Impossible Engineering (2015–…): Season 7, Episode 5 - World's Biggest Airport - full transcript

In this episode...

This is one of the most
structurally impressive

engineering projects
in the world.

...An airport on course to be

the largest on the planet...

This airport is the benchmark
for airport construction.

This is the most important thing
I have ever done.

And the groundbreaking
innovations from the past...

This is a wonderful
piece of architecture,

a wonderful piece
of engineering.

It's really a marvel.



It's almost a cathedral
to good engineering.

...That made
the impossible possible.

captions paid for by
discovery communications

Beijing, China.

One of the biggest cities
in the world.

Demand for air travel here
is soaring.

But the city's only airport
has reached its breaking point.

New York-based architect
Wendy Fok

has traveled to Beijing
to see how the designers

and engineers here
are attempting the impossible.

The current airport
is at capacity.

It was originally intended

for 76 million passengers
each year,

but it's operating
well above that.



Last year alone,

100 million people
passed through its doors.

Problems for flight reliability,

passenger experience,
airline operations.

Beijing is in real need
of a solution.

With passenger numbers
predicted to rise even further,

the pressure on the airport
is only going to get worse.

So engineers in China

have come up with
a groundbreaking solution.

This is the brand-new Beijing
dashing international airport.

It's on track to become
the biggest airport in the world

once construction is complete.

And Wendy is getting
the chance to see it

before it opens to the public.

Wow, I cannot believe
how high the ceilings are.

All of those dips and swirls
are super amazing.

You could barely even see
how the structure is done.

It's really well-designed.

Barely see any columns here.

It's really amazing what
the engineers have done here.

Occupying more than
17 square miles,

dashing airport's site is
2/3 the size of Manhattan.

The spectacular
star-shaped terminal

covers 7 1/2 million
square feet.

With a massive roof constructed
from over 57,000 tons of steel

equivalent to 500 steam engines.

By the time the entire project
is fully completed,

it will include
a record-breaking six runways

and could see 100 million
travelers every year.

But with the old airport
at crisis point,

constructing this massive
terminal is a race against time.

Wendy is finding out more

from deputy engineering manager
Gao Aiping.

So Mr. Gao saying

they need to build
this entire terminal

in three years and nine months.

That is an
incredibly short amount of time

to build an airport.

Quickly laying the groundwork
for this complex mega structure

was the first step.

So Gao and his team came up with
an innovative solution

to speed up construction.

So the engineers constructed
a temporary railroad system

to the core of the building
to bring the materials

to get distributed
around the building

to move materials
really quickly.

16 wireless,
remote-controlled trains

transport up to 28 tons
of construction materials,

making the build
four times faster.

How many people are making
this project possible?

Oh, wow, that's actually
pretty amazing.

At peak times,
there's about 20,000 people

working on this project.

And you can actually see
there's a huge amount of people

just working on different parts

of the construction right now.

With this ample workforce,
engineers hope

this entire terminal
can be completed in record time.

But first, there are still
major obstacles to overcome.

How do you move
millions of passengers

through the airport efficiently?

How do you build
the terminal's colossal

intricately curved roof?

And most importantly,

how do you protect the airport
from devastating earthquakes?

I think this is one of
the most structurally impressive

engineering projects
in the world.

Before this astonishing
structure can be built,

there's a crucial challenge
with the design

that needs to be solved.

Getting to your gate
at the airport

sometimes is an impossible feat.

You sometimes get lost.

You don't see the signage,

and sometimes,
you're just rushing in general.

For a huge airport like this

to get over 72 million people
through its gates,

it's going to be
super difficult.

Designing the airport
to guide passengers through it

is something that engineer
Wang Qiang has to solve.

This is an incredibly
difficult problem for engineers.

So how do you move people
around the airport efficiently?

This is midtown Manhattan.

It's the heart of New York City,

the largest city
in the United States,

and by virtue of being a place
where everyone wants to be,

one of the busiest cities.

