1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Over the last five years, the number of giant buildings 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:10,480 over three hundred meters tall has doubled. These are today's 3 00:00:10,519 --> 00:00:15,240 super skyscrapers. I want to uncover the secrets inside these 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:20,120 mega structures. From the outside, they may be changing the landscape, 5 00:00:20,359 --> 00:00:24,039 but what about the hidden worlds behind these vast glass walls. 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:27,839 They look set to change the way we live and work. 7 00:00:28,239 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 2: One might see the period in which we are now 8 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:32,359 as a kind of golden age of the high rise. 9 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,439 Speaker 3: It's an incredibly exciting time because boundaries are always being 10 00:00:36,439 --> 00:00:39,799 pushed and new innovations and technologies are allowing us to 11 00:00:39,799 --> 00:00:40,799 build taller and taller. 12 00:00:41,039 --> 00:00:43,240 Speaker 4: So it's a great revolution to be a part of. 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:46,920 From the Egyptians to the Romans and the Greeks coming 14 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,759 all the way up to modern times, humans have always 15 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:51,159 been aspiring to build tall. 16 00:00:58,079 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: Super skyscrapers are revolutionizing the way that we use tall buildings. 17 00:01:02,840 --> 00:01:05,280 I'm starting my journey at a building which represents what 18 00:01:05,359 --> 00:01:12,439 the last generation of skyscrapers were all about. Work built 19 00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:16,680 in nineteen ninety one, One Canada Square in London's Canary 20 00:01:16,719 --> 00:01:21,200 Wharf held the crown as Britain's tallest building for twenty years. 21 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,640 Every single inch of this building was conceived to make 22 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,280 it the most coveted office space in London. Until that 23 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:39,840 is you get to the very top. Hey, yeah, I've 24 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:42,920 been picked up. Obviously this is a highly secure area. 25 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,640 There are not many people who get permission to come 26 00:01:45,719 --> 00:01:49,519 up here, but fortunately today I have been given permission, 27 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,480 so it's up with you. And not many people get 28 00:01:55,519 --> 00:01:58,280 to see inside the iconic pyramid at the top of 29 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,799 this skyscraper. Reason this is the only space in the 30 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,439 building that isn't habitable. This feels like very restricted access 31 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:13,439 to be standing here right now. This building is more 32 00:02:13,479 --> 00:02:16,599 about maximizing the space on the inside than the height 33 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:23,520 on the outside. It's the very last step to reach 34 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,800 the highest points here at number one kind of the 35 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,439 square there. It is right above me where the whole 36 00:02:29,439 --> 00:02:32,599 building comes to a point. This feels amazing on two 37 00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:37,199 hundred and thirty five meters above the ground, and my 38 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:39,680 heart feels it definitely. There's excitement up here. There's a 39 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:47,800 bit of adrenaline being up this high. Traditional skyscraper design 40 00:02:48,039 --> 00:02:51,159 like this building here tend to make use of every 41 00:02:51,199 --> 00:02:54,639 available space to cram in all that infrastructure that you 42 00:02:54,759 --> 00:02:58,639 need to support life up in the sky, but more 43 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:02,639 modern design, tending to take a slightly different view on 44 00:03:02,719 --> 00:03:06,039 what should be going on right at the top. In 45 00:03:06,159 --> 00:03:11,599 today's generation of super skyscrapers hide a guilty secret. Large 46 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,319 parts of the building are for appearance only. 47 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,319 Speaker 4: It's a bit of a controversial topic of how tallest 48 00:03:17,319 --> 00:03:19,719 skyscraper is where you're measuring it from the top of 49 00:03:19,759 --> 00:03:21,719 the useful part of the skyscraper or the top of 50 00:03:21,719 --> 00:03:22,599 the decorative part. 51 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,759 Speaker 1: Nowhere is this more evident than in Dubai. This city 52 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,800 has five towers listed as the tallest buildings in vanity 53 00:03:33,879 --> 00:03:38,039 height unusable height just for the sake of it. Across 54 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:42,639 these five, a remarkable thirty one percent of space is 55 00:03:42,719 --> 00:03:46,680 completely wasted, and the most wasteful of them all the 56 00:03:46,719 --> 00:03:51,400 world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. It stands at eight 57 00:03:51,479 --> 00:03:54,840 hundred and twenty eight meters, but two hundred and forty 58 00:03:54,919 --> 00:03:59,240 four meters of that is unoccupied. To put that into context, 59 00:03:59,479 --> 00:04:04,319 that's the height as fifty London Route Master buses. These 60 00:04:04,479 --> 00:04:07,599 vanity spires are just the tip of how the insides 61 00:04:07,639 --> 00:04:10,919 of the old and new generation of super skyscrapers are 62 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:12,719 conceived completely differently. 63 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 5: I just look at that youw. 64 00:04:16,839 --> 00:04:18,879 Speaker 6: Wow. 65 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,720 Speaker 1: Fast forward twenty years and One Canada Square lost its 66 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:28,519 crown to Britain's very first super skyscraper, the Shard, completed 67 00:04:28,519 --> 00:04:31,600 in July twenty twelve. The Shard has a total floor 68 00:04:31,639 --> 00:04:36,600 space of twenty seven acres and I'm about to get 69 00:04:36,639 --> 00:04:44,959 a glimpse of the secrets inside. This building was designed 70 00:04:44,959 --> 00:04:48,000 to look like a shard of glass, hence the name, 71 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,519 but the use of glass in such abundance was about 72 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,480 far more than just aesthetics. 73 00:04:54,399 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 4: So I think the skyscraper brings together people in a 74 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,920 different way than smaller buildings do. I also think the 75 00:05:00,959 --> 00:05:03,800 way that modern skyscrapers are designed, with these very open 76 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,399 planned spaces, means that it's a much more social experience. 