Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America

Explore the cast-offs of humanity - buildings, compounds and even entire cities abandoned by humans for years.

Šumné stopy

British television series which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects.

Based on his book, American writer Stewart Brand takes a look at the life history of buildings - how they're shaped by their architects, and how they're further shaped by their inhabitants.

Frank Lloyd Wright tells the story of the greatest of all American architects. Wright was an authentic American genius, a man who believed he was destined to redesign the world, creating everything anew. Over the course of his long career, he designed over eight hundred buildings, including such revolutionary structures as the Guggenheim Museum, the Johnson Wax Building, Fallingwater, Unity Temple and Taliesin. His buildings and his ideas changed the way we live, work and see the world around us. Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural achievements were often overshadowed by the turbulence of his melodramatic life. In ninety-two tempestuous years, he fathered seven children, married three times, and was almost constantly embroiled in scandal. Some hated him, some loved him, and in the end, few could deny that he was the one of the most important architects in the world.

Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse meets people who know and care about architecture, real estate and design, and finds out what guided their choices in the design and construction of their homes.

Witness a fascinating account of a nation's efforts to become progressive and prosperous.

Using the latest 3D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott uncover the hidden history of Italian civilisation and city life.

The beautiful Italy

Cold War bomb shelters, secret vaults and underground railway tunnels, abandoned factories and the highest rooftops become the objects of infiltration. Our team takes you along on their urban adventure to uncover the secrets of the hard to access locations. Urban exploration is a hobby that comes with inherent dangers and extreme situations may present themselves at any turn. Unstable structures, unsafe floors, chemical hazards, stray voltage - there’s a lot to overcome to make it to the bottom of that abandoned tunnel or to scale that building! Yet once you get in on the secret workings of the city and get to know the obscure spaces that are normally neglected, it makes it all worth it. It’s time to stop being oblivious to the urban wonders around us. Open a door, cross a fence, or sneak into a hole with our team and you have left the normal world, you are exploring. This is your city, but not as you know it!

First broadcast on October 2, 1989, these 18 original 30-minute episodes provide a panorama of 2000 years of architecture, painting and sculpture, and studies the art masterpieces as reflections of the Western culture that produced them.

Jonathan Meades takes a quixotic tour of Scotland, a country which has intrigued him since he first encountered lists of towns only known from football coupons

Design expert Kevin McCloud secures breathtaking vantage points from which to view impressive feats of architecture as he scales some of Britain's highest structures.

A look at the aesthetics of our suburbs. Tim Ross – comedian, broadcaster and aficionado of the Modernist era – is tour guide for this very personal journey exploring how and why our suburbs look the way they do. Travelling the country gaining unprecedented access to some of our most epic homes, meeting their owners, peeling back their history and revelling in their beauty Tim poses the question: from Modernism to McMansionism – how did we get here?

Kevin McCloud follows an innovative community-led regeneration scheme in Castleford.

Secrets de cathédrales

Fred Dibnah reveals the genius, the vision and the sheer bloody graft that went into creating some of Britain's greatest national monuments. All six episodes look at Britain's architectural heritage. In 'Mighty Cathedrals' Fred examines the innovations in building techniques which allowed the Normans to build some of the nation's most remarkable cathedrals. 'The Art of Castle Building' has Fred take a look at the castles of the North Wales coastline. 'The Age of the Carpenter' sees Fred learn all about the way that carpenters have used their skills to transform medieval castles into homes. In 'Scottish Style' Fred visits Glamis Castle and learns about the Scottish Baronial Style. 'Building the Canals' has Fred visit Bolton and learn about the construction of the first canals. Finally, 'Victorian Splendour' sees Fred looking at the achievements of architects in the 19th century and discovering the story behind the building of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben.

Ikony

The show traces the history of architecture and urban planning in Reykjavík in the twentieth century. The series begins in 1915, in the big fire where many wooden houses in the town were destroyed. Then the time of the concrete houses began.

Under the leadership of architect Samppa Lappalainen, we follow the passion projects of house builders from the beginning, from the design table through construction stages and challenges to the finished dream home. Where did the old dreams start and what kind of work must be done to fulfill the dreams? And was all the hard work worth it?