Building the World's Tallest Skyscraper after Burj Khalifa [FULL DOCUMENTARY]

in Malaysia a team of elite engineers is racing to build a record-breaking skyscraper it's a giant it's a giant this mega tall tower will soar over 2,000 feet high and cost more than a billion dollars in physical terms it's huge to construct this Colossus the team must battle sinking foundations then you put more weight on it it's going to shrink torrential rain stifling heat so it's pretty hot hot humid and sticky and deadly lightning storms it's quite frightening this skyscraper ranks in a week of ambitious new engineering wonders that are bigger faster taller and more advanced than anything ever constructed before this is the inside story of the extraordinary challenge of building these giants [Music] Kuala Lumpur capital of Malaysia this vibrant city is a melting pot of cultures [Music] a growing hub for business and becoming renowned for its giant skyscrapers such as the famous Petronas Towers Malaysia's largest investment company PNB plans to build a tower that will dwarf skyscrapers across the world it will be called the Merdeka tower this is a major investment to contribute to the urban development of polynomial [Music] the location they've chosen is one that is central to Malaysia's history this project is being constructed on what's arguably the most important heritage site of Malaysia sixty years ago at Kuala Lumpur is National Stadium the country declared its independence the Prime Minister raised his hands and the whole stadium raised their hands uttering the words Merdeka which means independence architect Carl fender must design a building that not only commemorates the nation's proud past but is also a beacon for its bright future this is a site that marks a great change in the history of Malaysia and the future of Malaysia the Merdeka tower will rise to become the tallest skyscraper in all of Asia [Music] it's 118 stories will soar over 2,000 feet into the sky 1 million tons of concrete interweave with over 20,000 tons of steel make up its intricate geometric structure [Music] at the towers base sits its showpiece entrance a steel and glass atrium rising 450 feet high outside over 36,000 panes of glass cover its crystalline facade five miles of LED lighting runs along every edge of the towers diamond shaped exterior illuminating it around the clock [Music] lighting up the skyline this is a truly revolutionary skyscraper project director Peter ramstad will be in charge of this mammoth construction one of his major concerns is the country's tropical climate it's to be a beautiful looking building but working in Malaysia does have a lot of its own challenges with the weather to be son eat then the storms that come through we do have big lightning strikes here and when it gets dangerous like that then obviously we take cover the sheer scale of this skyscraper will supersize every challenge Peter and his team face it will be the tallest building in the world after Dubai's Burj Khalifa in physical terms it's huge what goes into the construction of a building such as this it is mind-boggling this is the plan [Music] first engineers will sink foundation piles 200 feet into the ground capping them with a 12 foot thick concrete raft to support the tower above ground workers will cast a central core using a huge mechanized mold they will surround the core with eight super thick concrete support columns and lock the whole structure together with huge steel arms [Music] four giant cranes sit on top of the tower providing all the materials the crew needs this includes 36,000 panels of glass embedded with a quarter of a million LEDs finally they will bring to life the stunning 42 story steel and glass atrium at the towers base a showpiece to mirror the crystalline tower [Music] work begins in 2014 when diggers start excavating over 100 thousand tons of Earth in charge of all on-site operations is construction manager an ex-military man Gary Salvage it's very daunting right from the planning stages to make sure that this building can actually be built in the location where it is the first major challenge is building a strong enough foundation when the bedrock is inaccessible people traditionally think good drill until you hit rock you do it until you're you know couple feet into it then you stop then you know you're in bedrock right yeah we don't have that here Kuala Lumpur is built where two rivers converge and literally means muddy confluence the ground here is soft sediment and hard bedrock can be 300 feet or more below the surface most of the time the soil is not enough to take the load easy to have the proper engineered solution relative to the soil that you're in and that gets very complex [Music] first trench cutters slice a three-foot thick channel to create a circle 260 feet across [Applause] workers fill the channel with concrete creating a huge containing wall and sink 137 concrete columns known as piles 200 feet down into the ground packed as close together as possible for maximum support next diggers excavate down to reveal the piles and iron workers stitch them together with 300 miles of steel rebar then cover it with 45,000 tons of concrete when dry this ultra strong foundation should support the vast tower above with ease [Music] concrete warms as it sets and spoils if it gets too hot so the team has to do most of this massive pour at night to avoid the daytime heat so we're doing everything to keep the temperature as low as possible as evening descends on kuala lumpur an army of concrete trucks invades the site as a continuous process so starting tonight the cars gonna go right the way for the weekend so I should be pretty tired at the end of it the team runs checks on every truckload they have extreme measures in place for any concrete batch that arrives to warm they do not make the correct temperature then will inject liquid nitrogen in their cooler and break down the poor begins goof up and lo a devil the giant pump arms run around the clock filling up this huge pit with three and a half million gallons of concrete first 24 hours done Oh number 24 more to go [Music] after an entire weekend of non-stop pouring rain covers are