77 00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: What instantly hits me about the insides of this super 78 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,399 skyscraper is that this is no longer just about work. 79 00:05:18,959 --> 00:05:22,000 It's all about offering an unprecedented view of the world 80 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,560 around it, from the observation deck on the seventy second 81 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,480 floor to a range of restaurants and bars. Do you 82 00:05:29,519 --> 00:05:33,120 think restaurants and hotels in taller buildings that are becoming 83 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:39,199 more and more popular. Definitely, to a luxury hotel where 84 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:45,399 the rooms occupy floors thirty four to fifty two. This 85 00:05:45,519 --> 00:05:49,720 building is no mere office space. It's a vertical city 86 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:54,120 with its own twenty four to seven economy. So what 87 00:05:54,199 --> 00:05:58,519 does it take to support this hugely complicated infrastructure. And 88 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,600 whilst it's glass facade may offer the best views in town, 89 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,000 what are the secrets that stop these luxurious flaws becoming 90 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:07,319 a giant greenhouse? 91 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,120 Speaker 2: The holy grail of some high rise designers and builders 92 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,600 is to make a vertical city, to make a building 93 00:06:15,639 --> 00:06:20,240 not only of the office or the residents, but to 94 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,399 incorporate so many of the functions which we know make cities, 95 00:06:24,439 --> 00:06:26,120 which is really everything under the sun. 96 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:31,079 Speaker 1: As we increasingly begin living or working in these vertical cities, 97 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,480 I want to discover the secrets behind a successful life 98 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:40,079 in the clouds. These buildings are designed to work, rest, 99 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,439 and play, and I want to start with the workers. 100 00:06:44,120 --> 00:06:47,480 How are super skyscrapers set to change the way we 101 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:48,120 all work? 102 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:51,720 Speaker 4: So the way we work has been evolving and changing 103 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:56,000 over time so incredibly quickly, and skyscrapers have kind of 104 00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:00,879 contributed to that effect by accommodating a lot of people 105 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,720 in quite a small place. So in some ways, what 106 00:07:03,759 --> 00:07:07,519 it's doing is increasing the density of workers in particular 107 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:08,360 parts of the city. 108 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:15,879 Speaker 1: This story began with the very first skyscrapers. The birth 109 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,480 of the skyscraper in the nineteenth century in New York 110 00:07:18,519 --> 00:07:22,759 and Chicago gave factory owners and workers' space that was 111 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:29,319 both more humane and more efficient. Skyscrapers were designed to 112 00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:33,120 be a better place to work. They've always been forward thinking. 113 00:07:33,759 --> 00:07:37,600 The latest generation of super skyscrapers are designed to operate 114 00:07:37,639 --> 00:07:40,480 twenty four hours a day and to allow it's workers 115 00:07:40,519 --> 00:07:43,759 to find all their needs met in one building, even 116 00:07:43,759 --> 00:07:45,879 if that means bringing the outside in. 117 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,480 Speaker 7: Local planners will take into account the projected numbers of 118 00:07:49,519 --> 00:07:52,439 people that will come to the skyscraper over its lifetime 119 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,439 and factor that into the design of local public transport links. 120 00:07:57,279 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: Today's super skyscrapers need constant fear So how do you 121 00:08:01,519 --> 00:08:05,199 provide goods needed by tens of thousands of workers without 122 00:08:05,319 --> 00:08:11,560 gridlocking the streets. The answer you go underground. Beneath the 123 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,920 world's most famous super skyscrapers are miles of subterranean tunnels, 124 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:22,160 guaranteeing that thousands of goods are delivered every day. These 125 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:26,560 buildings are so sufficient and self contained, with entire transport 126 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,639 systems built around them. 127 00:08:28,959 --> 00:08:31,959 Speaker 7: A new skyscraper obviously brings a lot of new people 128 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,279 into an area to work and to live and to play, 129 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,279 and those people need to have access to public transport 130 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,039 to get them to and from the building. They are 131 00:08:41,039 --> 00:08:45,679 often located near major transport hubs, and sometimes the two 132 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,799 are integrated together into a major city intervention. 133 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,799 Speaker 1: But with super skyscrapers, it's not just about getting your 134 00:08:53,799 --> 00:08:56,600 workers to the building. You need to give them an 135 00:08:56,600 --> 00:09:00,200 incentive to come inside. I've come to a building which 136 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,639 has been nicknamed the Walkie Talkie, a structure with a 137 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:08,240 distinct bulge as it swells above its neighbors. Why there's 138 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,159 unusual shape, or part of the reason, is the astonishing 139 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,919 space right at the very summit, a space which possibly 140 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,159 gives us an insight to the future of working in 141 00:09:20,279 --> 00:09:27,519 super skyscrapers. Twenty Fenchurch Street in London, or the Walkie Talkie, 142 00:09:27,919 --> 00:09:31,000 was designed in two thousand and four. This thirty six 143 00:09:31,039 --> 00:09:35,039 story building provides six hundred and ninety thousand square feet 144 00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:38,360 of office space, and it tells a remarkable story about 145 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:43,360 how super skyscrapers must constantly innovate to keep their workers happy. 146 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,159 Speaker 7: As for modern world changes and we're able to work 147 00:09:46,159 --> 00:09:50,159 from anywhere we want. Skyscrapers are having to change how 148 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:51,679 they operate and what they're for. 149 00:09:52,639 --> 00:09:57,240 Speaker 1: The walkie talkie has been a controversial addition to London's Skyline. 150 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:01,320 But on the top floor there's a truly breath taking sight. 151 00:10:01,639 --> 00:10:12,559 And this is it. This is the sky Garden. Boy, 152 00:10:13,039 --> 00:10:17,879 is it impressive? Effectively? This is a public park one 153 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,279 hundred and fifty meters up in the air, and there 154 00:10:21,279 --> 00:10:23,399 are elements of it here that have been designed to 155 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,159 be like the figurehead on the prow of a ship, 156 00:10:26,759 --> 00:10:30,159 reaching out and giving you views right across the city 157 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,240 and even for those in the offices down below, as 158 00:10:34,279 --> 00:10:34,919 a pack of the. 159 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:35,720 Speaker 8: News have you had? 160 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: This is one of the highest landscaped gardens in the world. 