29:39It's not actually the plants
29:40that do the filtering.
29:42It's the microbes and the bacteria
29:43that live on the roots of those plants.
29:46With all these measures combined,
29:48the team reaches its net-zero target.
29:52The water demand for the project
29:53was reduced from around 80 cubic meters a day
29:57down to about 20 cubic meters a day.
30:03On October 1st, Expo Dubai 2020
30:06officially opens to the public.
30:11That building symbolizes anything.
30:13It's the idea of capturing beauty
30:14with ingenuity of thinking.
30:17What we wanted to complement the architectural beauty
30:22was with the impact that it had on people.
30:26Including the hundreds of thousands
30:29of visitors every year.
30:30And now,
30:31it's become a permanent inspiration
30:33for energy conservation around the world.
30:36The most exciting point
30:37was seeing lots of people going through it
30:39and enjoying interacting with each other.
30:41It's leaving a lasting legacy
30:45on the team that built it, too.
30:47You felt you were really at the center
30:49of something special
30:50that was not just for this building,
30:52but was for the region.
30:54The site has won countless awards
30:56for groundbreaking solutions
30:57to sustainability.
30:59From using eco-materials
31:01to copying nature.
31:02But there's one recognition
31:05that's right on the money.
31:07I think a moment of pride for everyone
31:09is when the government decided
31:11to have this icon of sustainability
31:14on our 500 derham note.
31:18And that was a moment
31:19that really solidified
31:21the iconic place of this structure.
31:24Not every architectural icon
31:37is a hit right off the bat.
31:39When this next tower was built
31:40in the 1970s,
31:41it was one of the most hated buildings
31:43in America.
31:44But having been designed
31:45for earthquake-prone San Francisco,
31:48it could easily survive
31:49a bit of name-calling.
31:50And 50 years later,
31:51this California icon
31:52is finally getting the love
31:54it deserved.
31:58It's 1969.
32:00In San Francisco,
32:01it's hippie town.
32:04Two years after the summer of love,
32:07San Franciscans are determined
32:08to avoid being taken over
32:09by soaring towers like New York.
32:14Plans to build a skyscraper
32:15for the Transamerica Insurance Company
32:17brings them out to protest
32:19in the streets.
32:21When the building originally was presented,
32:23it was quite controversial.
32:25It was such ahead of its time
32:27that people just couldn't imagine
32:29a building that's being built.
32:32The building is the brainchild
32:34of former Hollywood art
32:35and special effects director
32:37William Pereira.
32:38My father moved to Los Angeles
32:41and he won an Oscar there
32:43but decided he did not like the people
32:45in the movie industry
32:47so went back to what he had actually studied,
32:49which was architecture.
32:51Pereira went on to design
32:53the Geisel Library at UC San Diego
32:55and the theme building
32:57at Los Angeles International Airport.
32:59He was really innovative
33:01in the sense that he was not scared
33:05to take risks.
33:07In 1969, he takes what's probably
33:10the biggest risk of his career.
33:12When the CEO of Transamerica
33:14went to Pereira's office,
33:16Pereira showed him a bunch of things
33:18and then he saw there
33:19the model for this building
33:22and he said,
33:23that is what I want.
33:24He really believed in it.
33:26The Transamerica Corporation
33:28always also was in love with it,
33:30was in love about, you know,
33:32this becoming really a symbol
33:33of innovation.
33:35Unfortunately,
33:36it was the last thing
33:37its neighbors wanted.
33:39Why is that a pyramid?
33:41The shape was what really
33:42drove people out to the streets
33:45with silence.
33:45There were strong emotions against it.
33:49At 1,000 feet,
33:52it's set to be
33:52San Francisco's tallest building
33:54and second tallest in the world.
33:58Although the mayor believes
34:00a modern high-rise city
34:01will entice business and money,
34:04the city council
34:04appeases the protesters.
34:08They had to shrink the tower
34:10from 1,000 feet
34:12down to 853 feet.
34:16And trust me,
34:17nobody was thrilled about it.
34:20I just know that he was,
34:21I think, angry about it
34:22because he had a vision,
34:24he had his building,
34:26and you want to mess with it.
34:27But it was just enough
34:29to get the project approved.
34:32Ready or not,
34:34the city of San Francisco
34:35is going to get
34:36its futuristic new icon.
34:39But it's going to take
34:40some serious engineering.
34:42first,
34:42they will need to create
34:47a stable base
34:47for the four-sided pyramid,
34:49capable of holding it steady
34:51against the serious earthquake,
34:52while also honoring
34:54the elegant and futuristic vision
34:56of Pereira's design.