placed on top for protection and the mammoth foundations are finally finished the crews next challenge is to build 118 stories of super-strong concrete up into the sky without a single misstep believe you me it is an easy concrete to chip out if you make a mistake you in Kuala Lumpur engineers constructing the 2,000 foot tall more dekha skyscraper get ready to cast the towers huge vertical core and eight surrounding columns but as they add each floor level they'll be confined by a lack of space up top you don't have much room to work it would be very very slow the team needs an innovative solution to turbocharged their race to the roof to cast a single level of a core workers built a mold from wooden panels and fill it with concrete traditionally they would then remove the panels build new scaffolding and lift the molds back up but for a building this tall that would take years too long instead steel rails bolted to the core support a giant movable platform that carries the mold sections as it climbs the rails workers lock the molds wooden panels together when pouring concrete and released them once the concrete is set then hydraulics push the platform upwards effortlessly transporting the molds and equipment up the tower to repeat the process this clever system means the team can power upwards adding each new level in as little as five days inside the huge platform concrete Foreman Perry receives the green light and the climb begins [Music] as the entire platform creeps up there are just inches to spare each worker needs to watch out for any section of platform or formwork that might catch on the newly formed concrete walls [Music] eventually the platform stops at the next level the first climb is a success proof their innovative system works so we have been our first climbing so still we need to go 100 more close we will do the same way what we see here we're gonna repeat 100 times [Music] but as Perry's team adds layer after layer of heavy concrete this skyscraper will begin to sink one of the the secrets and building large buildings that people don't really talk about is a settlement of the building how turn 18 story building is quite heavy it's going to settle it naturally well every week at the lowest basement level a survey team measures the sinking to make sure it matches their predictions after such a complete we are expecting is 19 millimeter set of maximum the entire floor needs to sink at the same rate or the tower will start to lean the stuff is using technology which can measure by the back part is not biased because we want to avoid the human hearing the sensor reads the barcode on the staff and automatically detects any change in height the team works their way around the basement okay not and the growing tower is given the all-clear for another week [Music] meanwhile the construction team works non-stop and relies on a steady stream of materials including hundreds of tons of steel each week keeping this building supplied with a steel where the concrete source and everything is a daily task of bringing materials in to keep the building fed and the only way to get all these materials to the teams up top is by lifting them with the help of these mammoth cranes situated on top of the building the tower cranes for any kind of high-rise are like the lifeblood of the building the tower cranes is what gets the material up to the highest parts of the building fed by the busy cranes the construction team hits their groove and the skyscraper soars upwards now we're achieving the five-day cycle it's very good one of the things that will be slowing us down now is actually raising the tower cranes fast enough side the core can go up quicker this is a problem they must solve and quickly if the crane stay fixed in place they'll block the tower from rising any further [Music] you in Kuala Lumpur as the central core of the Merdeka tower climbs higher its path is blocked by the four giant tower cranes tutela crimes on the outside of the building a capable of picking up 65 tons so you know these aren't small small plant equipment yet the cranes have a clever design feature that allows them to stay one step above the rising concrete each tower crane can jump itself so it it only needs itself to move itself up the building the skyscrapers cranes are attached to its concrete core with two giant steel brackets but as crews build the core higher and higher the cranes have to move up otherwise they'll impede progress first engineers install a third bracket higher up the tower that supports a pair of narrow metal ladders with these in place engineers move the cranes metal feet onto this super-strong ladder a hydraulic press raises the crane up when it reaches the rung above a second set of feet catch onto the ladder the hydraulic piston resets and pushes off again by climbing up each two-foot-high rung at a time the cranes stay ahead of the crews below I bet got some ovett inaudible put him up today's crane jump is led by San Karen cannon he's head of safety for all equipment on site including the giant tower cranes the team begins by detaching the bolts that keep this 220 ton monster locked in place San Kiran sends his men into the tower cranes support column with a 600 foot drop below them the team and the huge crane begin to climb suspended on nothing but to narrow strips of steel so this two letter is supporting the entire structure to climb We Trust on the engineers who build is green the hydraulics powering the crane lifts are under huge pressure and must be controlled precisely the crane steel feet catch each rung one thunderous bang after another each time it's booked we're gonna hear messy some fun so it's consider is normal so don't get traded why something there's no sound it takes three hours for the climbing crane to reach the safety of the next bracket the workers lock the crane back into position ready to return to action the next day but the higher the tower cranes climb into the sky the closer they get to Malaysia's potentially deadly thunderstorms but when his storm hits the crane stop and the workers seek cover [Music] with four notable exceptions the crane operators ice time caps slightest plans to be in the county