161 00:10:40,639 --> 00:10:43,159 Over one and a half million people have visited the 162 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,279 Sky Gardens since it opened, and I can see why. 163 00:10:46,879 --> 00:10:49,200 But how much of this is for show and how 164 00:10:49,279 --> 00:10:51,960 much is really about the working environment for the people 165 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,360 in the floors below? Hey, this is sas face, isn't 166 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,960 it it is? Can we go another a closer look? 167 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,440 All the way around? Ben Abel is one of the 168 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:06,120 team behind this remarkable space. There's a massive variety of 169 00:11:06,159 --> 00:11:08,559 plants now, yes, yeah, so all the planting was done 170 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:12,519 by IQ Gardens. Wow, So tell me about this enormous 171 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:15,440 skygarden you've got up here. How important do you feel 172 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,240 that this is to incorporate spaces like this into the 173 00:11:18,279 --> 00:11:20,840 design and build of new skyscrapers. 174 00:11:21,159 --> 00:11:26,799 Speaker 9: It's really important because otherwise it's just a very uninteresting building. 175 00:11:26,799 --> 00:11:28,480 It's just a workspace. 176 00:11:28,639 --> 00:11:28,759 Speaker 6: You know. 177 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:30,919 Speaker 9: It's not just about getting as many people into an 178 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:34,000 office space as you can now, it's about making them productive. 179 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,519 It's all about wellness, about you know, making an environment 180 00:11:37,519 --> 00:11:40,120 where people want to come and live and work. The 181 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:42,159 healthy you are, the more productive you are, you take 182 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:44,360 less sick days. So you can get all that into 183 00:11:44,399 --> 00:11:47,480 your own design. People are going to be happier in 184 00:11:47,519 --> 00:11:50,440 their workplace. Happier people are more productive. It's a it's 185 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:51,600 a simple formula really. 186 00:11:52,519 --> 00:11:55,960 Speaker 1: The walkie Talkie was sold for a record breaking one 187 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:01,320 point three billion pounds in twenty seventeen. Super Skyscrapers are 188 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:05,120 big business, and the offices beneath the sky garden are 189 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:10,519 all fully let. Super Skyscrapers aren't just about making a 190 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,440 statement on the outside, they also need to match that 191 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:14,480 on the inside. 192 00:12:14,519 --> 00:12:17,080 Speaker 10: There's a huge draft for the public to be able 193 00:12:17,159 --> 00:12:21,759 to also experience skyscrapers, to be able to see the 194 00:12:21,799 --> 00:12:23,639 cities from a different vantage point. 195 00:12:24,720 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 4: I think they can act as big tourist attractions, for example, 196 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:30,399 because I know when I go on holiday, I always 197 00:12:30,519 --> 00:12:33,399 like to go somewhere up high and look over the city, 198 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,679 get a feel for what the place is like. And 199 00:12:35,879 --> 00:12:39,120 you know, by having bars and skyscrapers, it's attracting people 200 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:41,879 to come in there, go look at London, go look 201 00:12:41,919 --> 00:12:45,639 at Shanghai, wherever you might be, and experiencing the city 202 00:12:45,759 --> 00:12:48,759 from a completely different perspective that you just simply don't 203 00:12:48,799 --> 00:12:50,240 get if you're standing on the ground. 204 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:05,759 Speaker 1: These high rise giants can be extraordinary places to work 205 00:13:05,879 --> 00:13:08,720 or visit, but now for many it's becoming an entire 206 00:13:08,759 --> 00:13:12,440 way of life. With more and more people choosing to 207 00:13:12,559 --> 00:13:16,559 live their lives up in the sky and around the globe, 208 00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:22,279 towers are getting ever taller to accommodate the demand. So 209 00:13:22,399 --> 00:13:26,120 what are the secrets to living in super skyscrapers. One 210 00:13:26,159 --> 00:13:29,399 building that gives us an idea is the super skyscraper 211 00:13:29,399 --> 00:13:32,879 of the Moment, four three to two Park Avenue in 212 00:13:32,919 --> 00:13:37,000 New York, the tallest residential tower in the Western Hemisphere. 213 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:40,879 Speaker 11: Four three to two Park Avenue is completely remarkable because 214 00:13:40,879 --> 00:13:44,399 it's so slender and it has all its structure on 215 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,360 the outside of the building. A thing that makes it 216 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,919 stand up is completely what you see the outside is 217 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,639 the concrete. There is no cladding. It's just a fantastic 218 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,320 conception of a super slender tall building. 219 00:14:01,799 --> 00:14:05,840 Speaker 1: Taller than the Empire State and the Chrysler Building. The 220 00:14:05,879 --> 00:14:09,120 penthouse at the top of this super skyscraper sold for 221 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:16,080 ninety five million dollars. The developers are enticing big spenders 222 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,960 with luxury in the clouds. If you can afford it, 223 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:24,519 you'll have your own gain rooms and cinemas, swimming pools 224 00:14:24,519 --> 00:14:28,240 and gyms. For what you're really paying for is an 225 00:14:28,279 --> 00:14:32,279 extraordinary bird's eye view of New York from the massive 226 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:34,679 ten foot by ten foot windows. 227 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 10: The ability to look out your window and see for 228 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:42,679 miles and miles as an appeal for a resident, and 229 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:46,120 the ability to be up in the clouds will certainly 230 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,200 draw very very luxurious type of development. 231 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,519 Speaker 1: But if money is no object, how luxurious could high 232 00:14:54,639 --> 00:14:57,919 rise living get you? Imagine if you could create your 233 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:07,360 very own super skyscraper to become your dream home in 234 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:11,600 two thousand and six, Manchester's Beetham Tower was the tallest 235 00:15:11,639 --> 00:15:16,039 residential building in Europe and when building it, architect Ian 236 00:15:16,159 --> 00:15:18,919 Simpson saw a unique opportunity. 237 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:21,799 Speaker 5: When I first designed this building, I didn't know whether 238 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,759 I was going to live in it, but very quickly 239 00:15:23,799 --> 00:15:27,240 once we got planning permission, I decided that yes, I 240 00:15:27,279 --> 00:15:29,960 was going to occupy this top two floors. It was 241 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,879 an opportunity for me to create my own environment, which 242 00:15:33,919 --> 00:15:35,360 is really important. 243 00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,919 Speaker 1: To me, and Ian has certainly proved. 