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Bridges
How does a bridge withstand the forces of nature and traffic?
Host David Macaulay takes viewers from the stone arch bridges of the Roman Empire to Japan's giant, all-steel Akashi-Kaikyo suspension bridge, the longest in the world. Through the epic sagas of the Brooklyn, Golden Gate, and other great bridges, Macaulay shows how engineers have conquered ever-wider spans with better construction materials and innovative designs.
Program highlights: Gustave Eiffel's Garabit Bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge, San Francisco's Golden Gate, Tacoma Narrows, Japan's Akashi-Kaikyo, Scotland's Firth of Forth Railway Bridge.
Domes
How does a dome support itself?
Ever since the Roman Emperor Hadrian topped his Pantheon with a dome, this roof-with-class has been a building form with prestige. Big domes cover civilization's most revered structures, from great cathedrals to mosques to houses of government. Host David Macaulay uncovers the tricky technology of domes, from the Pantheon to the geodesic marvels of Buckminster Fuller and beyond.
Program highlights: the Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, Saint Peter's Cathedral, U.S. Capitol Building, Houston Astrodome, Buckminster Fuller and the geodesic dome, the Georgia Dome.
Skyscrapers
What does it take to erect a skyscraper 100 stories tall?
From the medieval towers of Italy's San Gimignano to today's race to build the world's tallest skyscraper, host David Macaulay chronicles our aptitude for altitude. On the way up, he highlights the remarkable achievements of the Gothic cathedral builders and the almost-disaster of New York's Citigroup (formerly Citicorp) Center.
Program highlights: the Chrysler Building, Reims Cathedral, Eiffel Tower, Empire State Building, New York City's Citigroup Center, Malaysia's Petronas Towers.
Dams
How does a dam resist the crush of millions of gallons of water?
Host David Macaulay surveys the dam-the biggest, costliest structure of all-from Hoover's concrete arch confronting the Colorado River to the Aswan High Dam, a veritable underwater mountain sitting on the Nile riverbed, holding back a lake nearly the size of England.
Program highlights: Egypt's ancient Sadd El Kafara, Aswan High Dam, Hoover Dam, Brazil and Paraguay's Itaipu Dam, Brazil's Ita Dam, Johnstown, Pennsylvania's South Fork Dam.
Tunnels
What keeps a tunnel from collapsing?
Tunnels have advanced from dangerous, claustrophobic passages to spacious, safe subterranean networks as roomy as shopping malls. Host David Macaulay takes viewers underground to explore the history and ingenuity behind some of the world's tunneling marvels.
Program highlights: Boston's Big Dig, Rome's Cloaca Maxima, Hoosac Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, London's Thames Tunnel, the Chunnel.
About the production
BUILDING BIG is a co-production of WGBH Science Unit and Production Group, Inc. Major funding is provided by the National Science Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. National sponsorship is provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers and Siemens.
Executive-in-charge is Paula S. Apsell, executive producer of NOVA? and director of the WGBH Science Unit.
Series executive producer is Larry Klein of Production Group, Inc. Celebrated author-illustrator David Macaulay is series host.
Accessibility
BUILDING BIG is closed captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers by The Caption Center at WGBH Boston. Narrated descriptions of BUILDING BIG are provided by Descriptive Video Service? (DVS?), a national service of WGBH Boston.
