Skip to main content

Up Next

Luxury Living

Luxury Living

Video
3:07
A Damaging Leak

A Damaging Leak

Video
2:55
A Daring Design

A Daring Design

Video
3:09
A Grueling Job

A Grueling Job

Video
2:55
Battling the Rain

Battling the Rain

Video
3:05
The Scorpion Tower

The Scorpion Tower

Season 1 Episode 1
55:31
Europe in the Desert

Europe in the Desert

Season 1 Episode 2
55:30
The Floating House

The Floating House

Season 1 Episode 3
55:01
Back to Show
Impossible Builds

Creating the Scorpion Tower’s Silky Aesthetic

The exoskeleton of Zaha Hadid’s Scorpion Tower, officially known as One Thousand Museum, is created using glass fiber reinforced concrete (GFRC). Typically used as a decorative covering, these GFRC panels are instead being used as formwork — a mold for the concrete — to help support the structure and to create the smooth, luxurious finish from Hadid’s design.

Support Provided By
Ice World
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:07
Watch the nature-defying plan to turn a sub-tropical wasteland into a sub-zero ski resort.
Skinny Skyscraper
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:06
Follow the construction of the skinniest skyscraper in the world.
The Floating House
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:01
Follow the construction of a multi-million dollar home sitting above and below water.
Europe in the Desert
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:30
Can six sand islands be transformed into the most luxurious holiday destination on earth?
The Scorpion Tower
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:31
Follow the complex construction of a unique skyscraper with its skeleton on the outside.
Active loading indicator