The World's Best Construction Podcast

This week on the show we’re exploring why architects put trees on buildings - we covered this on Wednesday's video and now we’re digging deeper into the topic. This seems to be a HUGE trend in architecture – so much so that we kinda joke about it on the podcast regularly. Is this "growing" trend just for show? Later in the show, we look at Dubai’s 93-kilometre covered cycleway, Tokyo’s Heatherwick-designed new school, Taipei’s new RSHP skyscraper, and lastly, a tree-covered tower that’s being built in The Netherlands (I mean, it HAD to be, right?) We end the show with an emails from Nthazi Nyimbili AND Jeremy Andrews. Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to travel between two of the biggest cities in France and Italy, it might look quite simple at first — Lyon and Turin are only separated by a few hundred kilometres... but there’s the small matter of the Alps in the way and trains take around four hours to cross them. That is until the the 270-kilometre Lyon-Turin Railway arrives in 2032. The engineering in the 57.5-kilometre Mont Cenis Base Tunnel alpine tunnel is CRAZY. Later in the show, we look at Saudi Arabia's 400-metre tall cube-shaped skyscraper being built in Riyadh. "The Mukaab" will rise as the centrepiece of a new 19-square-kilometre district called Murabba that's set to comprise over 25 million square metres of floor area and create 104,000 homes. Further into the segment we add our thoughts to the current 15-minute City debate that's currently going on. Also, we chat about Bjarke Ingels Group's "leaning" Qianhai Prisma Towers that are set to be constructed in China. We end the show with an email from Alan Price AND a cheeky Apple Podcasts review from Rijowhi.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building tall in Japan isn't easy and that's why this week we're heading to Tokyo to look at the insane engineering of the city's first supertall skyscraper - the imaginatively named "Main Tower" or Toranomon-Azabudai District Main Tower.Later in the show, we look at the feather-inspired airport that's set to be constructed in China. MAD Architects won an international design competition with its concept for the new Terminal 3 at Changchun Longjia International Airport. Further into the segment, we chat about the new cybersecurity center in Wuhan that's inspired by information flow, designed by Aedas Architects. There's also a £1.9BN new district that's been proposed for Birmingham. Led by Birmingham City Council and Lendlease, the colourful Smithfield development could create over 3,000 new homes and some 120,000 square metres of office and retail space across a 17 hectare site in the centre of the city. Lastly, we look at Zaha Hadid Architects-designed office towers that have been approved in Vilnius, Lithuania. We end the show with a nice Apple Podcasts review from swankylee in Canada. Support for Turkey & Syria:directrelief.org – mobilising medical aid.careinternational.org.uk – providing food and water aid.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're celebrating our THIRTIETH EPISODE! To celebrate, we're going back into The B1M archives and looking at one of last years smash-hit videos "The Secret Subway That Could Save New York". The Interborough Express would fill a huge gap in the city’s transit needs. However, no project is affordable or straight forward in the Big Apple.Later in the show, we chat about a boulevard in Düsseldorf that's intended to resemble a light-filled canyon. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, "Calatrava Boulevard" will modernise the space between Königsallee Boulevard, Königstrasse, and Steinstrasse in the heart of the city. Also, we talk about Chicago's iconic Tribune Tower finding new life as a luxury residential development. Built in the early 1920s, the neo-gothic building on North Michigan Avenue was home to the Chicago Tribune newspaper between 1925 and 2018. Now Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) has worked with developers CIM Group and Golub and Company to repurpose the 34-storey structure and create 162 residential units, retaining its original lobby and the famous Chicago Tribune sign. We end the show with an email sent in by Noa from Sweden AND a lovely Apple Podcasts review that includes the question "...outside of The UK, which is your favourite European City architecturally?" - it gets spicy.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're heading to Chicago, USA to look at the SECRET $4BN tunnel network under the metropolis, AKA: the Tunnel and Reservoir Project (TARP) - this massive 175-kilometre tunnel is quietly saving the windy city.Later in the show, we talk about the £3.5BN new district that's been proposed for London. Extending across a 20 hectare site in the Royal Docks to the east of the city centre and opposite the ExCel centre, this proposal looks to transform a whole area of the UK's capital - including the derelict Millennium Mills. Also, Saudi Arabia appears to have started construction work on Trojena — a vast development in the desert mountains that hopes to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Lastly, we chat about Chengdu's dramatic new Science Fiction Museum that's under-construction and set to host the international Worldcon event later this year. Conceived by Zaha Hadid Architects, the 59,000 square metre complex is designed to appear like a "star cloud" floating over the surrounding Jingrong Lake. It looks immense.We end the show with a lovely email sent in from Ludvig Ring, who seems to be our biggest fan yet…? Maybe? We also read out a lovely Apple Podcasts review.