244 00:15:37,639 --> 00:15:40,759 Speaker 5: That quite often with tall buildings and with apartments, you 245 00:15:40,799 --> 00:15:44,559 don't have a garden inevitably, so I felt it would 246 00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:48,759 be interesting to try and create my own garden at 247 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:49,799 level forty seven. 248 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:56,679 Speaker 1: But this ambitious conservatory in the clouds presented certain logistical issues. 249 00:15:56,879 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 5: What I wanted in there were trees that were Mediterranean 250 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:03,639 and I love olive trees. We hoisted these thirty two 251 00:16:03,679 --> 00:16:07,159 olive trees up from the ground and dropped them through 252 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:09,960 the roof before we sealed the top of the building up. 253 00:16:10,639 --> 00:16:14,200 It was a completely mad notion to do that, but 254 00:16:14,639 --> 00:16:19,919 I do like walking through the olive trees here on 255 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,679 a sunny day. It's beautiful. 256 00:16:27,759 --> 00:16:32,799 Speaker 1: The Beetham Penthouse is an extraordinary achievement, but is life 257 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,200 in the clouds only an option for those who can 258 00:16:35,279 --> 00:16:41,600 afford it. I see these super skyscrapers as marvels of 259 00:16:41,679 --> 00:16:45,840 modern engineering and design. That love them or loathe them. 260 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:51,759 They're here to stay and this is only the beginning. 261 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:57,759 Staggeringly sleek and towering tool, London Skyline's about to change 262 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:02,440 once again, with a host of new gigantic structures soon 263 00:17:02,519 --> 00:17:06,640 on their way. I'm on my way to get a 264 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,640 private view of a development in the heart of London 265 00:17:10,039 --> 00:17:15,400 which aims to find the balance between luxury, convenience and space. 266 00:17:15,799 --> 00:17:20,039 The capital's highest residential skyscrapers are about to be usurped 267 00:17:20,079 --> 00:17:23,039 by the arrival of another taller kid on the block, 268 00:17:23,559 --> 00:17:26,599 One Crown Place. It will be a seven hundred and 269 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:31,160 seventy one feet high rise promising five style lifestyle amenities 270 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:35,079 across its two hundred and forty six apartments in its 271 00:17:35,079 --> 00:17:39,359 early stages. This is a vast project headed up by 272 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,440 architect John Bushell after being reasy, what are we going 273 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:46,200 to have here? What we'll be occupying all of this space? 274 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,440 Speaker 12: Well, it's nearly a whole city block and it's a 275 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:50,440 mixed use schemes. There's lots of different things in it. 276 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,079 We have a terrace that we've repaired that will have 277 00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:57,319 a fantastic hotalan retail around the base office and then 278 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,559 in the town as residential and at the between the 279 00:18:00,559 --> 00:18:04,079 two lounges, terraces and things all for the residents who 280 00:18:04,079 --> 00:18:07,359 live above. So there'll be lots of different things happening. 281 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,400 The owner's vision is this is busy all of the time. 282 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:13,400 Speaker 1: I'm going to get a peek at what living here 283 00:18:13,559 --> 00:18:16,640 might be like. So this is a showroom of a 284 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,480 typical apartment in their development. 285 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:22,119 Speaker 12: This is typical spacing. Big thing is to always make 286 00:18:22,119 --> 00:18:23,880 sure enough covered space, et cetera. 287 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:27,240 Speaker 1: Maximizing the use of all the space you've got. Despite 288 00:18:27,279 --> 00:18:31,319 its compact feel, this new development is once again about 289 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:35,440 selling the ultimate in sky high luxury. Who do you 290 00:18:35,559 --> 00:18:36,640 envisage living here? 291 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 12: The two people we're targeting are people who are working 292 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,039 in the city and want somewhere convenience right next to 293 00:18:45,039 --> 00:18:47,160 what and people who have been living out of the 294 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:48,720 city who want to come back to the city to 295 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,559 relive their youth in the middle of the city. 296 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: Do we know roughly how much an apartment in this 297 00:18:56,279 --> 00:18:57,519 development might cost. 298 00:18:57,640 --> 00:18:57,839 Speaker 5: Yeah. 299 00:18:57,880 --> 00:18:59,640 Speaker 12: I mean, the first thing to say is that this 300 00:18:59,799 --> 00:19:03,079 is a lot cheaper than many tower locations right next 301 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:05,680 to the city here. I think probably about a third 302 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,799 of the units are under a million pounds and are 303 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:09,759 very nice. 304 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,680 Speaker 1: So the big secret behind the new generation of super 305 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:21,799 skyscrapers is that they're turning more attention to wooing luxury homeowners. 306 00:19:25,079 --> 00:19:29,319 The world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, offers more than 307 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:34,039 nine hundred apartments, and with expected completion in twenty twenty, 308 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,440 the Kingdom Tower in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, will stand at 309 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,640 one thousand meters tall, with the highest apartments on the 310 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:45,000 one hundred and fifty sixth floor. Meanwhile, the highest homes 311 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,640 in Britain are currently the ten apartments between floors fifty 312 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:50,880 three and sixty five of the Shard. 313 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 4: So super tall structures for residential use are a fairly 314 00:19:55,279 --> 00:19:57,359 new phenomenon and it's really interesting to see how this 315 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,640 is going to develop over time. I think humans we 316 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,680 just have a real fascination for height, We have a 317 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:06,920 real fascination for views, and I think that living in 318 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:11,319 these really super tall structures perhaps has that sense of aspiration. 