The World's Best Construction Podcast

This week we’re talking about The B1M's latest video and a Middle Eastern building spree that you probably didn't know about – no, it's not in the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia (for once) – this is Israel. The high volumes of construction in the country right now are personified in KPF's 350-metre Azrieli Spiral Tower in Tel Aviv. It's set to become Israel’s first supertall skyscraper when it completes in 2026. Tel Aviv is also building a new mass transit system consisting of three light rail and three metro lines. We're covering it all!Later, we talk about The B1M's infamous social media April fools joke... we trolled the internet into thinking the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia was BACK under construction, but with a cheeky twist. Then we're heading over to New York to discuss another supertall skyscraper under construction in the city. Also designed by KPF, 520 Fifth Avenue will rise 305-metres above Manhattan and offer 98 residential apartments across its 76-storeys, along with new commercial space at street level.We end the show with a spicy email from Benjamin Ryan.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re talking about the B1M's latest video; "New York’s $3BN Skyscraper Gamble" - specifically, 270 Park Avenue (AKA the NEW JPMorgan Chase Building). This beast of a skyscraper is under construction in Midtown Manhattan. Designed by Foster + Partners, the tower has a lot of call backs to the NYC towers of old... is this New York's comeback skyscraper?Do you remember when we covered "The Downtown Circle" in Dubai a few weeks back...? Well, Tomorrow's Build has released a video on the project. It's amazing. And we're covering it with updated opinions. Lastly, we're heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to look at a former desalination plant on the Red Sea coast that's set to be turned into a museum. Designed by Heatherwick Studio with an eye on retaining industrial heritage, the new Jeddah Central Museum will feature a large exhibition space within a converted turbine hall.We end the show with a sweet Apple Podcasts review from Brannde as well as two spicy emails from Hunter Holder and Roland Ohlsson.Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re talking about the time Fred was sent down the world's deepest elevator test shaft... and it's not in an obvious location. This episode is FULL of amazing factoids. Later in the show, we talk about Dubai's International Finance Centre (DIFC) starting construction on its first residential buildings - designed by LWK + Partners, the project has split opinion on the internet. Lastly, the BBC’s new headquarters in Birmingham are set to be located in a former Typhoo tea factory. Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the project will see much of the historic structure’s shell retained with its interior fitted out to include offices, studios and editing suites for the broadcaster - is this a gamechanger for Birmingham?We end the show with two awesome Apple Podcasts reviews from "N. Nathan" and "PMT007" ... oh, and we go over an email from the legendary Clark Fuchs.P.S. don't forget about our Buildots live event on 29 March! Registration link on our socials @TheB1MGet in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re looking at the story of a star architect’s final masterpiece, of a gravity-defying feat of engineering, and of how a 1,500 year old city is facing up to its 21st century destiny – that’s right, we’re looking at Zaha Hadid's "Port House" in Antwerp, Belgium.Later in the show, we talk about the sad passing of A. Eugene Kohn at the age of 92. Kohn co-founded the legendary practice Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) and we debate some of the practice's best projects. Also, with some disappointing HS2 news, Fred gives us his biggest rant ever! Lastly, we look at a new 10-storey office block that's set to rise on London’s Southbank designed by Bjarke Ingels Group.P.S. don't forget about our Buildots live event on 29 March!We end the show with a lovely Apple Podcasts review from "Alex Mathie"Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're looking at The B1M's latest video "The Leaning Tower of New York City". One of New York’s skyscrapers, the 204-metre One Seaport – also known as 161 Maiden Lane – on the East Riverfront in Lower Manhattan is leaning over by 8cm. We talk about all the details and give our opinions on the matter!Later in the show, we celebrate the amazing work of architect Rafael Viñoly who has passed away at the age of 78. Rafael leaves behind an incredible legacy. Also, we talk about the latest Tomorrow's Build video "NASA's $93BN Plan to Colonise the Moon" - yes this is real. And yes, it involves 3D printing on the moon. Lastly, we look at a new spa that's set to be constructed on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastline. Once completed, the Islamic architecture-inspired Clinique La Prairie Resort will become one of eight new luxury tourist destinations in the country's AMAALA megaproject.We end the show with two lovely Apple Podcasts reviews from "Peter T Chen" and "Muse & Creator". Get in touch! Podcast@TheB1M.comwww.TheB1M.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.