Extreme Engineering
Encyclopedia
Extreme Engineering is a documentary
television series that airs on the Discovery Channel
and the Science Channel. The program features futuristic
and ongoing engineering
projects. As of April 2011, the show is airing its ninth season. Danny Forster
first hosted the series in season 4 and has been the host since season 6. The show was renamed Build It Bigger in the United States but retains its name when broadcast in Europe.
for the Discovery Channel. It focused on three incredible, yet physically possible, engineering projects: the nine mile (14 km)-long Gibraltar Bridge, the 170-story Millennium Tower
and the 4000+-foot-long Freedom Ship
. This program won the Beijing International Science Film Festival Silver Award, and earned Discovery's second-highest, weeknight rating for 2002. After the success of this program, Discovery commissioned Powderhouse to produce the first season of the 10-part series, Extreme Engineering, whose episodes were written by Alan Lindgren, Ed Fields and several other Powderhouse writer-producers. Like Engineering the Impossible, the first season of Extreme Engineering focused on extreme projects of the future. Season 2 (and all seasons since) featured projects already in construction around the world.
WAGtv Ltd. produced 6 episodes for Discovery that were also broadcast in the United States as part of the 4th season of Extreme Engineering.
Reference:
, and Discovery Channel
.
! No. !! Episode name !! Premiere !! Project !! Status at production !! Current status
|-
| 501 || South Ferry Subway Station || || The New York City Subway
's new South Ferry
station || Under construction || Completed
|-
| 502 || World's Biggest Arch Bridge || || Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (the Hoover Dam Bypass)|| Under construction || Completed
|-
| 503 || JFK: JetBlue Terminal || || Reconstruction of John F. Kennedy International Airport
's Terminal 5
|| Under construction || Completed
|-
| 504 || Stonecutters Bridge: Hong Kong || || Hong Kong
's Stonecutters Bridge
|| Under construction || Completed
|-
| 505 || California Academy of Sciences || || The rebuilding of the California Academy of Sciences
in San Francisco, California || Under construction || Completed
|-
| 506 || Hallandsås Ridge Tunnel: Sweden || || Sweden's Hallandsas railway tunnel
|| Under construction || Under construction (Estimated completion 2015)
|}
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
television series that airs on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and the Science Channel. The program features futuristic
Future
The future is the indefinite time period after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the nature of the reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist is temporary and will come...
and ongoing engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
projects. As of April 2011, the show is airing its ninth season. Danny Forster
Danny Forster
Daniel K. "Danny" Forster is an American television host and producer and architect. He is best known as the host of the Science Channel series Build It Bigger.-Early life and education:...
first hosted the series in season 4 and has been the host since season 6. The show was renamed Build It Bigger in the United States but retains its name when broadcast in Europe.
Origins of the show
Engineering the Impossible was a 2-hour special, created and written by Alan Lindgren and produced by Powderhouse ProductionsPowderhouse Productions
Powderhouse Productions is an American television production company.-Origins:As early as 1986, Powderhouse co-founders Joel Olicker and Tug Yourgrau met while working to produce a documentary for WGBH, the public television station located in Boston, Massachusetts.The collaboration on this...
for the Discovery Channel. It focused on three incredible, yet physically possible, engineering projects: the nine mile (14 km)-long Gibraltar Bridge, the 170-story Millennium Tower
Millennium Tower
Millennium Tower may refer to:* Millennium Tower , Nigeria* Millennium Tower , Netherlands* Millennium Tower , Serbia* Millennium Tower , Slovakia* Millennium Tower , United Arab Emirates...
and the 4000+-foot-long Freedom Ship
Freedom Ship
Freedom Ship was a floating city project initially proposed in the late 1990s. It was so named because of the "free" international lifestyle facilitated by a mobile ocean colony, though the project would not have been a conventional ship, but rather a series of linked barges.The Freedom Ship...