319 00:20:12,559 --> 00:20:16,559 Speaker 1: Buildings like the shard the walky talkie in One Crown 320 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:20,039 Place offer us a glimpse of how these structures operate 321 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:22,960 as vertical cities. But now I want to take my 322 00:20:23,039 --> 00:20:27,240 journey a step further to strip away the glamorous facades 323 00:20:27,279 --> 00:20:31,359 and luxurious apartments to reveal the secret workings of these 324 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,759 super skyscrapers. From the fastest lifts in the world. Oh 325 00:20:35,759 --> 00:20:38,680 my word, up to the forty fifth floor in just 326 00:20:38,839 --> 00:20:47,119 thirty seconds. Ah that's affected my ears. Ah wow, that 327 00:20:47,359 --> 00:20:52,279 is truly impressive. So the technology needed to transport water 328 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:56,400 a thousand meters up in the air. What does it 329 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:02,039 take to make these dreams a reality? Since the dawn 330 00:21:02,079 --> 00:21:05,799 of time, man has reached for the skies, and today's 331 00:21:05,799 --> 00:21:11,160 innovations and construction and technology are making those dreams a reality. 332 00:21:12,519 --> 00:21:15,079 Speaker 11: Skyscrapers can go quite a bit higher than they are now, 333 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,000 but the limitations are going to be probably that structure, 334 00:21:18,319 --> 00:21:20,920 and I think it's going to be the vertical transportation. 335 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:21,880 Speaker 13: Is going to be the limit on how high you 336 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:22,200 can go. 337 00:21:22,799 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 14: Lifts are a vital part of skyscrapers and their success. 338 00:21:26,799 --> 00:21:29,200 What's the point of having the area of a building 339 00:21:29,279 --> 00:21:32,039 that's three hundred meters from the floor if you can't 340 00:21:32,079 --> 00:21:33,720 get to it efficiently and safely. 341 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:39,680 Speaker 15: Manufacturing of lifts is a multi billion pound industry and 342 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:43,319 it all started with mister Otis who created this safety 343 00:21:43,359 --> 00:21:46,000 lift in the middle of the nineteenth century. The safety 344 00:21:46,039 --> 00:21:50,200 lift demonstrated if the cable broke, it wouldn't fall down 345 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:51,279 to the bottom of the ground. 346 00:21:51,799 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 1: From the endeavors of mister Otis to the modern lifts 347 00:21:54,759 --> 00:21:58,079 of today, it's a fascinating story of a race to 348 00:21:58,160 --> 00:22:02,720 build them taller. And so how do the new generation 349 00:22:02,839 --> 00:22:10,200 of super skyscraper lifts work. There's one extraordinary building in 350 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:14,200 London which reveals the secrets behind the latest in super 351 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:22,680 skyscraper lift technology. Opened in twenty fourteen, the Leadenhall Building, 352 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:25,839 affectionately known as the Cheese Grater, is home to the 353 00:22:25,839 --> 00:22:40,160 world's largest and fastest suite of panoramic lifts. Now this 354 00:22:40,279 --> 00:22:44,079 building is crammed full of lifts, twenty eight of them 355 00:22:44,079 --> 00:22:47,640 in total, and most of them are these glass lifts. 356 00:22:48,079 --> 00:22:51,319 They travel at eight meters per second from the lobby 357 00:22:51,319 --> 00:22:55,000 where I was, Oh my word, up to the forty 358 00:22:55,079 --> 00:22:58,359 fifth floor in just thirty seconds, and you only have 359 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:02,079 to look outside to get impression of that speed. Ah, 360 00:23:03,039 --> 00:23:04,240 that's affect of my ears. 361 00:23:04,759 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 2: Ah Wow, that is truly impressive. 362 00:23:11,279 --> 00:23:15,200 Speaker 1: These lifts are fast, but the real stunner is the 363 00:23:15,319 --> 00:23:20,119 mold breaking design. Nothing comparable has ever been attempted before. 364 00:23:20,839 --> 00:23:23,319 You can literally see the inner workings of the very 365 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:28,119 latest lift technology getting us even higher, even faster. 366 00:23:28,759 --> 00:23:30,759 Speaker 7: One of the ways that we're looking to push lift 367 00:23:30,799 --> 00:23:34,920 technology is to start using modern materials in the cables 368 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,119 and systems that move the lifts around. 369 00:23:37,519 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 1: This innovative high tech lift technology has recently been spectacularly 370 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:47,839 employed in the world's second tallest building, the Shanghai Tower, 371 00:23:48,039 --> 00:23:53,160 has just set three Guinness World records. This Chinese skyscraper 372 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:57,720 has the world's fastest elevator, the fastest double deck elevator, 373 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,599 and the tallest elevator are all in one building. 374 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:04,440 Speaker 7: One of the things that's limiting how high lifts can 375 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:07,559 go is how long you can make steel cables. 376 00:24:08,519 --> 00:24:12,839 Speaker 13: By introducing carbon into cables, that become lighter, which means 377 00:24:12,839 --> 00:24:15,839 you can have much longer links cable That obviously means 378 00:24:15,839 --> 00:24:16,920 the list could travel further. 379 00:24:19,079 --> 00:24:22,720 Speaker 1: The Kingdom Tower in Jedda, Saudi Arabia is expected to 380 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,559 become the world's tallest building when completed in twenty twenty 381 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:32,000 and a structure. This tool naturally requires an exceptional lift system. 382 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,680 In the past, the maximum possible length for a steel 383 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,000 lift cable was five hundred meters because of its weight. 384 00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:43,359 But with a tower standing a kilometer tall, a radical 385 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:48,720 solution was required. Finished lift manufacturers kne have risen to 386 00:24:48,759 --> 00:24:54,200 the challenge and developed the Ultra Road its secret carbon fiber. 387 00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:59,119 This lightweight innovation means lift cables can now travel up 388 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:03,279 to heights of a thousand meters, carry heavier loads, and 389 00:25:03,599 --> 00:25:10,000 last longer. It's a game changer. This new generation of 390 00:25:10,079 --> 00:25:14,000 lifts is not only enabling super skyscrapers to reach new heights, 391 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,640 They've become an essential feature of the design works of 392 00:25:17,799 --> 00:25:21,039 art in their own right and back here in Britain. 393 00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:25,279 There's a secret behind the lifts at Leadenhall. To achieve 394 00:25:25,319 --> 00:25:28,839 this level of high end design, the construction team opted 395 00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,400 for an unusual approach. They built the lifts off site, 396 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:36,119 which were then installed in one piece. In fact, an 397 00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:40,519 amazing eighty percent of this building was constructed off site. 398 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,759 This kind of prefabrication is changing the way the insides 399 00:25:44,799 --> 00:25:50,559 of super skyscrapers are being created. I've come to a 400 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:55,440 construction site using a radical new building technique which sees 401 00:25:55,599 --> 00:25:59,880 towers grow at the incredible rate of one story pole. 402 00:26:01,559 --> 00:26:05,200 They're pushing skyscraper technology to the limit here at the 403 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,880 East Village project just outside London, with a process that's 404 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,839 known as a jump factory. An assembly line is housed 405 00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:17,160 within a massive ten story tent. It controls every aspect 406 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:22,200 of the building's construction floor by floor. But the real 407 00:26:22,279 --> 00:26:27,319 secret behind such rapid and efficient construction is pre fabrication. 