34:58Then,
34:59they will have to create
35:00the rest of the huge,
35:02sloping,
35:02sided structure
35:03rising over 850 feet
35:05into the sky.
35:06I don't know
35:10of any other building
35:11that is that tall
35:13that employs
35:14such an aggressive
35:15pyramid shape.
35:18The team breaks ground
35:19in December 1969.
35:23Their first challenge
35:25is to make sure
35:26the city's tallest tower
35:27is capable of surviving
35:28a potentially devastating earthquake.
35:31What really worked
35:34in its favor
35:34was the pyramid shape.
35:37Think about it.
35:38It's like standing
35:39with your feet wide apart
35:41versus standing narrow.
35:44Someone pushes you,
35:45you are way more stable
35:47with a wider stance.
35:49It's also going to need
35:51a solid foundation,
35:52which is far
35:53from straightforward.
35:55The building is located
35:57in an area that
35:59in the 1700s,
36:01was actually the shoreline
36:02of San Francisco.
36:03So the upper 20 feet
36:05of soil is actually
36:06pretty poor.
36:07It's bay mud.
36:09But by excavating
36:10through the bay mud layers,
36:12you're into really
36:13competent, stiff soil.
36:16The team excavates
36:1752 feet down
36:18before they reach
36:19solid ground.
36:21On that,
36:22they pour a 9-foot-thick
36:24concrete mat.
36:26Now,
36:26they have to make sure
36:27the building itself
36:28will be tough enough.
36:30They look to
36:30one of the city's
36:31worst disasters
36:32for a solution.
36:34In 1906,
36:35San Francisco
36:36had its worst quake ever.
36:39It leveled
36:4130,000 buildings
36:42and killed
36:443,000 people.
36:47All the buildings
36:48that survived
36:49the 1906
36:50San Francisco earthquake
36:51and were still standing
36:52were riveted
36:54steel frame buildings.
36:55Perera uses the quake-resisting
36:58steel frames
36:59as the basis
37:00for his tower.
37:02But the height
37:03of his building
37:04creates twisting forces,
37:06which means the frame
37:08won't be enough
37:09on its own.
37:11Imagine a simple
37:13square frame.
37:15Each beam
37:16connects to the column
37:17at a perfect
37:1890-degree angle.
37:20But if you apply
37:21force here
37:23at the side,
37:24those right angles
37:25begin to shift
37:26and the beams
37:28then twist
37:29and rotate
37:30at the joints.
37:32Engineers call this
37:33twisting action
37:34a moment
37:35and it can tear
37:37a structure apart.
37:39But thankfully,
37:40there's a solution.
37:41Reinforce
37:42those connections.
37:43At the base,
37:47Perera comes up
37:47with a solution
37:48that's both functional
37:49and stunning.
37:52On the outside,
37:53you have those,
37:54you know,
37:55pyramid-shaped
37:56colonnades
37:56all coming together
37:58at points
37:59along the fifth floor.
38:02In 1970,
38:04the steel frame
38:05covered in concrete
38:06and crushed quartz
38:07climbs towards the sky.
38:10However,
38:11it will take more
38:12than a sparkling finish
38:13to win over
38:14the locals.
38:16The controversy
38:16was so vitriolic
38:18that he said,
38:19that's it,
38:19I'll never do anything
38:20in San Francisco again.
38:25Protests
38:25against the building
38:26of San Francisco's
38:28Transamerica Pyramid
38:29aren't the only problem
38:31the team is facing.
38:32Theoretically,
38:33the pyramid
38:33is a very sound
38:35structural shape.
38:36Why I say theoretically
38:37is because in practice,
38:39every single floor plate
38:40is different.
38:40You also get smaller
38:41floor plates
38:42as you go up the building.
38:43which means you have
38:44less usable space
38:44because, you know,
38:45you need,
38:45you still need your elevators
38:46and your stairs
38:47and all the main elements.
38:50Pereira's solution
38:50is to add two wings.
38:53The east wing
38:54contains the two elevators
38:57that go all the way
38:58to the 48th floor.
39:01The west wing
39:02is actually stairs
39:03that people would walk down
39:05if there is a fire.
39:06In spring 1972,
39:11the Transamerica Pyramid
39:13is complete.
39:16Its office spaces
39:18welcome workers
39:19with the latest
39:20in cutting-edge technology
39:21and the trendiest decor
39:23for the 1970s.
39:28But that's not
39:29where the story ends.
39:30Fast forward 50 years
39:34and while the building
39:35is now loved
39:36by the city,
39:37it's also
39:38down on its luck.
