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00:01These are the engineering wonders of Spain.
00:06Their secrets revealed in a way never seen before.
00:11For centuries, visionaries shaped this land with lavish palaces, grand stadiums and cathedrals of breathtaking scale.
00:21Today, Spanish engineers build on this history, blending tradition with pioneering structures and cutting-edge machines for the modern world.
00:33In this series, we reveal the secrets of the engineering that built Europe's great nations.
00:41The wonders that shape its cities, landscapes and history.
00:46We reveal the astonishing innovations and surprising connections that helped to forge this mighty continent.
01:08Spain lies on the southwestern frontier of Europe.
01:11This arid mountainous nation is a bridge between North Africa and Southern Europe.
01:21For centuries, Spain has been shaped by different civilizations that have crossed into this land, including Romans, Muslims and Christians.
01:32Spain's engineers have drawn on this history to meet the needs of the future by reshaping buildings like Cordoba's former mosque, converted into a Catholic cathedral.
01:46And landscapes like in Elche, where Muslim engineers turned a Roman date plantation into a flourishing oasis.
01:54Throughout the ages, Spanish engineers have pioneered the construction of some of Europe's most visionary public spaces.
02:11Spain has a long history of constructing religious buildings of astonishing scale.
02:15Spain is now a diligent representa in the Cantab�
02:16In Seville, the Santa Maria de la Sede, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.
02:21In Barcelona, the engineers are taking cathedral construction to new heights,
02:24completing a masterpiece that is over a century in the making.
02:28In Barcelona, engineers are taking cathedral construction to new heights,
02:33completing a masterpiece that's over a century in the making.
02:41This is La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona's famous unfinished cathedral.
02:47It's an engineering wonder that's been under construction since the late 19th century.
02:53The building is made from over 200,000 tons of carved stone blocks.
03:03Each facade is engineered to depict a different chapter of Jesus' life.
03:10The walls of the 18 towers are dotted with hundreds of intricate windows
03:15to cut weight and allow more light to flow through the atrium.
03:19Once complete, it will be the tallest religious building in the world.
03:26This revolutionary cathedral was the brainchild of the maverick Spanish designer Anthony Gaudi.
03:34Now, over 140 years since they started work, it's finally nearly completion.
03:40Led by architects like Cisco Llabrez.
03:48He had such a big vision that he knew he wouldn't be able to finish it himself.
03:54So Gaudi laid the groundwork for those who would come after him, for his successors.
03:58Work on the building started in 1882, but progress stalled in the 20th century with Gaudi's sudden death in 1926.
04:13And after anarchists set fire to his early drawings and models during the Spanish Civil War.
04:19By 2014, only 60% of the building had been finished.
04:26But in the last decade, modern engineering breakthroughs have dramatically sped up the construction of Gaudi's intricate designs.
04:34There's a lot of experimentation with new and innovative techniques.
04:43Things we started testing here 10 years ago, like fiber reinforced concrete.
04:49Now it's become a standard material in construction.
04:52Fiber reinforced concrete is used to strengthen the stone panels in the building of the spire of Jesus Christ.
05:03It's the tallest and heaviest of all the towers, and the most challenging to construct.
05:10To build a spire that the old foundations can carry, the team must use slender sandstone.
05:17But in high winds, the spire could bend and possibly break.
05:25So they give the spire of Jesus Christ a backbone of concrete and steel.
05:31And to strengthen the stone panels, they tension them with steel wires and slot them into the steel scaffold.
05:40This way, the majestic spire will fulfill Gaudi's vision.
05:45Rising almost 200 meters into the air, safe from even gale force winds.
05:57Carefully designed connections ensure that when workers lower the panels into place, they lock together, without the need for on-site adjustment.
06:07Sensors record the tension and movement of the steel scaffold to measure how the load is balanced between the stone blocks.
06:17This guarantees each one is fitted correctly.
06:20Inside the church, the branching tree-like columns gently tilt.
06:30These angles give the columns enough strength to hold up the ceiling, without the need for external buttresses.
06:35The central columns are the thickest, and will support the incredible Jesus Tower when it is finished.
06:49The Sagrada Familia is set to be completed exactly 100 years after the death of Gaudi, and will be a fitting tribute to his legacy.