. This program won the Beijing International Science Film Festival Silver Award, and earned Discovery's second-highest, weeknight rating for 2002. After the success of this program, Discovery commissioned Powderhouse to produce the first season of the 10-part series, Extreme Engineering, whose episodes were written by Alan Lindgren, Ed Fields and several other Powderhouse writer-producers. Like Engineering the Impossible, the first season of Extreme Engineering focused on extreme projects of the future. Season 2 (and all seasons since) featured projects already in construction around the world.
Episode list
| Seasons | Episodes | First Air date | Last Air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | ||
| 2 | 9 | ||
| 3 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 6 | ||
| 6 | 14 | ||
| 7 | 7 | ||
| 8 | 10 | ||
| 9 | 8 | ||
Reference:
- Gibraltar BridgeGibraltar BridgeA Strait of Gibraltar crossing is a hypothetical bridge or tunnel spanning the Strait of Gibraltar that would connect Europe to Africa.The Spanish and Moroccan governments appointed a a to investigate the feasibility of linking the two continents...
(concept approved, initial design under way) - Freedom ShipFreedom ShipFreedom Ship was a floating city project initially proposed in the late 1990s. It was so named because of the "free" international lifestyle facilitated by a mobile ocean colony, though the project would not have been a conventional ship, but rather a series of linked barges.The Freedom Ship...
(being proposed) - Millennium Tower (Hong Kong) (on-hold/cancelled due to Central Reclamation Phase IIICentral and Wan Chai ReclamationCentral and Wan Chai Reclamation is a project launched by the Hong Kong Government since the 1990s to reclaim land for different purposes.-Background:The project was first mentioned in the 1985 planning strategy by the Government...
lawsuit)
Season 1: 2003
| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at Production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 | Tokyo's Sky City | Tokyo's Sky City Sky City 1000 Sky City 1000 is a visionary supertall skyscraper in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan announced in 1989 during the height of the Japanese asset price bubble.... |
Proposed | Proposed | |
| 102 | Subways Rapid transit A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on... In America |
East Side Access East Side Access East Side Access is a public works project being undertaken by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City, designed to bring the Long Island Rail Road into a new East Side station to be built below and incorporated into Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan... |
Proposed | Under construction (Estimated completion 2016) | |
| 103 | Transatlantic Tunnel | The Transatlantic tunnel Transatlantic tunnel A transatlantic tunnel is a theoretical tunnel which would span the Atlantic Ocean between North America and Europe and would carry mass transit of some type—trains are envisioned in most proposals.Using advanced technologies, speeds of are envisaged.... |
Proposed | Proposed | |
| 104 | City in a Pyramid | The Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid Shimizu Mega-City Pyramid The Shimizu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid is a proposed project for construction of a massive pyramid over Tokyo Bay in Japan. The structure would be about 14 times higher than the Great Pyramid at Giza, and would house 750,000 people. The structure would be 730 meters above mean sea level, including... |
Proposed | Proposed | |
| 105 | Bridging the Bering Strait | The Bering Strait crossing | Proposed | Proposed | |
| 106 | Tunneling Under the Alps | Gotthard Base Tunnel Gotthard Base Tunnel The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a new railway tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps, expected to open in 2016. With a route length of and a total of of tunnels, shafts and passages, it is the world's longest rail tunnel, surpassing the Japanese Seikan Tunnel.... |
Under construction | Tunnelling Complete (Estimated completion 2016) | |
| 107 | Building Hong Kong's Airport | Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial... |
Completed | Completed | |
| 108 | Holland's Barriers to the Sea | Maeslantkering Maeslantkering The Maeslantkering is a storm surge barrier in the Nieuwe Waterweg waterway located between the towns of Hoek van Holland and Maassluis, Netherlands, , which automatically closes when needed... and Oosterscheldekering Oosterscheldekering The Oosterscheldekering , between the islands Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of the 13 ambitious Delta works series of dams, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding... storm surge barriers |
Completed | Completed | |
| 109 | Boston's Big Dig | Boston's Big Dig Big Dig The Central Artery/Tunnel Project , known unofficially as the Big Dig and as the Big Dug since completion, was a megaproject in Boston that rerouted the Central Artery , the chief highway through the heart of the city, into a 3.5-mile tunnel... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 110 | Widening the Panama Canal Panama Canal The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6... |
