The Scorpion Tower
Follow the construction of one of the most complex skyscrapers ever to make it off the drawing board. Its design is so radical that construction experts have turned to a building material never before used in skyscrapers.
Previews + Extras
Creating the Scorpion Tower’s Silky Aesthetic
S1 E1 - 1m 24s
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.
The Team Stumbles Upon a Problem Inside the Building
S1 E1 - 2m 38s
The Scorpion Tower’s head of interiors, Mark Morabito, must conduct a floor-by-floor inspection of the building every day. However, due to the build’s unique curved design, no two floors are the same, and it’s during one of these inspections that Mark spots an alignment issue with the lights and sprinklers.
Buck Hoists Play an Essential Role in Building the Tower
S1 E1 - 3m 5s
To help transport construction materials and builders to different floors of the Scorpion Tower, the team uses two elevators attached to the building, known as buck hoists. Though the buck hoists are meant to ease the building process, the crew encounters a dilemma when they discover that the buck hoist tower has begun to lean away from the building.
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