Vertical City

With the highest roof on earth, the sleek Shanghai World Finance Center stands in the city that has overtaken New York and Chicago as skyscraper capital of the world. Setting the standard for a new generation of supertall skyscrapers, this Japanese-developed tower, built on Chinese land, also symbolises a new era in relations between the two previously hostile countries after Japan's violent invasion of China in the 1930s. Presented by Matt Berman.

The iconic 375 Park Avenue in New York, built in 1958 by the king of Modernist design, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, changed skyscraper design forever. As the world's most influential and copied tower, it has inspired the square glass blocks of every global skyline. But behind its revolutionary glass façade is the fascinating story of how a skyscraper that couldn't afford to be built got built - and how its creator finally managed to realise his 40-year architectural dream.

In 2003, Moscow's Triumph Palace became Europe's tallest building. In the 1940s Josef Stalin commissioned a series of seven tall towers that would compete with the skyscrapers of New York. Known as the Seven Sisters. Matt Berman investigates the design and political genesis of these towers and examines why an eighth sister, the Triumph Palace, has been added in 21st century capitalist Moscow.

Moscow has become Europe’s skyscraper capital, with the Naberezhnaya Tower holding the title of the continent’s tallest building. It represents a new era for the city, one in which Moscow can finally compete with the other major financial centres of the world. Presented by Matt Berman.

Hong Kong's Bank of China building was designed by award-winning architect IM Pei and houses the Bank of China Headquarters. The huge financial institution was formerly based in a 'modest' 17-storey stone edifice elsewhere in Hong Kong, but moved to the 72-floor building in 1989. The tower courted controversy when it was constructed largely without consultation from Feng Shui masters, typically a routine step in the construction of tall buildings in China.

Behind the glistening façade of Boston’s John Hancock Tower lies one of the most embarrassing moments in architectural history. The insurance company wanted to express their corporate might by building a modernist skyscraper in the heart of Boston’s historic core.Their dream tower turned into their worst nightmare and what followed is one of the most unbelievable tales in architectural history. Presented by Matt Berman.

In the late 1980s the Malaysian government decided to build a skyscraper so unprecedented in size and so ambitious that it sought to overtake Chicago’s Sears Tower as the tallest building in the world. The result – the elaborately curved Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur – achieved both goals. Presented by Matt Berman.

The John Hancock Center in Chicago is one of the most influential skyscrapers of the twentieth century. When completed in 1969 this was the tallest tower in the world outside New York City and is still the most famous structural expressionist style building in high rise architecture. Presented by Charlie Luxton.

Stunning skylines are fuelled by money – and Hong Kong has one of the most stunning in the world. With a lack of land on the island, the only way is up. The most prized – and expensive - plot is the financial district of Central where one skyscraper towers above the rest, star of Batman movies and gleaming white pillar of capitalism, 2 International Finance Center. Presented by Matt Berman.

1180 Peachtree is a striking icon on the Atlanta skyline, its huge fins making it distinct from other skyscrapers in the city. But it’s not all about good looks - 1180 is creating a new era for the city’s towers. Presented by Matt Berman.

As the tallest residential skyscraper in the UK, Manchester's distinctive Beetham Tower is turning heads and dividing opinion. Heading up a new generation of skyscrapers that are regenerating Britain's post-industrial cities, Beetham is at the heart of a battle between traditionalists and modernists. Despite producing some of the world's leading architects such as Richard Rogers and Norman Foster, Britain isn't exactly enamoured with skyscrapers. And this reluctance to embrace the high-rise even extends to the country's future king, Prince Charles.

Taiwan, China’s renegade province, wanted to make the world sit up and notice it – so it built the planet’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in its capital city. An architectural meeting of East meets West, Taiwan’s biggest global advertising board and symbol of achievement was a defiant gesture towards its neighbouring superpower, and a calculated quest for Taiwanese commercial attention proving that in modern times, the super-tall building is more than just the corporation HQ of the past. Presented by Matt Berman.