0:00:07 > 0:00:11This is a journey to see how architecture brings people together.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13How buildings make us connect.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21In India, an enormous slum that became a vibrant community.
0:00:25 > 0:00:30Brasilia, a capital city that dreamed of a brave new world.
0:00:35 > 0:00:40Damascus, the world's oldest inhabited city.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47And from 1930s New York...
0:00:49 > 0:00:52..a vision of the modern age.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49This is the Planalto, a spectacular wilderness
0:01:49 > 0:01:51at the very heart of Brazil.
0:01:58 > 0:02:02It's a place where nature still feels all-powerful.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10But in the middle of the last century,
0:02:10 > 0:02:14this land became the site for a giant experiment in city building.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30It was one of the most audacious
0:02:30 > 0:02:33architectural projects ever realised.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35It was created at a time when people believed
0:02:35 > 0:02:37that architecture could change the world,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and that architects could cure social evils,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43they could transform for the better the way in which we live.
0:02:43 > 0:02:50And all was to be achieved through a perfect city designed from scratch.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54'The city was to be Brazil's new capital.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01'The site was remote, 600 km from the nearest paved road.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06'But in just over three years, it was transformed.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14'They built Brasilia.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24'The city was inaugurated on the 21st April, 1960,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29'intended as a bold, fresh start for a country stricken
0:03:29 > 0:03:30'by poverty and disease.
0:03:34 > 0:03:35'It was to be a new capital
0:03:35 > 0:03:38'to express the identity and aspirations of a new nation,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42'proclaiming social equality and belief in the future.'
0:03:50 > 0:03:54These buildings are all the work of one man -
0:03:54 > 0:03:57the great Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04Politically a Communist, architecturally a Modernist,
0:04:04 > 0:04:06he realised the government's vision
0:04:06 > 0:04:10through sculptural buildings, liberated from styles of the past.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16It's extraordinary to think
0:04:16 > 0:04:19that not one building in this city is older than I am.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24It's an infant, it still has some of the exhilaration of youth about it.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33I know most people aren't moved by Modernist architecture,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36but I think this little elegant building
0:04:36 > 0:04:38could bring about a few conversions.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Just open your mind to it, just look at it.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45It's the Palace of Justice. And the building's all to do with light,
0:04:45 > 0:04:48with glass walls letting light flood inside,
0:04:48 > 0:04:53a beautiful space to occupy and work in and it's to do with lightness.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Lightness of the construction, the minimal construction.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58It's fantastic, the whole thing supported
0:04:58 > 0:05:03on these really elegant, beautifully shaped, curved columns.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05They barely touch the ground,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the whole building seems to float in space.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Incredibly beautiful.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12The greatest ornament of this building
0:05:12 > 0:05:15is simply the means of its construction.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Modernist architecture has a reputation
0:05:22 > 0:05:25for being arid, anonymous, machine-like.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27But not here.
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Niemeyer wanted to create an architecture
0:05:32 > 0:05:35that reflected the nature of Brazil and its people.
0:05:35 > 0:05:40So, he used the curve to echo the curve of the Brazilian hills,
0:05:40 > 0:05:44the curve of the clouds in the skies,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48and of, as he put it, the form of your lover.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51He was particularly taken, he said,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55by the curvaceous, baroque buttocks of Brazilian beauties.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57And that's the sort of form,
0:05:57 > 0:06:01the sensuous form he wanted to put into his architecture.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10The city's great centrepiece
0:06:10 > 0:06:14is the building housing the Brazilian parliament.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15This is very exciting.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19I am going on to the roof of the Congress building.
0:06:19 > 0:06:21The roof used to be open to the public,
0:06:21 > 0:06:22but has been closed for decades.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26I suppose for reasons of security and health and safety.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28So, I am very privileged.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I am about to have an experience
0:06:30 > 0:06:33that is now denied citizens of Brazil.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36Here we are. Gosh, it's wonderful.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09It's strangely antique, almost spiritual, really.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14Up here is like being on top of an acropolis, like in Athens.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17And the ramps, like the ramps of Egyptian temples.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21It's an amazing marriage, really, of old and new,
0:07:21 > 0:07:25of materialistic and spiritual, creating a government building
0:07:25 > 0:07:28that's also, in a way, a sacred building,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30the heart of the nation.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40What's surprising for me is that in a city conceived by Communists
0:07:40 > 0:07:44rises one of the world's most spiritually charged Cathedrals.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55A dark passage takes you down into the bowels of the earth,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59into a grotto, into a tomb,
0:07:59 > 0:08:04but you get here, and suddenly, there's an explosion of light.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09This is of course to do with rebirth, resurrection,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11the tomb becomes the womb.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15All this is a bit obviously Christian, isn't it?