Panama Canal expansion project | Proposed | Under construction (Estimated completion 2014) |
Season 2: 2004
Nine episodes were produced for season 2. It is also the first season produced in HDTV for HD Theater.| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 201 | Turning Torso | Turning Torso Turning Torso HSB Turning Torso is the tallest skyscraper in Sweden and the Nordic countries, situated in Malmö, Sweden, located on the Swedish side of the Öresund strait. Upon completion, it was the tallest building in Scandinavia, the tallest residential building in the EU and the second tallest residential... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 202 | Venice Flood Gates | Venice Tide Barrier Project (MOSE Project MOSE Project The MOSE Project is a project intended to protect the city of Venice, Italy from floods... ) |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated Completion 2012) | |
| 203 | Container Ship Container ship Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:... s |
Adrian Mærsk (Maersk Line) | Completed | Completed | |
| 204 | Oakland Bay Bridge | Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge | Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2013) | |
| 205 | Iceland Tunnels | Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant is a hydroelectric power plant in eastern Iceland designed to produce 4,600 GWh annually for Alcoa's Fjardaál aluminum smelter to the east in Reyðarfjörður. The project, named after nearby Mount Kárahnjúkur, involves damming the Jökulsá á Dal River and the Jökulsá... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 206 | Off-shore Oil Platforms | Tarzan Class oil rigs | Under construction | Completed | |
| 207 | Cooper River Bridge | Cooper River Bridge | Under construction | Completed | |
| 208 | Millau Viaduct | Millau Viaduct Millau Viaduct The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast's summit at . It is the... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 209 | Excavators | Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine Hull-Rust-Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine The Hull-Rust-Mahoning Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota, is one of the largest open pit iron mines in the world. The mine, located in the Mesabi Range, supplied as much as one-fourth of all the iron ore mined in the United States during its peak production during World War I and World War II.This area of... |
Completed | Completed |
Season 3: 2005-06
WagTV produced six episodes that were acquired by Discovery for season 3.| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 301 | The Snøhvit Arctic Gas Processing Platform | Snøhvit Snøhvit Snøhvit is the name of a natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea, situated northwest of Hammerfest, Norway. The northern part of the Norwegian Sea is often described as the Barents Sea by offshore petroleum companies... platform / |
Completed | Completed | |
| 302 | The El Cajon Dam | El Cajon Dam El Cajón Dam (Mexico) The El Cajón Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Río Grande de Santiago in the Mexican state of Nayarit. Construction began in 2003 and was completed in June 2007. It cost US$800 million to build. It is long and is high. The reservoir holds approximately of water, and the generators are capable of... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 303 | Hong Kong's Cable Car | (?) | Ngong Ping 360 Ngong Ping 360 The Ngong Ping 360 is a tourism project on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The project was previously known as Tung Chung Cable Car Project before acquiring the Ngong Ping 360 brand in April 2005... |
Under construction | Completed |
| 304 | Woodrow Wilson Bridge | (?) | Woodrow Wilson Bridge Woodrow Wilson Bridge The Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Potomac River between the independent city of Alexandria, Virginia and Oxon Hill in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. While over the water near the Virginia shore, it crosses the southern tip of the District of... |
Under construction | Completed |
| 305 | Gotthard Tunnel | Gotthard Base Tunnel Gotthard Base Tunnel The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a new railway tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps, expected to open in 2016. With a route length of and a total of of tunnels, shafts and passages, it is the world's longest rail tunnel, surpassing the Japanese Seikan Tunnel.... |
Under construction | Tunnelling Complete (Estimated completion 2016) | |
| 306 | Dubai's Ski Resort | Ski Dubai Ski Dubai Ski Dubai is an indoor ski resort with 22,500 square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, one of the largest shopping malls in the world, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates... |
Under construction | Completed |
Season 4: 2006
Powderhouse Productions produced six episodes for season 4 with host Danny Forster. It currently airs under the Build It Bigger name on HD Theater, The Science ChannelThe Science Channel
Science is a United States cable, satellite and IPTV Television Network produced by Discovery Communications. Science features programming in the fields of space, technology, prehistory and animals.-History:...