this is nice fighting it's quite frightening most crane operators you may run change of underwear up the top areas were either a lightning strike can still knock out the cranes electrical system so the worst the storm gets the bigger the impact on Gary's scheduled and budget very expensive I need slate on this money and then copy work and they could be earning there [Music] in tropical Malaysia a thunderous storm halts construction of the record-breaking 2,000 foot tall for deca tower [Music] once the storm finally clears you gotta grab a vodka the Sun Quran and his team check for damage as the storm and rain stopped our technicians will climb all the cranes to ensure there's no any failure for the crane can walk safely the tower cranes Creek back into action the team building the tallest tower in Asia is almost a third of the way to the top but as they approach the 40th floor they face a new challenge they must tie the central core to the eight giant concrete support columns that surround it these type of buildings very tall buildings as mega high-rises naturally want to twist want to torque want to lean the core and the mega columns have only the thin floor levels to connect them and could start to move independently to secure them engineers insert giant pieces of steel into the concrete columns at three key levels of the tower they connect them to the core with enormous diagonal arms called outriggers these tie the columns and the core together allowing them to support each other and move as one for extra stability engineers encircle the same levels with huge steel trusses that grip the tower like a series of belts making it strong enough to extend high into the clouds the outriggers are so large the team has to Crane them up in separate pieces and weld them together after they've been installed the strength provided by the three levels of outriggers will be crucial to the entire building so Gary oversees this first level personally we look for the most experienced guys to do this this isn't an easy job the welding crew uses powerful induction heaters to warm the steel outriggers to 175 degrees cold you wouldn't get the good conductivity between the weld and the plate that you're welding this is a massive undertaking each Outrigger level has over 40 huge joints and it takes a team of welders a hundred hours to complete each joint you look at the joint itself it's iffy and I'll fill it well it's big in fact it's just like the V of my hands here you know it's under 300 passes all the way around it's a big chunk of well any moisture could fatally weakened the weld so the team shields their handiwork from the rain and works in shifts to complete the join as fast as possible [Music] after four days this final weld is finished and ready for inspection this world has to be a solid piece of metal just like this you don't want no cracks in the armor you know it's a beautiful building and we want to keep it that way the metal is so thick the crew needs to use ultrasound a search for any defects hidden below the surface the join checks out and gary signs off on the first Outrigger level all the wells of all pass their tests were happy with that we only want the best in obviously the first third of the tower holds strong and the crew just needs to repeat the process twice more to reach full height [Music] as the Merdeka tower grows higher carries work force grows ever bigger [Music] this is one of the biggest job sites in KL at the moment we we have a over 3,000 workers on here but not everyone works above ground [Music] and the four huge basement levels engineers are installing the mechanical electrical and plumbing systems known as MEP [Music] MEP can touch the life for every person abyssal ez is in charge of all the systems needed to make the finish building habitable the temperature of the aircon inside the building the lighting without gas for example you cannot do the cooking for the people a bass leads a small team of engineers responsible for enough wiring and plumbing to serve an entire city district we have to go to site every day to make sure that everything goes as they plan and as it is in the specification each day a besan is deputy Jonny prowl the basement levels checking up on all the installation teams [Music] only regular wait the welder I think we talked to your mother about the business here their greatest challenge is to install the enormous air conditioning system and in this tropical climate that's no easy task [Music] [Music] in tropical Kuala Lumpur where a team is building the enormous Merdeka tower the temperature is a humid 80 plus degrees all year round so keeping the building cool will be a huge job you don't want to see AC units hanging off the outside of the building you know this is a smart building this is a modern building sure we'd say this gargantuan network of pipes is part of a monster cooling system designed to combat Malaysia's tropical temperatures the operation to cool the tower begins deep underground first diggers excavate a giant water tank big enough to fill 14 Olympic swimming pools beneath the building giant chiller units will cool the water down to 40 degrees nine enormous 100 kilowatt motor spin pumps that forced the cold water up the tower where it cools air on each floor higher up the tower extra pumps keep the cold water moving all the way to the top this vast network will circulate 10,000 gallons of water every minute to keep the tower cool despite the tropical heat for Abbas's installation crew squeezing the cooling systems machinery into an increasingly crowded basement is no simple task not only chilled water pipe there's a cable tray there is a firefighting pipe so all maybe costs are the same area so before they do any installation they have to coordinate it well today the crew is installing the last of the nine scient motors that sit on top of each water pump these drive the entire cooling system is typically called a describe it as you can see the space is why is quite small they lift the fifty five hundred pound motor and gently rotate it to the correct angle the motor is a precise piece of engineering and the crew can't afford to get any bumps or scrapes on it as they begin