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're heading to Liam's native New Zealand to cover The B1M's latest video all about Auckland’s $3.2BN new underground railway. Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city - located on the North Island and home to over 1.5M people - but it's never had an underground railway... until now! It's branded as the "City Rail Link" (CRL) and we have opinions. We ask Liam what it's like being Kiwi. We think of what New Zealand celebrities we can remember. We get distracted. It's great.Later in the show, we look at Toronto's ongoing skyscraper boom by chatting about two new 75-storey structures designed by Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill Architecture that are set to rise within a block of each other on Yonge Street. We also chat about US robotics company Boston Dynamics' newly released video of its Atlas robot helping out a construction worker - it's like something straight out of a Sci-Fi film. Lastly, we talk about the world's largest urban solar farm potentially being constructed in Rome. The project forms part of a masterplan created by Carlo Ratti Associati, architect Italo Rota, and urbanist Richard Burdett for the city's 2030 Expo bid.We end the show with a lovely email sent in from Matthew Wellington and a movie-related construction question...Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're heading to Australia to cover our latest B1M video on Sydney’s $5BN Tunnel U-turn. As you could imagine, building a new highway under Sydney Harbour is turning out to be VERY difficult! Especially when decisions are changed (or boomerang'd... yes, we went there). Fortunately for us, one of our hosts is a local-boy, and can help us navigate the topic.Later in the show, we look at the UPDATED designs for a 411-metre new supertall skyscraper destined for Manhattan. Designed by Foster + Partners, 350 Park Avenue will rise 51-storeys above the city and feature a lot of trees and shrubbery - you KNOW we have opinions on this that you're not going to want to miss. We also chat about Harley Davidson building an open-air 700-bay motorcycle theatre outside its headquarters in Milwaukee, USA. The project is being led by The Harley Davidson Foundation, which has been engaging with local people to create a shared, long-term vision for the neighbourhood.We end the show with a lovely email sent in from Darragh Griffin.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're covering our latest Tomorrow's Build video! It features an exclusive interview with US billionaire Marc Lore discussing his plans for Telosa - a $400BN BRAND NEW CITY that's set to be built in the desert somewhere in the south-western US.Later in the show, we talk about the dramatic new library designed by Snøhetta that's about to complete in Beijing AND we chat about Kohn Pedersen Fox's newly unveiled plans for a commercial health and life sciences building in London.We end the show with a lovely email sent in from Arthur Caspelherr.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're back for 2023, and this week we're talking about Thailand's new $67BN High Speed Railway. This region of Asia has a beautiful landscape to look at, but it's hell for engineers. On top of this, the project is apart of China's controversial "Belt & Road Initiative".Later in the show, we break down the top 5 tallest skyscrapers completing in 2023, we look at Madrid-Chamartín Clara Campoamor Station that's set for a major overhaul from the minds at UNStudio. Lastly, we chat about the construction of the 33rd edition of the famous ice hotel in the Swedish Arctic Circle. We end the show with a lovely Apple Podcast's review. Oh, and Liam & Luke probe Fred for answers on how he broke the internet at the end of the year. Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're looking FORWARD to 2023! The year ahead is going to be HUGE for construction. Here's just some of the projects we're talking about: The MSG Sphere in Vegas, Cairo's Iconic Tower, World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris, and MUCH more. Later in the show, each of us share our favourite / most impressive / most impactful project(s) and stories from 2022. Boil your kettle, grab a croissant, make another turkey sandwich or pour yourself a pint and settle down to listen to the last episode of The World's Best Construction Podcast this year! Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.