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Vertical City
Season 2
Episode 15

John Hancock Tower, Boston

October 8, 2009

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Vertical City - S2 - E15

Behind the glistening façade of Boston’s John Hancock Tower lies one of the most embarrassing moments in architectural history. The insurance company wanted to express their corporate might by building a modernist skyscraper in the heart of Boston’s historic core.Their dream tower turned into their worst nightmare and what followed is one of the most unbelievable tales in architectural history. Presented by Matt Berman.

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Vertical City: Season 2 - 16 Episode s

2x1 - Sears Tower, Chicago
July 1, 2009
Still the tallest tower in the US – as well as the tallest building in the world for 25 years – the Sears Tower broke boundaries in not only height but design and construction when it was completed in 1973. But building the tallest building in the world brings its own logistical headaches – and the crippling cost of funding an iconic tower can take its toll. Presented by Keith Keaveney. Architects: S.O.M (Bruce Graham)
2x2 - Commerzbank, Frankfort
July 1, 2009
Charlie Luxton travels to Commerzbank, Frankfurt to explore the world's first eco-friendly skyscraper, designed by British architect Norman Foster.
2x3 - Eureka Tower, Melbourne
July 15, 2009
Vertical City goes up top Down Under to the tallest residential building in the world – the 300m Eureka Tower, the most exclusive address in the Southern Hemisphere. But is living the high life destroying our traditional city communities? Are these Vertical Villages changing the way we live forever? Presented by Keith Keaveney. Architects: Karl Fender and Nonda Katsalidis.
2x4 - Torre Mayor, Mexico City
July 22, 2009
The strongest building on Earth, Torre Mayor is constructed to withstand earthquakes that would obliterate the average skyscraper. Built in the wake of Mexico City’s most devastating earthquake in 1985, this monument to engineering has become a haven of safety in one of the world’s most active seismic zones. But can the ever growing height of skyscrapers compete with typhoons and earthquakes? Can man’s high rise addiction really conquer nature? Presented by Keith Keaveney.
2x5 - Q1, Australian Gold Coast
July 29, 2009
Surfer's Paradise has come a long way from a small town with great waves perched on the south-east coast of Australia. Surfer's has a growing reputation as the resort of choice for the rich and famous, and the skyline is growing too with the massive Q1 Tower dominating the landscape. But how has this uber-skyscraper effected the paradise that is Surfer's? Presented by Keith Keaveney. Architects: The Sunland Group
2x6 - Cira Centre, Philadelphia
July 29, 2009
You’re a new developer, you want to build a tower in a bleak part of town and you’ve got to fill half the building before you get planning permission. What do you do? Get in a Superstar Architect to ensure your skyscraper gets noticed and gets headlines. Cesar Pelli waved his magic design wand over the Cira Center and made it stand apart from any other high rise in the area. But are celebrity architects over paid and over hyped? Presented by Keith Keaveney. Architects: Cesar Pelli and Associates
2x7 - Cologne Cathedral
August 17, 2009
Even before the modern skyscraper, the super tall building has been a source of innovation and fierce competition – and no time was the fight for height fiercer than in the late 18th century when cathedrals across Europe competed to make their spires the tallest. Cologne was the tallest building in the world for 4 years – but where did the money for these religious super spires come from? And just how fierce – and dirty - did the fight become? Presented by Charlie Luxton.
2x8 - Triumph Place, Moscow
August 20, 2009
In 2003, Moscow's Triumph Palace became Europe's tallest building. In the 1940s Josef Stalin commissioned a series of seven tall towers that would compete with the skyscrapers of New York. Known as the Seven Sisters. Matt Berman investigates the design and political genesis of these towers and examines why an eighth sister, the Triumph Palace, has been added in 21st century capitalist Moscow.
2x9 - Naberezhnaya Tower, Moscow
August 17, 2009
Moscow has become Europe’s skyscraper capital, with the Naberezhnaya Tower holding the title of the continent’s tallest building. It represents a new era for the city, one in which Moscow can finally compete with the other major financial centres of the world. Presented by Matt Berman.
2x10 - John Hancock Center, Chicago
September 3, 2009
The John Hancock Center in Chicago is one of the most influential skyscrapers of the twentieth century. When completed in 1969 this was the tallest tower in the world outside New York City and is still the most famous structural expressionist style building in high rise architecture. Presented by Charlie Luxton.
2x11 - 1180 Peachtree, Atlanta
September 10, 2009
1180 Peachtree is a striking icon on the Atlanta skyline, its huge fins making it distinct from other skyscrapers in the city. But it’s not all about good looks - 1180 is creating a new era for the city’s towers. Presented by Matt Berman.
2x12 - Taipei 101, Taiwan
September 17, 2009
Taiwan, China’s renegade province, wanted to make the world sit up and notice it – so it built the planet’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in its capital city. An architectural meeting of East meets West, Taiwan’s biggest global advertising board and symbol of achievement was a defiant gesture towards its neighbouring superpower, and a calculated quest for Taiwanese commercial attention proving that in modern times, the super-tall building is more than just the corporation HQ of the past. Presented by Matt Berman.
2x13 - Shanghai World Finance Centre
September 23, 2009
With the highest roof on earth, the sleek Shanghai World Finance Center stands in the city that has overtaken New York and Chicago as skyscraper capital of the world. Setting the standard for a new generation of supertall skyscrapers, this Japanese-developed tower, built on Chinese land, also symbolises a new era in relations between the two previously hostile countries after Japan's violent invasion of China in the 1930s. Presented by Matt Berman.
2x14 - Petronas Towers, Malaysia
October 1, 2009
In the late 1980s the Malaysian government decided to build a skyscraper so unprecedented in size and so ambitious that it sought to overtake Chicago’s Sears Tower as the tallest building in the world. The result – the elaborately curved Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur – achieved both goals. Presented by Matt Berman.
2x15 - John Hancock Tower, Boston
October 8, 2009
Behind the glistening façade of Boston’s John Hancock Tower lies one of the most embarrassing moments in architectural history. The insurance company wanted to express their corporate might by building a modernist skyscraper in the heart of Boston’s historic core.Their dream tower turned into their worst nightmare and what followed is one of the most unbelievable tales in architectural history. Presented by Matt Berman.
2x16 - 2 International Finance Centre, Hong Kong
October 15, 2009
Stunning skylines are fuelled by money – and Hong Kong has one of the most stunning in the world. With a lack of land on the island, the only way is up. The most prized – and expensive - plot is the financial district of Central where one skyscraper towers above the rest, star of Batman movies and gleaming white pillar of capitalism, 2 International Finance Center. Presented by Matt Berman.

Vertical City: All seasons

S1: Season 1
6 Episode s
S2: Season 2
16 Episode s

2x1 - Sears Tower, Chicago

2x2 - Commerzbank, Frankfort

2x3 - Eureka Tower, Melbourne

2x4 - Torre Mayor, Mexico City

2x5 - Q1, Australian Gold Coast

2x6 - Cira Centre, Philadelphia

2x7 - Cologne Cathedral

2x8 - Triumph Place, Moscow

2x9 - Naberezhnaya Tower, Moscow

2x10 - John Hancock Center, Chicago

2x11 - 1180 Peachtree, Atlanta

2x12 - Taipei 101, Taiwan

2x13 - Shanghai World Finance Centre

2x14 - Petronas Towers, Malaysia

2x15 - John Hancock Tower, Boston

2x16 - 2 International Finance Centre, Hong Kong

S1: Season 1

S2: Season 2