0:08:15 > 0:08:20Christ's tomb, resurrection, and the form of the building -
0:08:20 > 0:08:24the great concrete arches are like the crown of thorns.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28But Niemeyer was an atheist, which makes it amazing, odd at least,
0:08:28 > 0:08:31that he would design such a powerful Christian cathedral.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34But that, of course, is to miss the point.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36This is not just to do with Christianity.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It was a fusion of the beliefs of the people of Brazil.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Roman Catholics, older religions, religions brought here from Africa,
0:08:42 > 0:08:48a fantastic monument to the nature of the nation of Brazil.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55But to comprehend the scale of Brasilia's ambition,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58to see how it embraces the modern age,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02requires a different perspective.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Brasilia looks fantastic from the air, looking down.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17It's like a great architect's model.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Everything ordered, in its place, everything's designed.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24You can't help but feel the architect always wanted it
0:09:24 > 0:09:27to be seen from a few hundred metres up.
0:09:29 > 0:09:34It's been laid out in the shape of an aeroplane with swept back wings.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38It's clearly divided into zones, according to use.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40A Modernist hallmark.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44I'm now running next to the fuselage of the aeroplane, so to speak,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48a central monumental axis along which are set
0:09:48 > 0:09:50the government buildings, the ministries,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53That of course is where the pilot would be -
0:09:53 > 0:09:55the Congress, the Government.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57Where the wings meet the main axis,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02where the engines would be, so to speak, is the commercial area.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07Commerce, offices driving the city, fantastic symbolism.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11And below me, on the curve of the wings, are the residential areas.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15These are housing slabs set in parkland.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18It's really rather wonderful, actually, a great sculptural city.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Brasilia's residential areas were planned with great care,
0:10:33 > 0:10:37to create a new, classless world.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41Blocks were limited to the height from which
0:10:41 > 0:10:44mothers could hear their children playing below.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47'And apartments were to be distributed
0:10:47 > 0:10:49'right across the social spectrum.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52'Government ministers and labourers living side-by-side.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55'This was one of the first to be constructed.'
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Hello.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03'And Dona Olga has been here from the start.'
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Very good. So I've come to see your lovely home.
0:11:07 > 0:11:08There's a painting.
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Yes, little finger comes out!
0:11:13 > 0:11:15'She moved to Brasilia
0:11:15 > 0:11:18'when her husband was elected as a state deputy.'
0:11:19 > 0:11:21TRANSLATED FROM PORTUGUESE
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Did you feel you were on the cutting edge
0:11:29 > 0:11:31of a new way of living in cities?
0:11:43 > 0:11:44Would you ever move?
0:11:51 > 0:11:56But Brasilia was the victim of a changing world.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59'Brazil's Socialist government fell,
0:11:59 > 0:12:02'and the egalitarian vision of the city was abandoned.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06'The gap between rich and poor opened up once again.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16'Dona Francisco works as a cleaner at the Ministry of Urban Planning.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24'But she can't afford to live in the centre of the city.'
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Like thousands of Brasilia's low-paid workers,
0:12:29 > 0:12:31she lives on its distant outskirts,
0:12:31 > 0:12:35spending three hours a day on a bus to and from work.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40She has an extra weekend job to make ends meet.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44And what little time she has at home, she spends here,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48in one of Brasilia's satellite towns.
0:12:54 > 0:13:00'They are the city's alter ego - unintended, disorganised and poor.'
0:13:19 > 0:13:20What's life like here?
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Is it inconvenient, is it dangerous, even?
0:13:23 > 0:13:25TRANSLATED FROM PORTUGUESE
0:13:36 > 0:13:39What connection do you feel to Brasilia?