Architect Cara Michell
is investigating

how her
19th century predecessors

dealt with the sudden
increase in demand

for public transportation.

So it was
an incredible challenge

for the early architects
of New York City

to figure out how to get people
onto and off of the island,

especially during a time of
unprecedented population growth,

so figuring out a solution

for how to transport
both regular commuters

and long-distance travelers
on a daily basis

was really difficult.

A massive new
transportation hub would need

to coordinate the smooth
movement of people through it

on a scale that had
never been attempted before.

Architects Whitney Warren
and Charles Reed

took on the challenge of
designing a new train terminal.

Their solution?

This is grand central terminal.

The largest
railway station on the planet.

750,000 people
pass through daily.

Warren and Reed
came up with ingenious ways

to ensure passengers
didn't get in each other's way.

First of all,
you enter the main concourse,

and you immediately see
this information center.

But you can also see
the location of the tracks.

You understand immediately
where you need to go.

You know, that is really
accentuated by the fact

that there are no interior
columns breaking up this space.

It's really an open plan.

No columns meant

a passenger's view of signs
was not obstructed.

But there was still
a major problem.

Stations usually had stairs,

which slowed people down
and created bottlenecks.

So these ramps really represent

one of the major
design innovations

in grand central terminal.

But one of the things
they had to work on

was determining what
the right gradient would be,

and they actually built
a number of models

and tested them out to determine
what the right slope is

for people carrying luggage

and even people of variety
levels of fitness and ability

to make sure that it was
just subtle enough

for people to feel comfortable,

but also the right slope
to effectively

and quickly move people
in and out.

So let's see.

It looks like we're getting
something between

5 1/2 and 6 degrees of slope,
which seems about right.

Grand central terminal
was the first station

to use ramps on a large scale,

much more efficient than using
stairs or even escalators today.

Another one of the many

innovations
in grand central terminal

is the fact that the tracks
are actually on two levels.

Typically, rail tracks
are laid out in a row,

but with 43 platforms
at grand central,

that's a long way to walk.

By splitting the tracks
over two floors,

it's less distance
for passengers to walk.

And there's another benefit.

So you have
long-distance passengers

who need a little bit more time
to get on the train,

have more baggage,
on the upper level,

and then you have short-trip
commuters on the lower level.

And another innovation
is looping tracks.

So they're actually dropping
passengers off on one platform

and then looping around

to board departing passengers
on another platform.

Every piece of design
and architecture

in grand central terminal

is really focused
on getting people

moving more efficiently and more
quickly through the station.

Grand central terminal
is a world first.

Despite being built in 1913,
it still works perfectly today.

So what Warren and Reed
accomplished here

over 100 years ago
truly revolutionized

the design
of transportation hubs,

and it's quite a wonder to think

that designers of transportation
hubs all over the world

are still looking to this space
to understand

how to effectively
move people around.

I mean, it's really a marvel
and a monument,

almost a cathedral
to good engineering.

Now, in China,

engineers are building upon

Warren and Reed's
groundbreaking designs

to create their cutting-edge
21st century airport.

In Beijing, work is underway

to create a brand-new airport
that will keep up

with the city's
rapidly booming population.

Beijing dashing airport is set
to be the largest in the world,

so in order to reduce
walking times for passengers,

engineers came up
with an ingenious way

to compact
its 79 departure gates.

To help people
locate their gate quicker,

engineers used another strategy.

Just like in grand central,
dashing airport is engineered

to keep different types
of travelers separate

so they don't get
in each other's way,

while ramps and travelators
help keep people moving.

In preparation
for the airport opening,

engineers are rigorously testing
passenger flow

with the help
of 51,000 volunteers.

So here we go. We're going to
try to test this out.

And today, New York-
based architect Wendy Fok

is getting the chance
to put the design to the test.

We're actually walking
towards the international gates.

If I were trying
to get to a flight,

I would be super nervous
right now.

It should take
a maximum of eight minutes

to get to the furthest gate.