408 00:26:28,519 --> 00:26:31,839 Ninety eight percent of this giant structure is pre cast, 409 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,359 and everything else, from the bathroom pods to the utility 410 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,400 cupboards are made off site and then assembled here at 411 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:43,880 extraordinary speed. Mike Jennings is the operations director. 412 00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:49,480 Speaker 8: Okay, Rob, here's one of the utility cupboards now one 413 00:26:49,559 --> 00:26:53,039 level twenty four. Yeah, this is actually being connected up 414 00:26:53,079 --> 00:26:55,240 as you can see, so it's a work in progress. 415 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,680 We've got all the comms, we've got the consumer unit, 416 00:26:59,319 --> 00:27:02,160 and then underleath we've got the space for the washing 417 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:03,640 machine and the tumble drive. 418 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,400 Speaker 1: How many of these are being delivered to this building? 419 00:27:06,440 --> 00:27:09,519 Speaker 8: Then, Mike, there's four hundred and eighty two of these 420 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:14,559 utility cupboards, one per apartment. We anticipate it takes about 421 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,200 three weeks less to actually construct this. In the factory, 422 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,960 you have specialists and all they do is actually build 423 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:23,319 one component on this. 424 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: But the beauty of that as well is that you 425 00:27:25,039 --> 00:27:27,160 know the space and access up here. You're not having 426 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:30,160 to bring all those people right up into the sky 427 00:27:30,279 --> 00:27:32,240 to do this. They're doing it in a factory where 428 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:33,839 they can go from one to the next, to the next. 429 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,720 Speaker 8: To the next. One of the things about this, and 430 00:27:36,759 --> 00:27:39,440 I think the beauty of actually getting some like to 431 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,680 be fabricated, is the tall buildings tend to have a 432 00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:47,599 smaller footprint because they build in a stack fashion, and 433 00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:51,519 so space is an absolute premium. So if you can 434 00:27:51,559 --> 00:27:54,119 imagine something like this and you'd have a cast of 435 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,519 thousands all visiting this a different time, you haven't got 436 00:27:57,559 --> 00:28:00,480 that because it's all done off sie in a real 437 00:28:00,519 --> 00:28:01,319 saving forest. 438 00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:06,359 Speaker 1: For this and for super skyscrapers under construction around the world, 439 00:28:06,799 --> 00:28:10,759 it's a method that's incredibly fast. Completely pre built and 440 00:28:10,799 --> 00:28:14,200 assembled bathroom units are craned up to each level and 441 00:28:14,319 --> 00:28:15,559 simply slotted in. 442 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,960 Speaker 8: So here's the finished bathroom pod. 443 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,519 Speaker 16: I can't reladers gets the limited like that. 444 00:28:26,759 --> 00:28:28,599 Speaker 8: It gets delivered exactly like that. 445 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: Building a completely fitted floor of a skyscraper in just 446 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:39,359 fifty five hours is incredible. So prefabrication and a factory 447 00:28:39,359 --> 00:28:43,079 style environment is the secret to the future of super 448 00:28:43,079 --> 00:28:47,319 skyscraper construction. It shaves months off the build time and 449 00:28:47,359 --> 00:28:50,720 has minimum impact on the surrounding community and environment. 450 00:28:51,759 --> 00:28:55,559 Speaker 15: The environmental concerns around skyscraper the amount of energy it 451 00:28:55,599 --> 00:28:59,279 takes physically to construct them, and then the amount of 452 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,480 energy that you throughout their lifetime. 453 00:29:02,559 --> 00:29:06,599 Speaker 7: Skyscrapers use a lot of material to go high. Environmentally, 454 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:10,319 we want to start thinking about how we use material 455 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:13,400 most effectively in our cities, and we need to start 456 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:18,480 asking the question is this appropriate in a sustainable age. 457 00:29:18,599 --> 00:29:22,720 Speaker 1: With all this to consider, it's no surprise super skyscrapers 458 00:29:22,759 --> 00:29:25,160 are not only competing for the title of the tallest, 459 00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:29,599 but also the greenest. With one hundred and one flaws 460 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:33,400 and five basement levels, the Type A World Financial Center 461 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,920 is one of the tallest buildings in Asia. But equally 462 00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:42,279 impressive is what's going on inside. This smart skyscraper has 463 00:29:42,319 --> 00:29:46,680 an automated internal system that constantly monitors and adjusts its 464 00:29:46,759 --> 00:29:51,359 energy supply, monitors its water flow, and evaluates system performance. 465 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,319 But as important as this technology is, it's unlikely to 466 00:29:55,359 --> 00:29:55,799 be seen. 467 00:29:56,599 --> 00:29:59,799 Speaker 10: One of the fundamental design issues within a skyscraper is 468 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:04,079 for it to be able to function and keep all 469 00:30:04,119 --> 00:30:06,319 of the elements that are required for it to function 470 00:30:06,759 --> 00:30:11,680 out of view. The skyscraper is an experience. It's a 471 00:30:11,759 --> 00:30:14,839 journey from the street up into the sky, and it's 472 00:30:15,160 --> 00:30:17,359 one that you want to be able to make as 473 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:22,240 seamless as possible, hide away things like power plumbing. 474 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,480 Speaker 3: Skyscrapers often have secret flows in them which the users 475 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,519 of the building will never know even there. There's usually 476 00:30:29,519 --> 00:30:32,640 one every about thirty stories in a skyscraper, and this 477 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:35,880 is where all the mechanical services are stored. 478 00:30:36,599 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: I've been invited to take a glimpse at one of 479 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,519 these secret floors at the Leadenhall Building. We may now 480 00:30:42,599 --> 00:30:45,680 be able to construct the inside of these mega structures 481 00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:49,000 more efficiently than ever before. But feeding a building that's 482 00:30:49,039 --> 00:30:54,400 so high with power and water that takes some serious engineering. 483 00:30:54,839 --> 00:30:59,599 Angelo Christu is the man responsible for Leadenhall's giant pump rings. 