Construction Fails

Episode one begins on an unremarkable Dutch canal. What we see unfold, however, is anything but. It’s one of the most dramatic construction catastrophes in recent history: a double telescopic crane collapse, a barge capsizing and a 187-ton bridge span all careening into a quiet residential neighbourhood resulting in the total destruction of dozens of homes. The reason? A combination of wind, lack of balance and crane operator error. From there, we travel to Asia, where some of the world’s biggest construction sites fail before construction even begins. We witness a variety of construction site collapses: massive holes in the ground that implode in dramatic fashion, hurling retaining walls, roads and equipment dozens of metres below into a pit. Substandard soil conditions and reclaimed land seem to be the biggest reasons for these fails.

Episode two begins with the horrific fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in the spring of 2019. Multiple eye- witnesses captured the raging flames on their phone cameras, but what they couldn’t capture was the frantic, behind-the-scenes confusion and infrastructure fail that contributed to making the fire much more devastating than it should have been. We take viewers behind the scenes. Next, we take a take a look at scaffolding, an integral piece of construction equipment. When it fails, the results can be catastrophic. But why does it fail? We examine the reasons through multiple examples.

Glass may be the most popular construction material in the modern age. But constructing with glass is challenging and dangerous. It spontaneously breaks and falls from skyscrapers and it even crushes warehouse workers. We investigate the scientific anomaly of nickel sulfide inclusion and its effect on glass The vast majority of demolitions rely on the excavator to bring the building down. In this story we witness the perfect way to do it and contrast it with multiple examples of demolition by excavator fails. Operator error, unstable ground, unpredictable fall angles – we show it all.

Construction cranes are towers in the sky – except when they collapse. Our first story examines three disasters in Seattle, Manhattan and Bangkok. Three disasters: three different reasons for collapse. We examine what went wrong. The Artz Pedregal Mall in Mexico City had only been open a few months before the cantilevered section of the structure came crashing to the street below. How could a brand new building fail so dramatically? What’s so precarious about cantilever designs?

We begin in New Orleans where construction turned to destruction during the build of a brand new Hard Rock Hotel. The catastrophe left two cranes precariously dangling from the structure. The dismantling of the cranes is one of the most dramatic events we witness. The Big Dig in Boston was America’s most expensive infrastructure project ever. Delays and cost over-runs are legendary, but the collapse of the tunnel’s ceiling is an infamous example of how just a few extra dollars spent on the correct adhesive could have prevented a tragedy.

The proliferation of heavy, oftentimes overloaded, transport truck traffic in China is having unintended consequences: the collapse of multiple roads and highways. We look at some of the most recent examples of sudden and shocking road collapses and examine the underlying causes. Next, we examine the crawler crane – the heavyweight champion of the construction industry. When things go wrong with this crane, it’s a catastrophe befitting the machine. And that’s what happened in Varese, Italy when a massive crawler crane installing a portion of a brand-new rail bridge toppled over. Was it the machine or operator failure?

We begin with an in-depth look at one of the most prolific materials in the world: the science of concrete. Why are so many of today’s concrete structures cracking and failing? Why are so many ancient concrete structures still standing when today’s crumble after only decades? Next it’s a trip to Scotland, home to the Glasgow Tower. The structure is the tallest fully rotating tower in the world, but few have ever seen it rotate. Fire, broken bearings, poor design and too much wind are just some of the reasons this structure has been branded an embarrassing white elephant on the banks of the River Clyde.

We begin with the tragic collapse of the Ponte Morandi (Morandi Bridge) in Genoa, 2018. Multiple camera angles capture the bridge crashing down in a rainstorm as vehicles drive across the iconic structure. An investigation uncovers a tale of neglect and aging concrete. The Millennium Tower was known as the most prestigious new condo tower in San Francisco. Now it’s known for something else: it’s sinking. It’s leaning, the concrete is cracking, the glass is blowing out of the windows. How could a luxury complex of multi-million dollar residences fail so soon after construction?