About this season
MegaStructures is a documentary television series appearing on the National Geographic Channel in the United States and the United Kingdom, Channel 5 in the United Kingdom, France 5 in France, and 7mate in Australia. Each episode is an educational look of varying depth into the construction, operation, and staffing of various structures or construction projects, but not ordinary construction products. Generally containing interviews with designers and project managers, it presents the problems of construction and the methodology or techniques used to overcome obstacles. In some cases this involved the development of new materials or products that are now in general use within the construction industry. MegaStructures focuses on constructions that are extreme; in the sense that they are the biggest, tallest, longest, or deepest in the world. Alternatively, a project may appear if it had an element of novelty or are a world first. This type of project is known as a Megaproject.
Episodes (20)
1. Berlin Wall
Aired 14 March 2006 • 60 min
A history of the Berlin Wall, the “wall of shame” that divided East and West Germany from 1961 to 1989. The hour chronicles escape attempts and how East German authorities responded to them, and also recalls the opening of the Wall on Nov. 9, 1989. East and West Germany were formally reunited a year later.
2. Impossible bridges: Denmark to Sweden
Aired 18 April 2006 • 60 min
The Oresund, spanning 10 miles in length, is the longest bridge in the world. The bridge links countries Denmark and Sweden, and Megastructures chronicles the history in it's design and construction.
3. Impossible Bridges: Greece
Aired 2 May 2006 • 60 min
Megastructures chronicles the design and construction of Greece's Rion-Antirion Bridge. The bridges is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world and spans over the straits of Corinth.
4. Apache Helicopter
Aired 13 May 2006 • 60 min
5. Hoover Dam
Aired 16 May 2006 • 60 min
Explore the US Treasury's impenetrable subterranean vaults housing monster money-making machines that churn out billions of dollars. See the army of protectors that ensure the world's most powerful economy with the mantra: "In God We Trust". Discover the elaborate systems of design and protection at the US Treasury premier currency manufacturer and her sister operation, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
6. Inside NCIS
Aired 30 May 2006 • 60 min
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the United States Department of the Navy's primary law enforcement agency. Let Megastructures give you a first hand tour!
7. Impossible Bridges:China
Aired 11 July 2006 • 60 min
Lupu Bridge in Shanghai, Runyang Bridge in Jiangsu Province, and Sutong Bridge near Suzhou
8. Garbage Mountain
Aired 1 August 2006 • 60 min
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) is the United States Department of the Navy's primary law enforcement agency. Let Megastructures give you a first hand tour!
9. Ice Hotel
Aired 1 August 2006 • 60 min
10,000 tons of crystal clear ice and 30,000 tons of pure snow are needed to build the Ice Hotel in Sweden every year. The hotel accommodates over 100 guests and every bedroom is unique. It has become renowned for its ingenuity and originality but it isn't the only structure created from ice. A little further into Sweden's northern wilderness is a network of roads that are created every winter on top of the Baltic Sea. Witness the construction and disappearance of two of the world's most unique Megastructures.
10. Machines of War: Tanks
Aired 17 August 2006 • 60 min
11. Supertanker
Aired 31 August 2006 • 60 min
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12. Machines of War: Missiles
Aired 7 September 2006 • 60 min
Uncovering the secrets behind the engineering and designs of the supertankers in one of the largest shipyards in the world. And discovering the technology, power and science of these lords of the oceans.
13. How it's built: Steel
Aired 21 September 2006 • 60 min
Track the flight of a Tomahawk cruise missile from launch to target and discover the technology that makes the missile the ultimate surgical attack weapon.
14. Machines of War: Guns
Aired 12 October 2006 • 60 min
It's man made and one of the strongest materials on earth. Explore the science behind steel and the innovations it has made possible -- from the Brooklyn Bridge to the tools for medical miracles.
15. Panama Canal Unlocked
Aired 19 October 2006 • 60 min
Megastructures examines the mega-machines used to run the Panama Canal and uncovers the canal's five-billion dollar project for it's expansion.
16. Science of Bricks
Aired 2 November 2006 • 60 min
Brick: They are an essential building block of civilization. They are one of the worlds first building materials and today they continue to create structures that amaze us. From paving our driveways to lining our fireplaces and chimneys, brick is part of our daily lives. But when thousands or millions of these simple blocks are stacked together, people have changed the course of history. How Its Built: Brick will bring viewers through the process that takes a lump of clay, forms it into a simple block, and then uses fire to transform it into a rock hard building material.
17. Science of Concrete
Aired 14 November 2006 • 60 min
Concrete: It is the most widely used building material on earth. It was a building block of the Roman Empire and is a material of choice for a new generation of gravity-defying skyscrapers. From the sidewalks of New York to the fast-growing Burj Dubai, slated to be the worlds tallest building when it is completed in 2008, concrete continues to be a crucial tool of engineers and architects alike. Concrete's footprint is everywhere.
18. Megafactories Ferrari
Aired 7 December 2006 • 60 min
In this episode, one of the world's most famous sports car, the Ferrari, is featured. From it's design stage to it's completion stage, viewers get to witness some of the manufacturing processes that bring these cars into this world.
19. Ultimate Structures: Super Pipeline
Aired 18 December 2006 • 60 min
20. Rockeaters of Iceland
Aired 31 December 2006 • 60 min