484 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:04,039 How are you good to see? Where have I come 485 00:31:04,039 --> 00:31:07,359 into here? This is all very different. Suddenly, this is. 486 00:31:07,359 --> 00:31:10,079 Speaker 16: The Chilip plant room ultimately the heart of the building, 487 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:12,680 the coolest room. Low pun intended. 488 00:31:12,559 --> 00:31:15,839 Speaker 1: Water is crucial to the way we live. The average 489 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:19,039 family home might use around three hundred and fifty liters 490 00:31:19,039 --> 00:31:23,200 per day, but inside skyscrapers things are very different. They 491 00:31:23,200 --> 00:31:26,279 can use over a thousand times that amount, with up 492 00:31:26,279 --> 00:31:29,519 to thirty miles of piping to pump it round the building. 493 00:31:29,599 --> 00:31:30,279 Speaker 7: You can have a think. 494 00:31:30,319 --> 00:31:31,480 Speaker 5: Look absolutely help. 495 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:36,720 Speaker 16: So just to give you an idea of the pressure 496 00:31:36,759 --> 00:31:39,759 that needs punks and pipes are holding. I think the 497 00:31:39,839 --> 00:31:42,400 nuts and bolts from the collars are a pretty good 498 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:44,960 indication of the pressure. 499 00:31:44,559 --> 00:31:45,519 Speaker 8: That's go improving. 500 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 1: So actually, if you feel that as well as a vibration, 501 00:31:49,119 --> 00:31:51,440 that's solut and that's water being pumped through there at 502 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:52,160 twenty five bar. 503 00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:54,720 Speaker 16: It seems I mean, if you think that your home 504 00:31:54,799 --> 00:31:57,599 boiler operates just over one one and a half bar, 505 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,880 this is twenty five times. 506 00:32:00,960 --> 00:32:03,640 Speaker 1: So these are the pumps and what these are the 507 00:32:04,599 --> 00:32:06,440 These are the chillers. 508 00:32:05,839 --> 00:32:08,200 Speaker 16: These these children will tell us. 509 00:32:08,319 --> 00:32:09,240 Speaker 12: Let's taken look round. 510 00:32:09,839 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: In a house, the focus is on heating, but I 511 00:32:13,039 --> 00:32:15,720 want to know why the emphasis in skyscrapers is on 512 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:16,839 keeping them cool. 513 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,319 Speaker 16: There's potentially up to five and a half thousand people 514 00:32:20,319 --> 00:32:24,200 in the building, plus visitors, plus our own team of 515 00:32:24,279 --> 00:32:27,279 one hundred plus. So first and foremost, you have body heat. 516 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:30,319 You only if you think about you have desktop pieces 517 00:32:30,599 --> 00:32:34,319 which generate heats. You have printers, you have tea points, 518 00:32:34,359 --> 00:32:37,359 you have kettles. The list goes on. If you lose 519 00:32:37,359 --> 00:32:40,440 your chillers, the building could potentially shut down. 520 00:32:41,759 --> 00:32:46,480 Speaker 1: That high tech can't work without these. Probably it's only 521 00:32:46,480 --> 00:32:50,200 by peeling back the layers of vast super skyscrapers that 522 00:32:50,279 --> 00:32:54,400 you appreciate how cleverly these buildings hide away the secrets 523 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:58,880 of their inner workings. The cheese greater shape of this 524 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:01,920 building is not just a quirk of the architect The 525 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,160 section I'm stood on here is called the north core, 526 00:33:05,279 --> 00:33:08,920 and beneath me is where all the pipes cable work, 527 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:14,119 where the guts of the building are contained. Typically you'd 528 00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:17,680 have all of that running through a central core in 529 00:33:17,759 --> 00:33:23,799 a skyscraper. Separating it allows for an unprecedented amount of 530 00:33:24,079 --> 00:33:28,079 usable space. Back inside the gesgrater. 531 00:33:28,759 --> 00:33:31,480 Speaker 3: The most important part of skyscraper is definitely the core. 532 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,519 I like to think of it as the spine of 533 00:33:33,599 --> 00:33:37,960 the building. It's the part that's crucially structural for helping 534 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:38,960 the building to stay up. 535 00:33:42,160 --> 00:33:46,240 Speaker 1: Within just a few generations, skyscrapers have gone from flights 536 00:33:46,279 --> 00:33:50,279 of fancy to an everyday reality. But I want to 537 00:33:50,319 --> 00:33:53,680 know what the future might hold for these cities in 538 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:57,319 the sky. How could our lives be set to change 539 00:33:57,319 --> 00:34:01,359 as a result of these mega structures. Super skyscrapers will 540 00:34:01,359 --> 00:34:03,319 be the next big game changes. 541 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:08,880 Speaker 4: I find it really interesting to think about the evolution. 542 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:11,480 So we look back one hundred and fifty years and 543 00:34:11,559 --> 00:34:14,519 our skyscrapers were quite blucky. They were fairly ordinary, shaped 544 00:34:14,559 --> 00:34:18,320 in a rectangular square and so on. We are now 545 00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:22,480 starting to see some interesting geometry coming in, and I 546 00:34:22,519 --> 00:34:25,480 think as time goes on, we'll see more wild and 547 00:34:25,519 --> 00:34:29,199 wacky forms. They might get more sculptural kind of more 548 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:29,960 works of art. 549 00:34:30,039 --> 00:34:37,440 Speaker 3: Perhaps there's always an element of competitiveness between skyscraper developers 550 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,480 of who can build the tallest building, But whoever holds 551 00:34:40,519 --> 00:34:42,880 that title, it's always such a short lived victory because 552 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,079 there's bound to be someone else that comes along soon 553 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:48,559 and builds an even taller building. 554 00:34:49,559 --> 00:34:51,679 Speaker 4: So if I'm trying to make a prediction for what 555 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,320 the skyscrapers of the future will look like, I think 556 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:57,360 one trend. We're just starting to see the seeds of 557 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,039 are having really tall and skinny skyscrapers. 558 00:35:03,199 --> 00:35:06,400 Speaker 6: Our brilliant architects and engineers will allow us to build 559 00:35:06,519 --> 00:35:09,679 almost anything that we can imagine, and indeed many things 560 00:35:09,679 --> 00:35:12,480 we can't yet imagine. There is talk of building complete 561 00:35:12,519 --> 00:35:16,760 cities in skyscrapers, where you have a city in the clouds. 562 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:20,800 Speaker 1: And there's one continent that's changing the way we live 563 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,880 and work in these megastructures more than any other. 564 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,840 Speaker 13: I think if you look at, for example, skyscrapers in Asia, 565 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:30,159 a lot of that is due to the fact that 566 00:35:30,199 --> 00:35:35,079 there is a mass population movement from the countryside into cities. 