, and Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
.
| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 401 | SuperStadium | University of Phoenix Stadium University of Phoenix Stadium University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 402 | MegaTunnel | Storm Management And Road Tunnel SMART Tunnel The "Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel" or "SMART Tunnel", is a storm drainage and road structure in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a major national project in the country... (SMART) in Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million... , Malaysia |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 403 | Biggest Warship | Under construction | Completed | ||
| 404 | Sakhalin Oil & Ice | Sakhalin-II Sakhalin-II The Sakhalin-2 project is an oil and gas development in Sakhalin Island, Russia. It includes development of the Piltun-Astokhskoye oil field and the Lunskoye natural gas field offshore Sakhalin Island in the Okhotsk Sea, and associated infrastructure onshore. The project is managed and operated... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 405 | Big Easy Rebuild | Reconstruction of New Orleans Reconstruction of New Orleans The Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 caused significant problems due to the breach of the flood protection system designed after 1965 to protect the city. Over 204,000 homes in New Orleans were damaged or destroyed, and more than 800,000 citizens displaced — the greatest displacement in the United... |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated Completion N/A) | |
| 406 | Space Tower | Madrid Madrid Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan... 's Torre Espacio Torre Espacio The Torre Espacio is a skyscraper in Madrid, Spain. The skyscraper is 236 metres tall and has 57 floors.... |
Under construction | Complete |
Season 5: 2006
{|class="wikitable"! No. !! Episode name !! Premiere !! Project !! Status at production !! Current status
|-
| 501 || South Ferry Subway Station || || The New York City Subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
's new South Ferry
South Ferry – Whitehall Street (New York City Subway)
South Ferry – Whitehall Street is a New York City Subway station complex in the Manhattan neighborhood of Battery Park, shared by the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line and the BMT Broadway Line...
station || Under construction || Completed
|-
| 502 || World's Biggest Arch Bridge || || Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (the Hoover Dam Bypass)|| Under construction || Completed
|-
| 503 || JFK: JetBlue Terminal || || Reconstruction of John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
's Terminal 5
TWA Flight Center
The TWA Flight Center or Trans World Flight Center, opened in 1962 as a standalone terminal at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport .for Trans World Airlines...
|| Under construction || Completed
|-
| 504 || Stonecutters Bridge: Hong Kong || || Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's Stonecutters Bridge
Stonecutters Bridge
Stonecutters Bridge is a high level cable-stayed bridge which spans the Rambler Channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island...
|| Under construction || Completed
|-
| 505 || California Academy of Sciences || || The rebuilding of the California Academy of Sciences
California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world. The academy began in 1853 as a learned society and still carries out a large amount of original research, with exhibits and education becoming significant endeavors of the museum during the twentieth...
in San Francisco, California || Under construction || Completed
|-
| 506 || Hallandsås Ridge Tunnel: Sweden || || Sweden's Hallandsas railway tunnel
Hallandsås tunnel
The Hallandsås Tunnel , also known as the Hallandsås Ridge Tunnel or Scanlink, is a railway tunnel under construction in Sweden. It will go between the north and the south side of the Hallandsås. The planned length is . It will be utilized by the West Coast Line, on the section between Ängelholm...