We're doing a good job
right now.

See behind me
this beautiful Chinese garden

that's still in construction.

And we're close to
the end of the terminal.

So here we are
at the end of the terminal.

We've made our flight.

Despite being
such a huge airport,

took less than six minutes.

That's under
what the engineers estimated.

That's pretty incredible.

Coordinating the movement

of up to
100 million people a year

is a massive achievement
for the engineers

of one of the largest terminal
buildings ever constructed.

Constructing a single
terminal building

on such an unprecedented scale
was a huge challenge

for engineers like Lei Susu...

...who has special access

to one of the project's
biggest challenges...

...the enormous roof.

The airport's artistic roof
is an extremely complex shape

with multiple flowing curves.

The problem was made
even more difficult by the need

for an unobstructed space
inside the airport.

A traditional concrete and
girder roof would be too heavy,

so to solve this
seemingly impossible challenge,

engineers will need inspiration
from the pioneers of the past.

In China, air travel is booming.

To keep up
with the increased demand,

engineers are building

the Beijing dashing
international airport,

a cutting-edge transport hub
on a scale never seen before.

Handling 880,000 flights a year,
the terminal is constructed

on the world's biggest
seamless slab of concrete,

which at nearly
2 million square feet

is more than seven times
the size of Rome's Colosseum.

But installing a roof
on a building of this size

is a major challenge.

We are in split,

very old, beautiful
Mediterranean town.

We believe that we are
the sportiest city in the world.

Architect
and sports fan Dinko Peračić

lives in Croatia
in Southern Europe.

In 1979, split was chosen
to host the Mediterranean games,

and the pressure was on
to build a world-class arena.

One of the biggest challenges
was to make an athletic stadium

for 55,000 people
in the audience,

and the design of the stadium

had to be something really,
really special.

The games were held
during the summertime,

so it would be definitely
too hot for spectators.

So a roof had to be built
to protect them,

and it was important
that the roof

doesn't have supporting columns.

They would block the view,
so it was a big, big challenge.

What engineers
came up with is awe-inspiring.

Here we are.

Sports stadium in split.

Yeah, this is a wonderful
piece of architecture,

a wonderful piece
of engineering.

These massive steel roofs

are each over 700 feet long,
covering a combined area

of more than
130,000 square feet.

When it was built,

this was the largest curved roof
of this kind in the world.

These long span roofs
wouldn't have been possible

without Alexander Graham bell.

Famous for inventing
the telephone,

in 1902,
he became interested in flight

and made huge wings
of interconnected pyramids.

The technique became known
as a space frame.

And Dinko has
a unique opportunity

to take a closer look.

Yeah, here we are in the roof.

This is
a space-frame construction.

This is a structure
that normal people

can feel just from below.

You see that there are
no columns supporting you.

There is just the air below us.

I have to hold my helmet
that it doesn't fall down.

Here we have those
triangular pyramids made out of

12,000 poles
and more than 3,500 balls

creating this shape,
the spatial structure.

Pyramids are
very strong in all directions

because
they spread forces evenly.

And these frames don't need
much material to build them,

so they're also very light.

Space frames
are made of straight poles,

but this roof
has multiple curves.

To show how this is possible,

Dinko is building
his own space frame.

And this is
a very lightweight structure.

The space is mostly air.

There is just
the minimal material.

The story becomes interesting

when we start to multiply
these elements.

We can simply
connect them together...

And get a chain of pyramids,

which is actually creating
a special frame.

To make this curved roof,

engineers made
some of the polls longer

and changed the angle
of the connections.

By simply introducing
longer poles,

you get a curved structure.

In these two roofs,

there are more than
1,000 different lengths of poles

and more than
1,500 different connections.

But to calculate
each of those elements,

it's really complex.

For decades,

calculating the thousands
of different elements

required for a multi-curved roof
was thought impossible.

But advances in another field
provided a breakthrough.

So this roof of this stadium

was the first one
where computers were used

to calculate
these specific elements.