07:03I never imagined I'd have the chance to work on the Sagrada Familia, let alone help finish it. It's spectacular.
07:13Spain is one of Europe's hottest countries.
07:25For centuries, the people here have engineered clever ways to seek shade from the sun.
07:32At the Alhambra in Granada, deep courtyards with water features and lattice screens create cool shaded spaces.
07:40In Andalusia, entire villages known as Pueblos Blancos are painted white to reflect the heat.
07:53In Seville, this age-old battle for shade has taken on an innovative twist.
07:59In the historic old quarter sits a record-breaking monument to timber engineering.
08:16This is the Cetas de Sevilla, known locally as the Mushrooms.
08:26Six large wooden honeycomb parasols tower over Plaza de Incarnacion, providing shade to shops, bars and restaurants beneath.
08:37The structure is made from over 3,500 pieces of pine.
08:46At over 150 meters long, 70 meters wide and 28 meters high, it is thought to be the largest freestanding wooden structure in the world.
08:56It's the job of Jose Pedro Pulido to ensure this masterpiece of wooden engineering stays standing.
09:07We're always keeping an eye on the structure, making sure it's in top condition and everything stays in the best shape.
09:15If anything important comes up, we're ready to act fast and fix it right away.
09:19The construction of the mushrooms started in 2006.
09:28Designers opted to use a composite material made from thin layers of wood glued together.
09:35This makes the structural elements stronger and lighter than solid timber.
09:39Over 16 million nuts and bolts join the beams together.
09:49A metal viewing platform and walkway snakes across the top, providing 360-degree views of the skyline.
09:58A weatherproof resin coats the surface of the structure, and it's topped up every decade.
10:05But even this protective layer has its limits.
10:10In Spain's harsh climate, with cold winter nights and summer days exceeding 40 degrees, the wood expands and contracts, putting strain on each joint.
10:21We monitor humidity levels at around 20 points across the structure, using metal plates and steel screws inserted into the wood to take readings.
10:38Throughout the year, Jose's team surveyed the entire structure to examine whether joints have shifted and to tighten any loose bolts.
10:47For more than two centuries, the Plaza d'Incarnacion had been a thriving market in the heart of Seville's old town.
10:58But by the 1970s, the area was in decline.
11:02That all changed when Roman ruins were discovered beneath the site, sparking plans to protect the history and revive the space.
11:14The result was Setas de Sevilla, a bold sculptural landmark that shields the square from the scorching sun and brings new life to old Seville.
11:26The mushrooms are more than just a showcase for spectacular timber engineering. Electrical engineering is on full display here too.
11:40Hidden within the beams of Setas de Sevilla are sensors hooked up to LEDs and speakers that respond directly to changes in the environment, including wind speed, air temperature and crowd movement.
12:00From sunset to midnight, we have every day a different soul created by this software, a new immersive experience for the visitor.
12:11As night falls, inputs from the web of sensors trigger an ever-changing light show across the surface.
12:21The audiovisual spectacle, known as Aurora, transforms the structure into a glowing landmark for the public.
12:34This audacious piece of civil engineering has achieved its goal of reviving the old quarter by creating an icon that both protects people from the sun and attracts art lovers and business,
12:48which in turn boosts the economy.
12:59Spain's legacy of building astonishing public spaces is not just a modern phenomenon.
13:06It goes back millennia.
13:07On the shores of the Mediterranean, Tarragona's Roman amphitheatre once housed 1,400 spectators to watch gladiatorial combat.
13:21While in the ancient town of Merida, one Roman site is remarkably still in use 2,000 years after it was first built.
13:31Merida is one of the world's best preserved Roman cities.
13:38The jewel in its crown is the oldest working theatre in the world.
13:46The stage is 60 metres long and has a backdrop that rises almost 20 metres into the air.
13:57Decorative features including columns, statues and cornices were made of beautiful marble imported from across the empire.
14:11But for the main structure and foundations, the Romans used durable local granite.
14:17Added strength came from extensive use of concrete.
14:23Unlike modern concrete, the Roman mix was made of lime, water and a secret ingredient.
