Megastructures

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.

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.

Looks at the design, engineering and construction of the luxury Burj Al-Arab Hotel, built of the coast of Dubai.

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.