Computer technology
proved space frames

could form almost any shape
long-span roof...

Essential for the engineers
in China.

70 years after
Alexander Graham bell

invented his space frames
made of triangular pyramids,

it was used in a very creative
way here in this stadium.

I'm really proud that
I'm part of this culture

that was able to construct
something like this.

Engineers in China have taken

the space-frame innovation
and created a roof

13 times the size of that
on the stadium in Croatia,

but assembling it will be
a massive challenge.

Beijing dashing
airport is on track

to be the largest airport
in the world.

A structure of this size
needs a massive roof,

and engineers are using space-
frame innovation to build one.

The jaw-dropping structure

that makes
this terminal roof possible

is completely hidden
from passengers,

but Lei Susu has permission
to see it up close.

With the help
of computer design,

these poles and balls

will form the complicated
multi-curved roof.

But with
75,000 individual parts,

assembling this super-sized roof
could be a big challenge.

With the basic shape
of the terminal in place,

the complicated space-frame roof
can be built.

First, eight huge columns
are made.

Then the gigantic roof is
constructed in several segments.

Each section
must be positioned precisely

with two-millimeter accuracy.

Any error could jeopardize

the stability
of the whole structure.

The center section
is lifted last,

completing this astonishing
space frame.

Inside, cladding is added,

which dampens the noise
in the terminal.

On the roof,

8,000 panes of glass
make the skylights.

And 40,000 sections
of sparkling aluminum cladding

finish this
incredible structure.

Visiting architect Wendy Fok

is taking in
this gravity-defying marvel.

For me,
I think the roof structure

is just absolutely incredible.

You barely even see
any of the columns,

especially standing
in the center point.

You can really see
everything from here.

The colossal roof needs

just eight columns
to support it,

only possible because
the space-frame engineering

allows such long
and lightweight spans.

I think it's actually incredible
that so many components

were brought together to make
this gigantic roof system.

It required so many
innovative systems

to really put together
the different pieces of the roof

and then joining it
with such precision.

This is truly one of the most
remarkable roof structures

that I've ever seen.

But engineers are about to face

their greatest challenge yet,
taking on

one of the most destructive
forces on the planet.

Engineers in China

are attempting
to achieve the impossible.

This is the Beijing dashing
international airport,

a futuristic engineering marvel
on track to become

the biggest airport
on the planet.

The way that it's
constructed is truly amazing.

I think it is really remarkable

that the engineers were able
to make this happen.

Across the new airport site,

422.7 million gallons
of concrete form the runways

and base of the massive
seven-story terminal.

Its steel roof weighs
more than 57,000 tons

and is held up
by only eight columns.

Engineers must now take on

one of the most serious
challenges of the project.

It's a life-or-death problem
that falls on

engineer Wang Qiang
and the design team to solve.

It's common for Beijing
to experience earthquakes

of 2 or 3 on the Richter scale,

but they can be
much more severe.

During a devastating earthquake,

how do you ensure this vast
transport hub is protected

and remains operational?

To solve this critical problem,

engineers must look
to history's ancient innovators.

Archeologist Gabriel Zuchtriegel
is investigating

an ancient Greek settlement

which could help
the engineers in China.

We are in Italy,
south of Naples,

but the site we are looking at
is actually a Greek site

because the Greeks
founded colonies in Italy.

And one of them is Paestum,

which was a big city
founded around 600 B.C.

But building in Italy
is difficult.

It's one of the most
seismically active regions

in Europe.

We had some major
earthquakes in recent years,

and we saw that many
modern buildings collapsed.

What we see on some
classical sites like Paestum

is that there are
still buildings standing

from 2,500 years ago,

and you ask yourself,
"how is it possible

that these buildings
have resisted for so much time?"

Ancient Greek civil engineers

built incredible temples,

many of which have survived
to this day.

These are the stunning temples
of Paestum.