14:31A volcanic ash called pozzolan.
14:35This made it extremely strong and long-lasting.
14:38The result is a 2,000-year-old theatre, so tough it's still in use today.
14:47At its peak, the theatre could hold up to 6,000 spectators.
14:52And modern-day crowds still pack its marble terraces for music, film and theatre performances.
14:59Annual inspections ensure it remains safe and well-preserved.
15:08Conservationist Maria Paz Perez is leading the work.
15:13The problems we see are the deterioration caused by the weather.
15:18Exposure to the sun and rain because they are open to the elements.
15:22These buildings are 2,000 years old, and we also have to work around the visitors.
15:29The cornices are made from white marble, which is strong but porous.
15:35This makes them vulnerable to weathering.
15:38Conservators must protect their horizontal surfaces with a layer of render.
15:43As they carry out their inspections, Maria's team find an area where this protection is flaking away.
15:50It's not just the weather this theatre has to contend with.
15:56The damage can also be accelerated by modern-day sound systems.
16:02Vibrations caused by loudspeakers during iconic performances can cause the crumbling marble to collapse.
16:11To combat the problem, the conservation team have introduced strict guidelines.
16:17We have already established the parameters that cannot be exceeded.
16:24So all of the companies know they can go beyond that set level of decibels so that it doesn't affect the monument.
16:31To repair the flaking stonework, the team uses a special render that is made to an ancient recipe of lime, sand and powdered marble.
16:44This mortar is applied to protect the upper part of the cornices because everything is out in the open.
16:53It's the only way to protect it since the monument has no roof.
16:57Now it's time for the team to perform their vital intervention.
17:10The restoration team applies the layer of render.
17:14Once it dries and weathers, it will blend in seamlessly with the original marble.
17:18Protecting the cornices from the ravages of the elements and musical vibrations.
17:27I feel that doing this work contributes to future generations being able to enjoy, contemplate and study this heritage.
17:34As long as engineers continue this painstaking work, Merida's masterpiece of Roman engineering will host performances for another two millennia.
17:47Spanish engineers have not only pioneered the creation of extraordinary public spaces.
18:02They have also trailblazed the construction of spectacular architectural wonders.
18:07Across Spain, engineering marvels are transforming the country's traditional landscapes.
18:24Valencia's Turia River was diverted to prevent flooding.
18:27The dry riverbed is now a vast urban park.
18:32In Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum helped to turn the city's industrial dockland into a world-famous cultural hub.
18:41In Rioja, the country's iconic wine region, architects have revitalized the area's oldest vineyard with a modern engineering superstructure.
18:53This extraordinary vision is the Hotel Marques de Riscal.
19:06It was designed by Frank Gehry, who also created the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
19:12The hotel attracts over 100,000 annual visitors to gaze at its stunningly engineered curves,
19:20bringing economic benefits to this quiet corner of Spain.
19:29Its roof is made up of approximately 3,400 square meters of titanium.
19:37Titanium makes a good roofing material.
19:40It is strong, light and very resistant to corrosion.
19:44But it can also be treated to produce a surprising range of bright colors.
19:53Gehry's vision was to use engineering principles to create a modern work of art, set within the region's oldest vineyard.
20:01It's a venue maintained by hotel manager Stefan Friedl.
20:08The idea was to have a building that has no weight and is floating like the skirts of dancing Spanish girls flying in the air.
20:17The different colors of the roof at a final level of symbolism, representing a bottle of wine.
20:25Red for the wine itself, silver for the foil and gold for the mesh which covers each bottle produced here.
20:33The project cost a total of 60 million euros.
20:38Just building the twisted steel backbone for the signature canopies took almost three years.
20:50And to fit the thousands of titanium panels, the workers had to mount every single one of them by hand, like a giant 3D jigsaw puzzle.
20:59The twisted overlapping roof may look spectacular, but it makes cleaning the exterior a challenge.
21:11Scaffolding and ladders risk damaging the titanium ribbons.
21:16So Stefan works with a company that has developed an ingenious engineering solution.
21:24A drone equipped with a high pressure water jet.
21:29That's our main drone unit.
21:32It's the most powerful drone which is able to be used legally in urban areas.