|| Under construction || Under construction (Estimated completion 2015)
|}
Season 6: 2007
Reference:| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 601 | Coaster Build Off | Griffon Griffon (roller coaster) Griffon is a Bolliger & Mabillard diving machine roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. On opening, it was the tallest of its kind in the world at . Griffon originally had two other potential names — "IronEagle" and "Voltare" — before Busch Gardens decided on the name "Griffon". Griffon has... a steel rollercoaster in Busch Gardens Europe Busch Gardens Europe Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a 383 acre theme park located in James City County, Virginia about 3 miles southeast of Williamsburg, originally developed by Anheuser-Busch and currently owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group... and the Renegade Renegade (roller coaster) Renegade is a wood roller coaster at Valleyfair in Shakopee, Minnesota that was designed by Great Coasters International. It was one of the first coasters built by Great Coasters International to use their Millenium Flyer trains, which are designed to give a smoother ride... in Valleyfair |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 602 | Battle Machines | An M1 Abrams M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for... tank undergoing maintenance at Anniston Army Depot Anniston Army Depot Anniston Army Depot is a major United States Army facility fulfilling various depot operations. Primary missions are the repair of tracked vehicles and storage of chemical weapons . The depot is located in Bynum, Alabama.... , Alabama Alabama Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland... |
Completed | Completed | |
| 603 | World's Tallest Skyscraper | Shanghai World Financial Centre | Under construction | Completed | |
| 604 | Super Fast Warship | Building an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer | Under construction | Completed | |
| 605 | Boot Camp | Training to use construction equipment in Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had... , Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... . |
Completed | Completed | |
| 606 | Fault Zone Tunnel | Freshwater pipeline to support Southern California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , Inland Feeder Inland Feeder The Inland Feeder is a high capacity water conveyance system that connects the California State Water Project to the Colorado River Aqueduct and Diamond Valley Lake... project |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 607 | Hurricane-Proof Homes | Building a heavy duty modular homes | Completed | Completed | |
| 608 | Floating City | MS Independence of the Seas | Under construction | Completed | |
| 609 | Biggest Casino | Construction of hotel casino The Palazzo The Palazzo The Palazzo is a luxury hotel and casino resort situated between Wynn and The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. It is the tallest completed building in Nevada... in Las Vegas Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 610 | High Risk Tower | Building a Trump's Tower Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago) The Trump International Hotel and Tower, also known as Trump Tower Chicago and locally as the Trump Tower, is a skyscraper condo-hotel in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The building, named after real estate developer Donald Trump, was designed by architect Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill... in Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 611 | Turbo-Charged Boats | Rebuilding and practice test of an offshore racing boat | Completed | Completed | |
| 612 | Mountain of Steel | City of Culture of Galicia City of Culture of Galicia City of Culture of Galicia is a complex of cultural buildings in Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Galicia, Spain, designed by architect Peter Eisenman and office. The buildings are an extreme challenge to construct as the design of them makes them look like rolling hills with high degree contours... |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2012) | |
| 613 | Deepest Tunnel | Construction of Marmaray underwater tunnel in Istanbul Istanbul Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and... , Turkey |
Under construction | Tunnelling Completed (Estimated completion 2013) | |
| 614 | Major League Stadium | Construction of Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. | Under construction | Completed |
Season 7: 2009
| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 701 | Dallas Cowboys Stadium | Building the new Cowboys Stadium | Under construction | Completed | |
| 702 | CityCenter, Las Vegas | The CityCenter development in Las Vegas Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester... aspires to change the desert vacationland into a continental metropolis |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 703 | Hong Kong Bridge | Building the Stonecutters Bridge Stonecutters Bridge Stonecutters Bridge is a high level cable-stayed bridge which spans the Rambler Channel in Hong Kong, connecting Nam Wan Kok, Tsing Yi Island and Stonecutters Island... . |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 704 | Navy Amphibious Warship | The LPD17 San Antonio class amphibious transport dock The San Antonio class is the United States Navy's new primary class of amphibious transport dock in the beginning of the 21st century... is a new class of warship. |
Completed | Completed | |