39:40In 2020,
39:42developer Michael Schwo
39:43buys the building
39:45intending to change that.
39:47People want amazing,
39:49historically important buildings,
39:51but they want them
39:52to feel and operate
39:54like a brand new building
39:55with all the architectural details
39:58as they were designed
40:00in the 70s.
40:02He appoints
40:03internationally acclaimed
40:04architects,
40:05foster,
40:06and partners.
40:07That building
40:08is a monument
40:10from the past.
40:11Like any building,
40:13any period,
40:14you get additions,
40:18things get covered up.
40:20Mostly,
40:20those changes
40:21tend to compromise
40:23the original fabrics.
40:25So,
40:26with this kind of project,
40:29there's always
40:30the unknown.
40:33What they do know
40:34is that the top
40:35of the pyramid
40:36is going to require
40:37some serious work.
40:39I was brought on
40:40to come look
40:41at this fire
40:42and I was warned
40:42that it was
40:43corroded.
40:45And I think we recorded
40:46over 500 locations
40:47of corrosion
40:48and ended up
40:49with about 144
40:50total repairs.
40:51One was a full element
40:53that had to be repaired.
40:54The restoration
40:55is fraught
40:56with challenges,
40:57some from
40:58unexpected places.
41:00And then it rains.
41:01So,
41:01on a foggy day,
41:02if you're standing
41:02on the 50th floor,
41:03it is raining on you,
41:04quite literally.
41:06I mean,
41:06I wore a rain jacket
41:07most days
41:07when I was up there
41:08working.
41:10Meanwhile,
41:11at the bottom,
41:12the building
41:12has been closed off
41:14to the public.
41:15Lord Foster
41:15and his team
41:16are determined
41:17to change that.
41:19We opened it up.
41:21You can come off
41:22the sidewalk
41:22and walk directly
41:24into the lobby
41:25and there's easy seating.
41:27It's all a series
41:28of individual moves,
41:30but cumulatively,
41:32the site
41:33becomes accessible.
41:35on September 13th,
41:392024,
41:40the renovation
41:41is complete.
41:46The result
41:47speaks for themselves.
41:48In many cases,
41:49when architects
41:50present work
41:51and they show you
41:51renderings,
41:53the renderings
41:53are always the best product
41:55because they're
41:55machine made.
41:58This is the first project
42:00I've ever built
42:01that the reality
42:03is better than
42:04the renderings.
42:05I don't know,
42:08it just felt so different.
42:09You know,
42:09it's kind of
42:09your neon lights,
42:11your low ceilings,
42:12and now it's just
42:12this incredible,
42:13open, tall,
42:14beautiful, light space.
42:16The wood and the stone,
42:17it's really,
42:18really amazing
42:18what they've done.
42:20For the first time,
42:21the public gets
42:22to enjoy the inside
42:24as well as the outside.
42:25with access to a new cafe,
42:30shops,
42:31and a rejuvenated park
42:32at its base.
42:35It was like a new world.
42:37So many things different,
42:38so many things
42:39more convenient
42:40than before.
42:41And matter of fact,
42:42we're more beautiful.
42:43And I'm glad
42:44to be a part of it.
42:45And anyone who wants
42:47can step through
42:49the seamless divide
42:50between outside and in
42:51to enjoy the newly opened up
42:53lobby and exposed ceiling.
42:56So we discovered
42:57this K-brace,
42:58and this was actually
43:01on the cover of a magazine,
43:02believe it or not,
43:03as a marvel of engineering
43:05and architecture.
43:06to the citizens
43:08in San Francisco.
43:09Instead of a private ivory tower,
43:11it's a people's tower.
43:13Above,
43:14the refurbished offices
43:15have been brought
43:16into the 21st century.
43:18Taking down partitions,
43:20taking down ceilings
43:22that had been added,
43:24and revealing the structure
43:26that was holding up
43:27the building.
43:29There's a spiritual uplift
43:30when you go into
43:32these spaces.
43:34And beneath the glitz,
43:35the fabric of a structure
43:37that has gone from
43:37the city's most hated
43:39to one of its most
43:40beloved buildings
43:41has been safeguarded
43:42for decades to come.
43:44What Dad did
43:45was unique enough
43:46at the time
43:47to maintain its individuality
43:50up until today.
43:53In a way,
43:54Transamerica Tower
43:55is a symbol
43:55of San Francisco.
Recommended
26:39
44:00
1:30:26
47:53
46:10
1:17:40
50:52
57:42
44:00
44:39
44:40
44:39
44:40
44:40
44:40
44:40
44:39