| London |
War, destruction, fire,
disease—London has fallen victim to numerous crises over its
two-thousand-year history. At the center of it all is the River Thames,
whose tidal dangers threaten flooding even to this day. But thanks to
phenomenal feats of engineering and construction, the city has
consistently been able to return to top form. This program examines how
devastation in London has inspired people of vision to revolutionize the
city’s architecture, from Roman settlement to the center of the British
Empire…and beyond. London-based engineering designer Chris Wise and
architecture historians Simon Thurley and Vaughan Hart, among others,
reveal how great edifices helped this small island become a world power. A
Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes, color) Copyright date: 2004 |
VHS33603
DVD33603 |
129.95
129.95 |
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| Paris |
This program investigates the
crucial role engineering has played in the two-thousand-year history of
the French capital. Eugene Houseman spearheaded the evolution of Paris in
the late 18th century, producing the infrastructure, wide boulevards, and
grand buildings that give the city its singular charm. Top French
historians, engineers, and archaeologists analyze his work as well as the
complex feats of the pre-Houseman years, from the construction of King
Philippe’s wall and the innovative methods of purifying the Seine in the
13th century to the "revolt of the dead" in 1785. The program
also examines the existing Parisian structures at the time of the French
Revolution. A Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes, color) Copyright
date: 2004 |
VHS33604
DVD33604 |
129.95
129.95 |
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| We
Built This City - London and Paris |
London
and Paris Programs in 1 money saving series |
VHS33602
DVD33602 |
229.95
229.95 |
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| Reach
for the Sky |
The biggest sculpture, the
vastest geodesic dome, the largest building in the world—structures that
reach for the sky. In this program, architecture critic Paul Goldberg
travels to Mount Rushmore, the Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly
Building, the Superdome in New Orleans, Orlando’s Epcot Center, the Los
Angeles Concert Hall, and the renovated strip of Las Vegas to look at
modern-day marvels of engineering. Along with incredible computer
graphics, Goldberg talks with acclaimed architect Frank Gehry; Rex Alan
Smith, author of The Carving of Mount Rushmore; and Superdome architect
Arthur Q. Davis. A Discovery Channel Production. (47 minutes, color)
Copyright date: 2002 |
VHS30618
DVD30618 |
129.95
129.95 |
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| Thinking Big |
In this program, architecture
critic Paul Goldberger leads a tour of some of America’s grandest
structures. Location footage and cutting-edge computer graphics bring home
the innovations and sheer spectacle of the building of the Brooklyn
Bridge, the Empire State Building, Ford’s River Rouge plant in Detroit,
the Hoover Dam, and the Interstate Highway System. Among those providing
commentary are Dr. Bojidar Yanev, a New York City Bridge Management
expert; William McDonough, the architect leading the reclamation of the
old Ford factory; and Joseph Passonneau, chief engineer in the
construction of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado. A Discovery
Channel Production. (47 minutes, color). Copyright date: 2002 |
VHS33617
DVD33617 |
129.95
129.95 |
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| Superstructures of America
Series - Thinking Big and Reach for the Sky |
From the Empire State Building
to the Hoover Dam, this two-part series, hosted by noted architecture
critic Paul Goldberger, celebrates the architects, engineers, and workers
who built the structures that say "America." Spectacular
computer graphics enable viewers to watch the virtual construction of the
buildings and public works projects that conquered a continent and define
our way of life. A Discovery Channel Production. 2-part series, 47 minutes
each. Copyright date: 2002 |
VHS33616
DVD33616 |
229.95
229.95 |
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| Air Traffic Control |
On any given day, at least
60,000 commercial flights crisscross the U.S. on the safest system of
aerial highways in the world. In this program, the network of constant
navigational communication that forms those highways is explored: air
traffic control. The video goes inside airport flight towers and the
country’s busiest regional center, New York’s TRACON, or terminal
radar approach control. Air traffic controllers, pilots, FAA officials,
the editors of Aviation Week, and the CEO of Continental Airlines
are interviewed; all agree that despite its outstanding record, the system
is stretched to its limits and is quickly approaching gridlock. A
Discovery Channel Production. (51 minutes, color) Copyright date: 2000 |
VHS12082
DVD12082 |
129.95
129.95 |
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| Nowhere Fast! |
Welcome to life in the slow
lane. This program examines how cities and suburbs are dealing with
ever-increasing traffic congestion as transportation consultant Alan
Pisarski and experts from the Reason Foundation, The Heritage Foundation,
the Progressive Policy Institute, Houston TranStar, and Caltrans debate
the best ways to move forward. Suburb-to-suburb commuting, infrastructure
expansion, and induced demand are addressed, and initiatives such as HOT
lanes, congestion pricing, wireless motorist messaging systems, Flexcars,
and Boston’s monumental reengineering effort, the Big Dig, are
presented. A Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes, color) Copyright
date: 2003 |
VHS32817
DVD32817 |
89.95
89.95 |
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| Understanding Cities |
For the first time in
civilization’s history, more people live in cities than outside of them.
This program goes around the world to look at cities past and present with
a focus on issues of transportation, electricity, light, water, sewage,
and trash. The program examines differences between cities that have
evolved over time and planned cities, such as Brazil’s capital and
utopian experiment, Brasília, and Mexico’s ancient Teotihuacán, the
first planned city in Mesoamerica. Cameras explore the construction of a
new line in London’s Underground and a new aqueduct in New York City.
Portland is presented as a paradigm of modern urban planning. A Discovery
Channel Production. (53 minutes, color) Copyright date: 1996 |
VHS29016
DVD29016 |
89.95
89.95 |
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