21:38The drone has to be as powerful as possible to compensate for the force of the water, which constantly pushes it away from the surface, creating unpredictable air turbulence.
21:52Sometimes we have some kind of shaking mass of air affecting the drone, so we need to be always ready for any kind of strain reaction that the drone has.
22:09To make cleaning the building even more difficult, the combination of metals in the roof actually generates its own electromagnetic field, which disrupts the drone's auto navigation systems.
22:23All the structure affect the GPS signal from the drone, affect the compass from the drone, so we are flying almost in manual.
22:35It takes two days to restore the building to its pristine best.
22:40It's just an amazing view which doesn't fail to give a warm feeling around my heart every morning I come to work.
22:48This innovative technology promises to preserve architectural masterpieces like Hotel Marques de Riscal for years to come.
22:58Spain has a long history of transforming its most treasured landmarks.
23:11The Alcazar of Toledo was a palace built by Romans, then became an Islamic fortress, and later expanded during the Christian era to become a royal residence.
23:23In Madrid, cutting-edge architects are giving a facelift to an engineering wonder of the city's skyline.
23:36The 117-meter-high Columbus towers loom over the heart of Spain's capital city, and they have been an icon of Madrid's skyline for over 50 years.
23:54Their most striking feature is that this enormous structure appears to be supported by just the thinnest of concrete stalks.
24:09The building's gleaming glass exterior is brand new, but their gravity-defying internal structure dates back to the 1960s, and it's an example of one of the world's weirdest architectural ideas.
24:24Hidden beneath the gleaming glass are two slender concrete cores that the whole building rests on.
24:37Two extremely sturdy slams sit at the top. Each serves as an anchor point for heavy-duty steel cables.
24:47Wrapped in concrete, they support the concrete floors of the building, suspending them like the rungs of a rope ladder.
24:56It's an ingenious design that almost makes it look like the Columbus Towers are floating in mid-air.
25:12Architect Luis Vidal is the mastermind behind the tower's most recent transformation.
25:18His renovation adds a four-storey glass box to the original tower's design.
25:28A sleek new glass bridge to connect the two towers, and modern reinforcements to the aging cable stays that hold the building together.
25:41After four years of construction, Luis and his team are performing a final inspection.
25:48Before handing the building over to its new owners.
25:52We want to make sure that everything is looking as we designed, and make sure that everything is working as envisioned.
26:01While Luis examines the interior of the building, his colleague Manuel inspects the exterior works.
26:09We want to go down to level 24, so we can see the brackets and how the new cables are working.
26:15Manuel reaches the point where the long steel stay cables start their journey down the outside of the building.
26:28The pale grey columns house the original steel cables from 1967.
26:32But each column is now flanked by two sleeker black additions.
26:39Everything is looking pretty solid to be honest. Looks fantastic.
26:45The original cables still help support the building's weight.
26:51But the new 21st century cables add extra strength and resilience.
27:02The team still has to inspect the improbable glass box perched on the top of the two towers.
27:08Luis's bold idea to transform the towers was to create new office space on top of the structure.
27:24Whilst the building below is a wonder of 1960s engineering, this new addition is a marvel of 21st century design.
27:32Luis's daring engineering innovation was to use glass as a main structural element, eliminating the need for internal pillars.
27:44What's really interesting about the structure is that all the glass is curved.
27:51If you get a single piece of glass and you place it vertical, it falls.
27:58But if you curve it, it's free standing.
28:03This is the principle of what we have designed here.
28:06We don't need any mullions, we don't need any columns, we don't need anything.
28:09With the inspection complete, the building is ready to be handed over.
28:16This engineering marvel will remain a striking feature of Madrid's skyline for years to come.
28:23Sport has been a pillar of Spanish culture throughout history and inspired engineers to construct stadiums of remarkable scale.
28:41In Madrid, Las Ventas, Spain's largest bullfighting ring has drawn crowds for nearly a century.
28:50While in Barcelona, the 1920s built Estadi Olympic was reborn for the 1992 Summer Olympics.
28:58In the city's Las Cortes District, engineers are building on the legacy of one of football's most iconic stadiums.
29:17This busy construction site is giving Barcelona football club's stadium the ultimate facelift.
