Megastructures

Continuing tonight on Five is the documentary series that lifts the lid on some of the most incredible structures and machines in the world. Tonight’s episode looks at the engineering behind Freedom of the Seas – the largest passenger ship ever built.

When the colossal RMS Queen Mary II (QM2) superliner was completed in 2003, she was by far the longest, tallest and broadest ship of her kind ever built. But just three years later, the QM2’s crown was taken. Measuring a quarter of a mile in length and standing at a height of 18 storeys, Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas is the largest passenger ship in the world and a wonder of modern maritime science.

megastructures
building the world (3/3)
20.00–21.00

Concluding tonight on Five the series that lifts the lid on some of the most incredible structures and machines ever created. Tonight’s instalment looks at the construction of a group of islands in Dubai in the shape of the world map. Large enough to be seen from space, these artificial land masses represent an extraordinary engineering challenge, as construction teams race to meet an incredibly tight deadline.

The kingdom of Dubai is fast transforming itself into the luxury tourist capital of the world, with construction projects as diverse as the world’s tallest hotel, and artificial islands in the shape of palm trees. Now this tiny desert state is the location of the most audacious reclaimed land project to date. From the depths of the Arabian Gulf, 300 new islands are appearing above the waves to form the outline of the world map, which will eventually be home to hundreds of luxury hotels, villas and facilities. This programme tells the story behind this remarkable feat of engineering.

megastructures
qm2 superliner (2/3)
20.00–21.00

Continuing tonight on Five is a new series of the programme that lifts the lid on some of the most incredible structures and machines ever created. Tonight’s episode looks at the colossal RMS Queen Mary 2 (QM2) superliner – the longest, tallest and broadest ship ever built at the time of its completion in 2003.

The Queen Mary 2 was designed to reinvigorate the world of ocean cruise liners, which had been almost killed off by the advent of commercial transatlantic flights in 1958. This £500 million ‘city at sea’ was built to replace its predecessor, the Queen Elizabeth 2, on the 3,000 mile Southampton-New York route.

The man behind the project was billionaire Micky Arison, who first dreamt of building a new ship when the 1997 film ‘Titanic’ inspired a wave of nostalgia for ocean liners. Arison bought the world-famous Cunard line and drew up plans to replace the QE2 before her retirement in 2004. This gave engineers only two years to complete the new vessel. For naval architect Stephen Payne, the QM2 was a dream job: “It was such a mind-blowing, mind-boggling project to be involved in,” he says.

megastructures
world’s tallest hotel (1/3)
20.00–21.00

Returning to Five is a new series of the programme that lifts the lid on some of the most incredible structures and machines ever created. Megastructures reveals the stories behind some unbelievable feats of engineering, from aircraft to airports, and bridges to oil rigs. The first episode looks at the construction of the world’s tallest hotel, the Burj Al-Arab off the coast of Dubai.

Megastructures heads to the tiny desert kingdom of Dubai to explore the remarkable engineering behind the seven-star Burj Al-Arab Hotel. Five years in the making, this striking building stands like a gigantic white sail off the shore of Dubai. As this programme reveals, a refusal to compromise on the part of the hotel’s young designers ensured that the project pushed the boundaries of design. The Burj Al-Arab was envisaged by Dubai’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, as a means of diversifying the country’s economy away from oil into tourism. The Sheikh dreamt of a luxury hotel that would put Dubai on the world map, and surprised many by choosing a relatively inexperienced British firm to supply the design.