We have three Greek temples
still standing here,

and the biggest one,
the Neptune temple,

it has six columns
on the short side,

14 columns on the long side,

5th century B.C.E.,
still standing.

An extraordinary example
of Greek engineering

because it resisted
all the earthquakes.

Coming from a highly active
earthquake zone themselves,

the ancient Greek engineers

had an ingenious way
to tackle the problem.

While the foundations
are very, very solid,

the columns
are much more flexible,

and you see they are built
of several pieces.

We call them drums.

They didn't use any mortar,

and so it's not rigid,
solid block,

but it's pieces,
one piece sitting on the other

so they can move and swing
up to a certain degree.

And as soon as you have
more than one element,

the behavior
of the column changes.

Building columns from
several drums without mortar

was crucial to these temples'
ability to resist earthquakes.

It's a technique
that could help the engineers

in dashing airport.

We have here our column,
but it's one piece.

We glued it all together,
so when we have an earthquake,

we see that it shakes,
it behaves as one piece.

And you have a high
concentration of energy here,

and then
it eventually collapses.

The movement the earthquake

is totally transmitted
to the top of the structure.

But the column drums
in these temples

are not stuck together
with mortar,

so Gabriel is repeating the
experiment with separate blocks.

And look what happens if you
don't have one rigid piece

but a column built
of several pieces,

and now the earthquake comes.

And you see
that I can put in more energy

and it still doesn't collapse,

and you can see how it opens
and closes the single elements.

And basically,
each element absorbs energy,

so much less arrives at the top

than what the earthquake
gives in at the bottom.

So this is the original

ancient Greek damper
and isolation system.

This isolation method
provides astonishing

earthquake resistance
for these monumental temples.

This structure has been standing

for 2 1/2 thousand years.

It's really a great achievement.

At the dashing airport in China,

engineers are using
similar principles

to the early Greek
temple builders

to protect this pioneering
terminal from earthquakes.

But here,
it's on a much bigger scale.

Beijing is located
in the earthquake zone

in northern China,

so engineers must use
unique building principles

to ensure
that Beijing dashing airport

is protected
in case of an earthquake.

The dampers are made
from a stack

of 30 rubber and steel discs
on a spindle.

Like the stones
in the Greek columns,

they're not stuck together.

In an earthquake,

instead of holding
the building firm,

they let it move horizontally
back and forth.

This dissipates the energy,

isolating the terminal
from the earthquake.

They also have
another surprising benefit

for this unique transport hub.

Throughout the site,
1,152 base isolation dampers...

Were installed
on top of the pillars.

The finished terminal
can safely withstand earthquakes

up to 8 on the Richter scale...

...making it the largest anti-
seismic building in the world.

Now close to completion,

New York-based architect
Wendy Fok

has special access to
the airport construction site.

Considering how massive
this airport is,

I think it's incredible

that the engineers were able
to find a way

to make this entire terminal
earthquake-proof.

I think that's something
that's truly remarkable

about this project.

This entire terminal
has been built

in just three years
and nine months,

a stunning achievement
for an airport of this size.

This is so amazing.

This structure
really just boggles your mind

on how many pieces

and how many people
actually made this possible.

It's truly
an engineering phenomenon.

This mega airport site
is more than 17 square miles.

The terminal is the star
attraction with seven floors

and a 57,000-ton
multi-curved roof.

It will run
880,000 flights a year.

It's the world's first airport
to have high-speed railway,

subway, and airport express
trains all passing beneath it.

Now complete, the Beijing
dashing international airport

is becoming
a vital transport hub

for 100 million people
every year.

The terminal combines
breathtaking design

with cutting-edge engineering.

This is actually one of
the most beautiful airports

that I have seen.

Projects like this
push the boundaries

of what construction
really could do.

Inspired by
the pioneers of the past

and overcoming
complex challenges,

engineers have pushed
the boundaries

of architecture
and construction.

When I come here
to take flights with my family,

I feel very excited
and very proud.

And they've succeeded

in making the impossible...
Possible.