567 00:35:35,480 --> 00:35:38,880 Speaker 3: Skyscrapers are the best way of providing dense housing right 568 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,159 in the heart of cities where we need it, and 569 00:35:41,199 --> 00:35:43,400 they're actually a really efficient way of using a very 570 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:44,880 small plot of urban land. 571 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:49,039 Speaker 1: Asia now hosts seven of the ten tallest buildings in 572 00:35:49,079 --> 00:35:52,559 the world and has more super skyscrapers than the rest 573 00:35:52,559 --> 00:35:55,519 of the continents combined. So how is this part of 574 00:35:55,519 --> 00:35:59,400 the globe leading the way? The Shanghai Tower is a 575 00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,960 good place to start. Costing an estimated two point four 576 00:36:03,079 --> 00:36:06,760 billion dollars, it stands six hundred and thirty two meters 577 00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,199 tall and has one hundred and twenty eight stories every 578 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,840 single day are staggering. Sixteen thousand people can be accommodated 579 00:36:14,840 --> 00:36:18,800 by the tower, and this is the future of super skyscrapers, 580 00:36:19,119 --> 00:36:24,719 a bustling vertical world geared towards sustainable living. Forty different 581 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,559 energy saving measures have cut thirty four thousand metric tons 582 00:36:28,599 --> 00:36:32,519 from its annual carbon footprint, making it the greenest super 583 00:36:32,599 --> 00:36:36,800 high rise building on Earth. Throughout history, the most memorable 584 00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:41,079 structures have been the grandest and the largest, but in 585 00:36:41,119 --> 00:36:44,199 a future of tool buildings, architects will be buying for 586 00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:46,800 a new title, the most efficient. 587 00:36:47,679 --> 00:36:52,440 Speaker 2: We have high rise buildings which are more responsible in 588 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:57,079 the materials they use to have a smaller carbon footprint. 589 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,840 We have the potential for energy generation of solar and 590 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:02,599 wind power into our buildings. 591 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:06,679 Speaker 4: So one way that we might see skyscrapers actually being 592 00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:09,199 a bit more self sufficient is that they might generate 593 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:12,480 their own energy. And one way that we could do 594 00:37:12,559 --> 00:37:15,760 that is that we could actually clad the skyscrapers with 595 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,960 windows that are also photovoltaic cells or solar panels, and 596 00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:23,400 so the skyscraper with lots of surface area could absorb 597 00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:25,360 all this energy from the sun and then use that 598 00:37:25,519 --> 00:37:27,000 energy for its own operation. 599 00:37:27,599 --> 00:37:31,599 Speaker 1: And there's a surprising new twist in super skyscraper design 600 00:37:31,679 --> 00:37:32,480 on the horizon. 601 00:37:32,880 --> 00:37:37,199 Speaker 15: One of the latest skyscrapers to be proposed is a 602 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,639 huge one. I think at least seventy stories, and it's 603 00:37:40,679 --> 00:37:44,800 going to be clad entirely in timber. That is probably 604 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:49,360 more sustainable than using steel in its construction. Well, how 605 00:37:49,440 --> 00:37:52,679 you maintain a timber facade, I don't know. 606 00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:56,079 Speaker 1: Timber has been used to make homes for more than 607 00:37:56,079 --> 00:37:59,760 two thousand years, but it's now being heralded as a 608 00:37:59,840 --> 00:38:05,920 life weight and sustainable way to build super skyscrapers. This 609 00:38:06,199 --> 00:38:10,639 is the oak Wood Timber Tower. This revolutionary design is 610 00:38:10,679 --> 00:38:14,280 still only a proposal, but if plans go ahead, the 611 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:18,199 eighty story tower could be the world's tallest wooden structure. 612 00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:22,800 Oak Wood would provide over a thousand residential units in 613 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:26,280 the heart of London. But it's not just the materials 614 00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:29,239 that could revolutionize the design of the next generation of 615 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:33,800 super skyscrapers. Designers are looking at how these giant structures 616 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,119 could now connect with each other. I begin to wonder 617 00:38:37,159 --> 00:38:39,840 if the future of our cities might be about two 618 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:43,760 parallel worlds living side by side, a life on the 619 00:38:43,800 --> 00:38:47,800 ground below a life up here in the sky. 620 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:50,559 Speaker 4: And I think where we start to see these super 621 00:38:50,559 --> 00:38:53,960 tall clusters of skyscrapers coming together, you might actually have 622 00:38:54,159 --> 00:38:57,119 multiple layers of skybridges connecting them up, so you actually 623 00:38:57,119 --> 00:39:00,000 spend most of your day kind of at high leans 624 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,519 rather than having to come down to the ground very often. 625 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:06,920 Speaker 1: One of these new breeds of super skyscraper is in China, 626 00:39:07,159 --> 00:39:10,320 which is looking to set new world records with the 627 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:17,039 highest horizontal skyscraper, the Raffle City, Chong King. This will 628 00:39:17,079 --> 00:39:23,280 feature an extraordinary feat of engineering, a skybridge, the highest 629 00:39:23,320 --> 00:39:27,519 in the world and measuring three hundred meters in length, 630 00:39:28,079 --> 00:39:34,519 connecting four colossal towers. If we're set to live in 631 00:39:34,639 --> 00:39:38,280 cities of high rises, then this design could give us 632 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:39,880 a glimpse of the future. 633 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,320 Speaker 2: The Harra's building is perhaps a vehicle for us to 634 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:51,639 incorporate and express some of our greatest advances in society 635 00:39:51,679 --> 00:39:54,480 and our aspirations for our world. 636 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:56,559 Speaker 3: In cities so much of the land has already been 637 00:39:56,719 --> 00:40:01,639 developed on, there's an increasing pressure on developing to provide 638 00:40:01,639 --> 00:40:04,760 open spaces and public realms at the bottom of skyscrapers. 639 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:06,320 So I think in the future you're going to see 640 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:09,239 a lot of floating skyscrapers with very minimal structure at 641 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:10,360 the bottom. 642 00:40:11,039 --> 00:40:15,840 Speaker 1: So from the next generation of wooden plyscrapers and cities 643 00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:21,360 full of skybridges to extraordinary towers a thousand meters up 644 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:26,480 in the sky. These extraordinary super skyscrapers are defining our 645 00:40:26,639 --> 00:40:31,360 twenty first century cities. There's an engineer. I'm not just 646 00:40:31,440 --> 00:40:35,000 in awe of the sheer scale an ambition of these structures. 647 00:40:35,519 --> 00:40:39,239 It's how they work that intrigues me too, the inner 648 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:43,840 machinery of these colossal giants. When new milestones are being set, 649 00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:47,840 new ideas are coming to life, and where a brand 650 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:52,119 new way of living awaits us, all up here in 651 00:40:52,159 --> 00:41:02,000 the sky.