The World's Best Construction Podcast

This week, Luke's away! So Fred & Liam are piloting the show. The lads start with a Skyscraper Quiz shortly followed by covering the latest B1M video "This Mega-Dam is the Size of London" - AKA: Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam. Later in the episode, the boys look at China’s new oil refinery transformation in Hangzhou (MVRDV). Also, Bjarke Ingels Group have been confirmed as the master planner...

This week's episode is special! We're covering Saudi Arabia's megaprojects, including: THE MUKAAB - a 400-metre high by 400-metre wide structure that's big enough to hold 20 Empire State Buildings, TROJENA - a winter sports venue that's technically in the desert, OXAGON - the world’s largest floating structure, future shipping destination hub and the logistics nerve-centre for Neom, RED SEA INTERN...

This week we’re heading to Venice, Italy to talk about Tomorrow's Build's latest video "The Failed Plan to Save Venice From Flooding". Oh, and there's a twist... a $7BN flood defence system isn't enough to keep the iconic city afloat. Of course, we're chatting about the MOSE system that's defending one of earth's most picturesque places. Later in the episode, we look at Uruguay’s new tree-covered...

This week we’re heading to the New York City to talk about Tomorrow's Build's latest video "The Problem With New York’s Skyscrapers" - thousands of Manhattan's tall buildings now HAVE to change *cough* we're looking at YOU 432 Park Avenue *cough* Later in the episode, we look at Wuhan’s 3-intertwined skyscrapers by Zaha Hadid Architects AND updated plans for London’s £450M Liverpool Street ov...

This week we’re heading to the Big Apple to talk about The B1M's latest video "The Shocking Story of New York’s Strangest Tower". The Daily Bugle Buil... uh, sorry, we mean The Flatiron Building - Manhattan's iconic triangular structure faces an uncertain future and has a strange story to tell. Later in the episode, we look at New York’s Climate Exchange (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill), London’s ne...

This week we’re heading to California to talk about The B1M's latest video "The Insane Engineering of the Golden Gate Bridge". Think of American landmarks and you’ll probably think of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge almost immediately. The iconic structure has stood for over 80 years and remains a critical piece of US road infrastructure. Now the structure is undergoing a massive seismic r...

This week, to celebrate our 40th episode, we’re talking about The B1M's latest video "How to Finish the World's Tallest Skyscraper" - that can only mean one thing... The Jeddah Tower, Saudi Arabia. Big episode. Big discussion. Big bants. Big building. Later in the episode, we look at New York’s tree-topped 64 University Place (KPF), London’s new rolling bridge (Thomas Randall-Page), and Utrecht’s...

This week we’re talking about The B1M's latest video "The $7BN Plan to Save New York's Most Hated Train Station" - that's right, Manhattan's Penn Station is finally getting an update. Later, we talk about a 480-metre supertall skyscraper that's broken ground in Shanghai. Inspired by the form of a magnolia — the flower of Shanghai — the Shanghai North Bund Center has been conceived by KPF as a "ver...

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 complet...

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 "Th...

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, t...

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 Ko...

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...

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 Heat...

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...

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...

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 Düss...

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 op...

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...

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 t...

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 Pederse...

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 Campoamo...

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 cr...

This week we're talking about Tomorrow's Build's latest video; "A Swarm of Robots Built This Tunnel". That's right, this isn't a Sci-Fi podcast, this is reality. A new tunnelling technique has been developed that is anything but boring, and we're here to talk and debate it. Also in the show we chat about the new community in Queens, NYC that will be based around the "15-minute city" concept where...

This week we're back in the Big Apple to talk about The B1M's latest long-form video; "New York's Chrysler Building is Being Covered Up". Arguably, NYC is the most famous city in the world for tall buildings - but when is it too much? Should there be protected sight-lines to shield historic landmark skyscrapers from being covered up? Are the numerous new proposals any good? We cover it all on this...