Megastructures

Soaring 2716 feet about the city of Dubai, Burj Khalita took seven years to build and cost a staggering $1.5 billion.

In Iceland, a giant tunnel boring machine called `Jaws' has chewed up nine miles of basalt to aid a hydroelectric project. See the rock cruncher at work as it burrows deep down.

In an attempt to tap into a vast natural gas supply, the US is drilling the Atlantic sea bed. Discover what it takes to drill in the dark depths.

Three teams of engineers are locked in a race to harness what may be the most powerful form of green energy: swift tidal currents and battering waves, the power of the oceans.

Incredible technology is making these 'super copters' much more impervious to attack, with Kevlar and other advanced composite materials strengthening the body - while keeping it lightweight. Using live action, re-creations, amazing archival footage and advanced CGI, we marvel at the creation of today's 'super copters' - extraordinary multi-purpose helicopters for the twenty-first century.

Megastructures will take you on a voyage through the largest ocean liner ever built, from the cutting of the first steel panel to the installation of the iconic red and black funnel of this 800 million dollar giant of the seas.

The engineering, design and construction of a man-made archipelago, built in the shape of a world map, just off the coast off Dubai, the project of ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The world's first electromagnetic levitation train linking Shanghai's airport and financial district offers a safe, energy efficient transport system that could change the face of 21st century travel.

Megastructures heads to the tiny desert kingdom of Dubai to explore the remarkable engineering behind the seven-star Burj Al-Arab Hotel. Five years in the making, this striking building stands like a gigantic white sail off the shore of Dubai. As this programme reveals, a refusal to compromise on the part of the hotel’s young designers ensured that the project pushed the boundaries of design. The Burj Al-Arab was envisaged by Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as a means of diversifying the country’s economy away from oil into tourism. The Sheikh dreamt of a luxury hotel that would put Dubai on the world map, and surprised many by choosing a relatively inexperienced British firm to supply the design.

Engineers in Dubai must overcome obstacles as they construct a chain of 300 islands shaped to resemble the world.

Welcome to the South Pole, one of the most isolated places on the planet. For decades, the South Pole has been a haven for astronomy, climatology, and other science fields. Now, nearly 50 years after the first research station was built, a team of mega-builders is daring to construct a 21st century science research facility: the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.