Summary: This video investigates three buildings whose appearances suggest that they are about to topple over at any moment: the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Torres Puerta de Europa in Madrid, and the Torre de Collserola in Barcelona.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This video celebrates 2,000 years of engineering achievement in Europe by looking at the two most fundamental building materials of the Modern Age, iron and steel. Two of Gustave Eiffel's greatest achievements, and one of the finest works in steel and glass in Paris, are featured.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Leisure activities are as fundamental to society as work or rest. This video looks at the challenges of building arenas for popular entertainment. Venues for pastimes from different ages are represented: a Roman amphitheater, a Victorian glasshouse, and a modern stadium.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
View online at AVOD
Summary: Though many people think concrete is a modern material, it is almost as old as architecture itself. This video journeys through time to see concrete's early use in Italy, the rise of reinforced concrete, and a daring and beautiful modern masterpiece in France.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: As a structure, the dome is considered a thing of great beauty and is often believed to have mystical properties. But domes are also supremely functional and ideal for sheltering congregations of all sizes. This video visits a variety of domes in Italy, France, and the U.K.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This video examines how the need to protect communities from external threats over the centuries has given the engineer a crucial role on which lives depend. Viewers will travel from a medieval castle in Scotland to a citadel in southern France before looking at the modern defenses used to protect the population from the sea.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: The cantilever is one of the most basic structural forms. This video explains the cantilever principle as it's applied in northeastern England and then marvels at the great Victorian achievement of the Forth Rail Bridge before seeing how the cantilever has been developed into new and exciting forms in Seville, Spain.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The sea has always posed a challenge to the expansion of human civilization. This video looks at three structures that all have to deal with the threat of the sea: a lighthouse, flood gates, and an oil rig.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: A novel is a "map of contradictions," says German-Austrian writer Daniel Kehlmann-an arena of clashing viewpoints, each with its own persuasive logic. This program presents an interview with Kehlmann in which he discusses his literary goals and his search for fertile soil in the dichotomous history of Western Europe. Specific topics include personal freedom, cultural and religious tolerance,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: In the early years of his dental practice, Alaa Al Aswany had an office in Cairo's deteriorating Yacoubian Building-eventually turning his experiences there into a successful novel by the same title. This interview with the Egyptian author highlights his views on social issues affecting the Islamic world as well as his attitudes towards literature and the West. Guiding viewers through his...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The arch is one of the most reliable and enduring of structural forms. In this video, 2,000 years of the arch's development are reflected in three stunning examples: rounded Roman arches in France, pointed and flat Gothic arches in Cologne, and modern arches in Hamburg.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The ability to tap the natural resources of the planet is crucial to our world, and a great challenge to an engineer. This video travels around Europe to show viewers a hydroelectric power station in the U.K., a wind turbine in Sweden, and a solar furnace in the Pyrenees.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: From the earliest rope bridges in mountain gorges to the superlong sea crossings of today, the suspension bridge has been a consistently successful form. This video visits bridges in Britain, Denmark, and the Czech Republic to see how they work.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Building upward has long been a means for people to show off their wealth or power. This video explores the ambitions and limitations of the engineers of skyscrapers. Visits to a medieval Manhattan in Italy, the first true European skyscraper, and Europe's tallest building, in Germany, are featured.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: This video goes underground to explore how spaces can be created beneath our feet, and the many different ways such spaces can be put to use. A mine in the U.K., a Norwegian mountain hall, and the site of an underground railway station under construction in London are the featured destinations.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: Refuting any connection with overt political goals, Turkish novelist and Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk aims to create stories "as a child, not knowing where I am going next." Yet few writers in the Islamic world are more closely associated with political strife or have sparked as much street-level anger. This program features an interview with the world-renowned author in his Istanbul office,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The vast majority of drug addicts are not criminals; tobacco and alcohol, both perfectly legal in most societies, are used and abused in staggering abundance. This program details the ways smoking and drinking chemically take hold of the brain. Explaining the many reasons-besides nicotine-for tobacco's stealthy effects, the program describes the existence of thousands of other addictive...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Hallucinogenic plants may be the oldest drugs in the world, and were probably used in rituals during prehistoric times. In the 20th century, LSD and ecstasy became the hallucinogens of choice. This program recounts how science has gradually become aware of the properties of hallucinogens, both natural and synthetic. It also provides a detailed look at the effects of such substances on the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: The human body manufactures its own painkillers to ensure survival when injured. This program shows how opium and its derivatives, heroin and morphine, hijack that natural pain-numbing ability. Illustrating the brain's ability to alter its own chemistry when attacked by drugs, the program depicts the process by which brain receptors become desensitized and thus addicted. Tranquilizers-and the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Like an avenue filled with neon signs, the brain's so-called pleasure pathway can light up or go dark, depending on what sort of stimulation it receives. This program explores the workings of the human nerve center under the influence of cocaine, amphetamines, and other stimulants, and shows how our understanding of brain disorders and drug addiction has increased by studying these drugs....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: As has occurred with most drugs, the neurological effects of cannabis have only recently been fully identified and understood. This program presents some of the latest findings, including new investigations into the clinical applications of the drug. Focusing on studies of the nerve-related mechanisms triggered by the action of cannabis, the program highlights potential changes in the social...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: With their mental health histories kept secret, ten adults enter a period of psychiatric observation in an isolated group setting. It is up to a panel of experts to determine who is healthy and who isn't. This program documents the first three days of the session, which features several tests designed to bring out evidence of mental disorders. Simulated urban warfare evokes reckless behavior;...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
View online at AVOD
Summary: The decision to develop a new squeezable Marmite bottle means altering a container style that had gone unchanged for 103 years. This program follows the process from prototype to final design and the emergence of a brand-new product which the design team hopes will revitalize the Marmite business. Confronting the technical challenges arising from Marmite's thick consistency, the team enlists...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
View online at AVOD
Summary: How long can mental illness stay hidden, especially from the eyes of trained experts? This program rejoins a group of ten adults-five of them healthy and five of them with histories of mental illness-as psychiatric specialists try to spot and correctly diagnose the latter. Administering a series of collaborative and one-on-one tests, including assessments of personality type, physical...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009