Filmed at an international conference of prominent architects and engineers at Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture in September 2007. After its role in the last century's call to a radical new architecture and urban life, glass architecture is today more ubiquitous than ever. A highly engineered product, glass has emerged in a new light as an apparently culturally accepted material in design and construction. Its new incarnation,...

After a decade of travel, Christopher Smith approaches his 30th birthday and decides it's time to plant some roots. He impulsively buys a 5-acre plot of land in hopes of fulfilling a lifelong dream of building a home in the mountains of Colorado. With the support of his girlfriend, Merete, he sets out to build a Tiny House from scratch despite having no construction experience. From 1970 to 2010, the average size of a new house in America nearly doubled....

A delightful observational documentary about the making of a number seven boomerang by four senior traditional men from Yuelamu, west of Alice Springs in central Australia. The men talk about how they were taught by their elders using bush materials, and are now teaching a new generation using some modern tools, to keep traditional law and culture strong. We follow the hunt for the wood, the shaping, the smoothing and the painting of the boomerangs...

Many professionals work together to create a house, long before it becomes a home. Explore the careers of an architect, general contractor and interior designer and other related professionals. Learn how their combined knowledge turns the idea of a house into a reality. See what each job entails-from planning to meeting with clients, to solving problems and completing a project. Discover the role business skills play and the type of education required....

Foreman Balla is the self-proclaimed king of a massive construction site. His co-workers stick close to him, like musketeers, as long as he makes sure they are paid. But things stop running smoothly when materials get scarce and two newcomers arrive on the site: Kati, a young engineer, and Werner Horrath, the new Party Secretary. Balla's swaggering, reminiscent of Hollywood gunslingers, melts away as he realizes he is in love with Kati. Arguably the...

The “Great East River Bridge” was the largest bridge of its era, a technical achievement of unparalleled scope, marked by enormous construction problems, equally ingenious solutions and heroic human achievement. In unexpected and wonderful ways, the Brooklyn Bridge captured the imagination of all Americans, and in the process became a symbol in American culture of strength, vitality, ingenuity and promise. In Brooklyn Bridge, Ken Burns captures...

NOVA returns to Ground Zero to witness the final chapter in an epic story of engineering, innovation, and the perseverance of the human spirit. Ground Zero Supertower examines the new skyscraper, One World Trade Center, rising up 104 stories and 1,776 feet from the site where the Twin Towers once stood. NOVA also goes underground to see another engineering marvel taking shape here: the construction of the National September 11 Memorial Museum that...

The story of the struggle to cross a vast continent and build the telegraph line that would bring Australia to the world and the world to Australia. Australia in the mid 1800s was a land isolated by distance and divided between two very different cultures. John McDouall Stuart, a migrant from Scotland, was determined to cross the centre of Australia and reach the north coast. His success would pave the way for a communications revolution. Charles...

The Ford versus Ferrari rivalry at Le Mans is one of the most famous battles in racing history. It started in 1963 when Henry Ford II tried to buy Ferrari to save the ailing Ford Motor Company, which was being crushed by GM and the Corvette on the track and at the dealerships. Ferrari was the most successful racing team in the world at that time.. After months of intense negotiation, Enzo Ferrari said no — refusing to allow Ford to interfere with...