29:22Once finished, this massive redevelopment will raise the capacity to 105,000 seats, making it the largest football club stadium on the planet.
29:35This unique transformation is an extraordinary engineering challenge.
29:40The new stadium is being built without destroying the club's original and much-loved ground-level stands from the 1950s.
29:54Overseeing this complex process is Director of Operations, Juan Santayas.
29:59No Barcelona fan could ever imagine the stadium being somewhere other than in Les Cortes.
30:09This is our home, this is where our heart is, and this is where Barcelona football club's stadium should be.
30:19The first step was to reveal the 1950s architecture by removing the 1980s extension that sits around it.
30:27Specialized machines, resembling mechanical dinosaurs, carefully nibbled away the later additions, leaving the original core untouched.
30:44Next, engineers built a free-standing ring of steel around the old stadium to carry the weight of the new development.
30:51This avoids any unnecessary strain on the stadium's original 75-year-old foundations.
31:02The new third tier will hold 30,000 spectators.
31:07A lightweight roof will cover every seat, sheltering fans from the blazing Barcelona sun.
31:13And 18,000 square meters of solar panels will help make the stadium both sustainable and spectacular.
31:23The new cleverly engineered third tier is designed as a cantilever so it will appear to float above the old stadium.
31:38The external ring of steel also bears the weight of the roof.
31:42The stadium's new framework is inspired by 1930s New York skyscrapers.
31:50To erect it, workers use prefabricated steel beams, manufactured to precise tolerances that simply bolt together.
31:59A layer of concrete then adds extra strength and stability.
32:07This rapid assembly technique allows the 3,500-strong team to construct around 600 tons of steel in a week.
32:17To give you an idea, the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,000 tons.
32:24In two and a half months, we built an Eiffel Tower.
32:28Remarkably, much of the raw building materials have been recycled from the demolition of the old stands.
32:3597% of the old steel will be reused in the new construction, lowering the carbon footprint of the new design as well as incorporating elements of its past.
32:48With the finish line in sight and hopes of welcoming fans even before construction is fully complete,
32:59Barcelona's new stadium is set to captivate audiences across Europe and beyond.
33:05Spanish engineers have not only constructed epic architectural wonders, but also spearheaded the invention of cutting-edge machines.
33:22For centuries, the nation's innovators have found groundbreaking ways to traverse Spain's rugged landscape.
33:39In 1907, engineers constructed Spain's first-ever cable car on Mount Ulia, near San Sebastian.
33:46While Spanish engineer Juan de la Sierva built the world's first autogyro, the precursor to the helicopter.
33:59In the Basque region, engineers are using innovative machines to create an ambitious new high-speed rail line,
34:07linking Vitoria, Bilbao and San Sebastian through the Pyrenees Mountains.
34:16The Basque country, located in the western Pyrenees, has rugged mountainous terrain.
34:23This creates a major challenge for the engineers building the new railway here.
34:29The track's viaducts need to be extremely tall to span vast chasms.
34:34It's not practical to construct them using traditional techniques, with cranes hauling their concrete sections into place block by block.
34:45So engineers use remarkable machines that cast the bridge sections in situ from liquid concrete poured up to a hundred meters in the air.
34:55Javier Selvas Arsuaga is in charge of building a key section of this high-speed line, which includes the Arizola Viaduct.
35:09It's a 1,755-meter-long overpass connecting the towns of Achonde and Aberdeño.
35:19I have worked on a lot of very important projects, but this project is very interesting. It is the longest viaduct on the entire line.
35:30The innovative machines at the heart of the project are giant frames, known as movable scaffolding systems, that balance on top of the bridge columns.
35:44Their insides form a mould for the team to pour in liquid concrete.
35:52Once it's set, the machine opens to reveal the new bridge section.
35:57Then it moves along, ready for the next pour.
36:03Today is the big day to unveil the latest bridge section, but before they can open the mould, Javier must wait for the concrete to fully set.
36:15In the foothills of the Pyrenees, the crawling yellow movable scaffolding system is part of an army of machines building viaducts across the landscape.
36:31This red machine in a nearby valley is preparing for its next pour of concrete.