the installation but they soon run into trouble the forklift can't lift the motor high enough to put it into place the crew needs to install the motor today to stay on schedule they have no option but to remove an overhead cable tray to make more Headroom for the forklift crazy slowly with the extra space the crew takes a second shot the forklift creeps forward with millimeters to spare [Music] the motor finally touches down and the giant cooling system is complete too smoothly sometimes we have some problem [Music] of course there is a lot of surprises during the construction cannot be Adams person but we try to make it 99% 99.9 [Music] but the towers cooling system is no help to the construction crews currently working in Malaysia's tropical climate we have two seasons here it's hot or it's raining that's it there ain't nothing guess rest breaks are crucial in the oppressive heat but even when the Sun sets another danger remains disease-carrying mosquitoes [Music] pest control teams need to fumigate this site every night if a single case of dengue fever is reported the Ministry of Health would quarantine the entire site for two weeks if our sample - it is very bad news well you can imagine how that would affect the schedule of this project and especially been a multi-billion dollar job and you know there's big money in pol daily spraying with insecticide keeps workers safe and the site running smoothly [Music] Gary needs the tower schedule to stay on track that's because he's gearing up for the biggest single operation of the entire construction lifting the 60-ton Keystone for the enormous atrium this is the biggest lift of the project the steel installation team will need all the help they can get because on this build you can never be too careful [Music] you the Merdeka skyscraper is rising fast crews are installing the giant window panels and testing the LED lighting that will be one of the towers signature features but one major showpiece of the towers design is still to be built the atrium an enormous structure at the building's entrance the volume of the atrium is to do with the scale of the building we're standing underneath one of the tallest buildings in the world it's appropriate to have an atrium an entry experience a start to the building which is equally wondrous as the tower itself this will be a 450 foot high hollow shell of steel and glass it's a huge space as you walk into the entrance of the building you can look all the way up 44 floors assembling this giant steel frame in midair is a precarious job and the team has reached a crucial stage they're installing the central piece of the atriums framework called the node it's the heaviest single segment of steel on the entire project this will be the biggest lift of the bills and it's got Gary worried what we are going to lift now is 52 times boy having quite a bit yes this 120,000 pound block a precisely engineered steel is the most important part of the towers vast atrium the team must lift the node at exactly the right angle so it fits onto it supports perfectly [Music] to do that they use two cranes one to hold the bottom end clear of the ground and the other larger crane to rotate it once it is at the right angle the Maine crane lifts it up the tower [Music] and the workers on the atriums colossal steel beams carefully guide the node into position [Music] they must get the placement of this behemoth perfect because it alone will hold the entire 42 story atrium together [Music] the two cranes quickly rotate the no to the correct angle workers detach the smaller crane and the bigger crane begins the main lift [Music] but bad weather is on the horizon rain is coming from not saying yeah is it heavy rain or like a drizzling something and before long a storm is right on top of them the risk of a lightning strike is too great the crew is forced to halt the operation myself and we start again my son and the alarm goes off to evacuate the site [Music] [Music] the next morning the crew raises the node back up as quickly as possible [Music] but they can't rush the final placement because there's no room for error you have to get in the right position that too may be tilted to the left tilt it to the right if it's l5 one degree it's not going to meet up with that mega columns manipulating 120,000 pounds of steel is hard work [Music] but finally the node is in position fantastic good job well done all right good now the rest of the giant atrium can rise up safely now that's in we can just carry on and fly straight up the side of the building now with the rest of us do [Music] this crystalline shape skyscraper climbs to the clouds an Asia's tallest tower becomes a new jewel in the crown from Malaysia's skyscraper city is iconic because of what it represents to come together and bring progress not only for our current generation but for future generations [Music] part of the success of all major buildings is the fact that they work on people's imaginations that sort of symbolism is what makes these sort of buildings legends within a city [Music]

Channel: Skyscrapers MY

Views: 7,040,919

Keywords: pnb118, Pnb 118, Pnb 118 progress, Pnb118 progress, Menara merdeka pnb 118, Merdeka 118, bangunan tertinggi di malaysia, menara warisan merdeka, pembinaan pnb118, pnb 118 construction, merdeka 118 doc, building the World's last megatall skyscraper, burj khalifa, last megatall skysceaper, burj khalifa documentary, kuala lumpur tallest building, malaysia tallest building

Id: Y2irptBxO34

Length: 42min 30sec (2550 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 07 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/Karpampuchi]

It's all a dick measuring contest between PMs...

[u/[deleted]]

If the Galactic Empire built a skyscraper it would look like this. Is Rosmah a Sith Witch?

[u/purplevoiletduck]

Why build 2nd highest? They should beat burj kalifah and become no1 cause “Malaysia boleh !!”

[u/My-chibajin]

Aka bik mama tower?

[u/[deleted]]

Second tallest building in the world, only behind the Burj khalifa.

[u/badblackguy]

Meh.

[u/ggdikhead]

Oh? Trying to trick other countries to waste money in order to compete?

[u/umar_johor]

Do we really need it tho?