| 705 | Panama Canal | New $5.25 billion expansion projects. | Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2014) | |
| 706 | Peru Dam & Tunnel | Construction of the Limon Dam Limon Dam The Limon Dam, part of the Olmos Transandino Project, is an under construction multi-purpose concrete-face rock-fill embankment dam on the Huancabamba River in northwestern Peru, located to the south of Guabal... and one of the deepest tunnels ever attempted. |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 707 | Abu Dhabi | Al Raha Al Raha Al Raha is an area of land development in Abu Dhabi generally in Khalifa City A, to the north-east of the Capital that flanks the coast, with waterfront access along what was known as "Ladies Beach", and extending inward across the main highway that links Abu Dhabi to Dubai... Beach Development in Abu Dhabi |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 708 | NASA | Transition from the Space Shuttle program Space Shuttle program NASA's Space Shuttle program, officially called Space Transportation System , was the United States government's manned launch vehicle program from 1981 to 2011... to the Constellation program. |
Under construction | Partially Canceled |
Season 8: 2010
| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 801 | Singapore Sky Park | Singapore Sky Park Now Marina Bay Sands will hang 650 feet in the air on top of 3 skyscrapers. | Under construction | Completed | |
| 802 | Rio de Janeiro's Power Island Project | Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th... has frequent widespread blackouts. So Brazil is building one of the largest hydroelectric projects in the world, the Simplício Hydroelectric Complex Simplício Hydroelectric Complex The Simplício Hydroelectric Complex is an under construction hydroelectric complex on the Paraíba do Sul river on the border of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais states in Brazil. Supported by the Anta Dam, it will transfer water throughout a circuit to a downstream power plant... . |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion Late August 2011) | |
| 803 | Kuwait Tower | The world's tallest twisting structure, Kuwait's Al Hamra Tower Al Hamra Tower The Al Hamra Tower is a topped out skyscraper in downtown Kuwait City, Kuwait. Designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the tower is the tallest building in Kuwait on completion in 2011 at . It will also be the tallest sculpted tower in the world.The tower will include of... , is looked at. |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2011) | |
| 804 | New Orleans Surge Barrier | In an attempt to save the city from another disaster, New Orleans is building the world's strongest hurricane protection system, including the largest storm surge barrier ever built and radical hurricane resistant homes. | Under construction | Completed | |
| 805 | South Africa's Mponeng Gold Mine | Travel to the deepest place on Earth, Johannesburg, South Africa's Mponeng Gold Mine. | Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion N/A) | |
| 806 | Overhauling the Bay Bridge | Overhauling the San Francisco Bay Bridge is one of the biggest construction projects in the US. | Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2013) | |
| 807 | Melbourne Stadium Melbourne Rectangular Stadium The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.... |
Melbourne, Australia is building one of the most innovative stadiums ever built. With its unprecedented geodesic roof and advanced cladding, it will be the ultimate fan experience, and an icon for a city known as the sporting capital of the world. | Under construction | Completed | |
| 808 | Gotthard Base Tunnel Gotthard Base Tunnel The Gotthard Base Tunnel is a new railway tunnel beneath the Swiss Alps, expected to open in 2016. With a route length of and a total of of tunnels, shafts and passages, it is the world's longest rail tunnel, surpassing the Japanese Seikan Tunnel.... |
The Swiss Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... government is spending 18 billion dollars to create the Gotthard Base Tunnel - the longest tunnel in the world, getting people and goods through the Alps up to 3 times faster and ultimately changing European transit forever. |
Under construction | Tunnelling Completed (Estimated completion December 2016) | |
| 809 | Abu Dhabi Central Market Central Market Project The Central Market Project consists of a complex of three skyscrapers, one supertall, that are under construction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates... |
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western... 's $15 billion Central Market will be a new cultural hub for an emerging world destination, complete with offices, parks, luxurious shops, and hotels - and all centered around the world's tallest residential tower, over 1250 feet high. |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2014) | |
| 810 | Port of Rotterdam Port of Rotterdam The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1962 until 2004 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by first Shanghai and then Singapore... |
Danny Forster goes behind the scenes at the Port of Rotterdam Rotterdam Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre... , where crews are in the middle of the largest Earth-moving project in history - all to triple the port's capacity, and help it serve the biggest ships on the planet. |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2013) |
Season 9: 2011