36:37First, it contracts to create a mould for a 66-metre section of the viaduct.
36:45Then engineers carefully position a dense network of steel rods inside the mould to reinforce the strength of the viaduct.
36:55Next, they pour in the concrete to form the base, sides and finally the deck of this massive structure.
37:08At the Arizola viaduct, the concrete is finally set and it's time to open the machine.
37:21Powerful hydraulic pistons swing open the scaffold.
37:25Javier is now able to inspect the new section.
37:31We want to make sure there are no fissures or large cracks before we continue to the next section.
37:37The viaduct's undercarriage is too high to examine from the ground, so the team use a drone to get a better view.
37:51I am happy because it turned out well.
37:59Over the coming weeks, the Arizola viaduct will take shape and eventually join the largest high-speed rail network in Europe with the lowest average construction cost.
38:13These mega-machines are a game-changer, speeding up construction and allowing engineers to lay over 50 metres of viaduct a week.
38:26Each completed section of high-speed rail track brings Spain closer together, strengthening bonds between the regions as well as neighbouring countries,
38:37providing a major boost to the nation's economy.
38:43Spain's arid climate has forced the nation's engineers to innovate, to sustain its agriculture.
38:59In Segovia, this nearly 2,000-year-old aqueduct once channeled water to irrigate the city's crops.
39:06In Alcala del Rio, just outside Seville, an innovative new machine is revitalizing one of Spain's oldest industries.
39:17This monster contraption is a multi-harvester designed for use in high-density olive groves and nut tree orchards.
39:33But on this experimental research farm, they are trialing it to harvest oranges.
39:40Local farmers are here to see this revolutionary technology in action.
39:47The trial is part of a growing movement to harness pioneering technology to revolutionize Spanish farming.
39:54Francisco Arenas is the farm's director and a leading researcher in citrus cultivation.
40:04Francisco Arenas is the farm's director and a leading researcher in citrus cultivation.
40:07Currently, the problems that farmers face in citrus cultivation are the shortage of available labour and the increase in harvesting costs.
40:19For generations, workers have picked oranges by hand, a labour-intensive process that can take weeks to complete.
40:27And oranges are grown on large trees, seven metres tall, which makes harvesting even more difficult and dangerous.
40:39We are always looking for the possibility of harvesting in a more comfortable way and avoiding the use of ladders.
40:47Francisco studied the mechanization of other crops to work out if orange farmers could adapt and use this new generation of machines.
40:57His solution was to change the way orange trees are nurtured, to make them more suitable for machine harvesting.
41:07Francisco's team grow their oranges on low bushes instead of tall trees, pruning the branches to keep the rows compact.
41:17The new trees were planted three years ago.
41:20They are now mature enough for Francisco to experiment with a new machine to harvest the oranges.
41:30This machine rides over the hedge.
41:33It's like a tunnel that receives the hedge and squeezes it into the shaking area.
41:38The machine uses an ingenious system called shaking dynamic control to pick the fruit.
41:48It deploys 36 curved plastic bars that oscillate at a precise frequency to carefully loosen the oranges.
41:55The vibration frequency should not be too high to avoid a lot of damage to the tree, but high enough to release the maximum percentage of fruit.
42:09Underneath the shakers, a belt of plastic petals gently closes around the trunk of the tree to form a basket which catches the oranges.
42:20This belt moves at exactly the same speed as the harvester, but in the opposite direction.
42:25This means the basket remains static around the tree to minimize damage.
42:38Conveyor belts move the oranges upwards.
42:42Powerful blowers remove the twigs and leaves as they fall into the collection hoppers.
42:47The machine gathers 30 tons of oranges in just two hours.
42:54A job that would take 15 workers two whole days to achieve by hand.
43:02In the end, simply one operator is able to operate it and work six to ten hectares during the day by himself.
43:09By adapting traditional practices to use this innovative new machine, orange farmers can take a major step forward.
43:20To ensure one of Spain's historic industries thrives for generations to come.
43:25Spain is a nation shaped by millennia of cultural influence and architectural brilliance.
43:41Today, its engineers draw on that rich heritage to reinvent historic spaces, crafting a legacy for the centuries ahead.
43:50For centuries ahead.
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