Reference:| No. | Episode name | Premiere | Project | Status at production | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 901 | Rebuilding New York City's Subway | Examining subway work under New York City, where crews are expanding the transit system as part of a large public works project. | Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion 2013) | |
| 902 | Drought-Proofing Australia | After 13 years of record-breaking droughts Melbourne Melbourne Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater... looks to secure its future with a $3.5 billion Wonthaggi desalination plant that will turn saltwater into freshwater. Danny joins crews as they build two undersea tunnels, 29 buildings and 52 miles of pipeline. |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion late 2011) | |
| 903 | Azerbaijan's Amazing Transformation | After decades of Soviet Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... occupation, Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to... is reinventing itself. With a $6 billion a year renovation and over 500 new developments, Danny Forster goes behind the scenes of Baku Baku Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal... 's construction projects: the Flame Towers Flame Towers Flame Towers is a residential complex with a roof height of under construction in Baku, Azerbaijan. The estimated cost of Flame Towers is US$350 million. When completed, the structure will be one of the tallest buildings in Baku. Construction began in 2008, with completion in 2011.-External... and Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre The Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center is a cultural complex currently being constructed in Baku, Azerbaijan. The complex is designed by renowned Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and will include a 21,000sq m conference hall rising to a height of 22m, a museum, library and sculpted parkland... . |
Under construction | Under construction | |
| 904 | London's Olympic Aquatic Stadium | The London Aquatics Centre will host 44 swimming & diving events during the 2012 Summer Olympics 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012... and live on as a new addition to the London landscape. Danny Forster goes with crews as they construct one of the most advanced swimming facilities ever built. |
Under construction | Completed | |
| 905 | Constructing Serbia's Largest Bridge | Danny Forster joins crews as they construct Serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans... 's newest national icon. The Sava River Bridge Ada Bridge The Ada bridge or Sava bridge is a new cable-stayed bridge currently under construction over the Sava river in Belgrade, Serbia. The bridge will cross over the tip of Ada Ciganlija island, connecting municipalities of Čukarica and Novi Beograd... in Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe... will be the world's largest single pylon cable stayed bridge and improve a critical freight corridor connecting central Europe to the East. |
Under construction | Under construction (Estimated completion late 2013) | |
| 906 | Amsterdam's Futuristic Floating City | The Netherlands is running out of land. Nearly 70% of its land, which comprises half its population lies beneath sea level. Rather than fight back the sea, engineers are radically making it an ally, The new city of IJburg IJburg IJburg is a residential neighbourhood currently under construction in the east of Amsterdam. It is situated in the IJ Lake and is being built on artificial islands which have been raised from the lake... is to create real estate where none exists. |
Under construction | Under construction | |
| 907 | Building Mumbai's Modern Airport | The $2 billion Mumbai Airport Expansion project is one of India's most ambitious undertakings ever. If they succeed, it could completely change the way airports are designed. | Under construction | Under construction | |
| 908 | Turkey's Mammoth Hydropower Dam | Crews are now carving out Turkey's largest construction site in the country's most challenging terrain by building one of the tallest and strongest dams ever made, the Deriner Dam Deriner Dam Deriner Dam is a concrete double-curved arch dam under construction on the Çoruh River east of Artvin in Artvin Province, Turkey. The main purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power production and additionally flood control. Construction on the dam began in 1998 and is estimated to be complete in... . |
Under construction | Under construction |
See also
- MegaStructuresMegaStructuresMegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel and Five in the United Kingdom, on France 5 in France and on 7mate in Australia....
, a similar show on the National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual... - Maersk EindhovenMaersk EindhovenMaersk Eindhoven is one of the largest container ships in the world, and one of the more recent additions in the fleet of Maersk Line. The vessel was built in 2011 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in the Ulsan, South Korea ship-yard. The container ship was built according to the latest engineering and...
container ship
External links
- Powderhouse Productions homepage
- WAGtv homepage
- Extreme Engineering official website at Discovery Channel
- Extreme Engineering episode guide at Discovery Channel
- Build It Bigger official website at Science Channel
- Extreme Engineering at epguides.com
- "Woodrow Wilson Bridge Featured On Discovery Channel Tonight" (Washington Post article)
- Symposium W.S.V Simon Stevin, student association of the Mechanical Engineering faculty of the Eindhoven University of Technology