0:14:04 > 0:14:09What would happen to Brasilia if the satellite towns didn't exist?
0:15:08 > 0:15:13Brasilia's a Modernist dream, architecturally stunning.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16It was to show how people should live together,
0:15:16 > 0:15:20the rich with the poor, workers and professionals,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23but now I've been to the satellite town,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27it's clear that this dream has failed,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31and the workers, really, have been betrayed.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08This is Damascus, the capital of Syria,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11at the heart of the Middle East.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city on Earth,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31perhaps 7,000 years old.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34While the once great and ancient cities like Persepolis,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Babylon and Jericho are now nothing but ruins or shrunken villages,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41Damascus is alive and well, thriving.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46I find it intoxicating, because it appeals to ALL the senses.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50It inflames, feeds the brain and moves the spirit.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58'To walk the streets of Damascus
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'is to see what makes it so successful and enduring.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06'From its earliest days, the city has been a centre of trade
0:17:06 > 0:17:07'between East and West.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11'And it's trade that has kept the city a living being.'
0:17:11 > 0:17:16This is the oldest street of trade in Damascus, it's Straight Street.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19The Decumanus Maximus of Roman times.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Originally it was four times this width with columns on each side
0:17:23 > 0:17:27and behind the columns, shops selling the trade goods,
0:17:27 > 0:17:29the wealth and wonders of the Empire.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43'The city's tradition of trade is revealed by its wonderful food.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45'It's emblematic of Damascus.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48'The markets are laden with herbs and spices
0:17:48 > 0:17:50'from all over the Middle East.'
0:17:50 > 0:17:51Very good.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57And sharing food is an important part of Damascus life.
0:17:57 > 0:18:01It brings the people together and makes them feel part of the city.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Oh, nuts, nuts, lovely.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10- All from Syria?- Cafe?
0:18:10 > 0:18:15Oh! Well, OK! Lovely. Didn't expect that.
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Come to to buy some nuts and I get some lovely coffee.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24These are all nuts from Syria?
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Toasted and roasted. What's that?
0:18:30 > 0:18:36- Salt.- Salt. Of course, salted peanuts. Very hot, yes!
0:18:36 > 0:18:41- It's a good joke. Very hot. - HE LAUGHS
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Up there, look, endless bags of nuts stored.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48An incredible scene, an Aladdin's cave of nuts.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Damascus nuts, it says.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12Pumpkin seed, you can't beat that.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21'The constant commercial activity throughout the centuries
0:19:21 > 0:19:25'means that some of Damascus's finest and most ancient architecture
0:19:25 > 0:19:27'is devoted to trade.'
0:19:34 > 0:19:37A large number of khans survive in the old city.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39A khan is a warehouse
0:19:39 > 0:19:43which also included accommodation, offices for merchants.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45Mostly like this one, they are approached
0:19:45 > 0:19:48through a big arch off a major commercial street,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51generally architecturally wonderful, like this one.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55This one was built about 300 years ago, I'm told,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57and was home to tobacco merchants.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Three domes in a row with the sky open in the middle.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05The sky working like a sort of ornamental ceiling.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Amazing sort of little palace of trade.
0:20:16 > 0:20:21'The most magnificent khan is the As'ad Pasha.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30'Built in 1752, it's a stunning piece of geometry
0:20:30 > 0:20:33'and as fine as any mosque in the city.'
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Along the trade routes leading to Damascus
0:20:39 > 0:20:44travelled ideas, art and religion. But rather than dividing the city,
0:20:44 > 0:20:45different religions and people
0:20:45 > 0:20:49were absorbed to enrich the culture of Damascus.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55This site's been the sacred heart, the soul of Damascus,
0:20:55 > 0:20:57for at least 3,000 years.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Various conquerors brought their gods with them
0:21:00 > 0:21:03and reshaped the building to suit their needs.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06This portico here, these columns and that wonderful wall in front of me,
0:21:06 > 0:21:08date from the 2nd century AD
0:21:08 > 0:21:11and are the remains of the Roman temple of Jupiter.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17This building shows how Damascus has survived
0:21:17 > 0:21:19through its ability to adapt.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28'In the 4th century, the Pagan temple was converted
0:21:28 > 0:21:31'into a Christian cathedral.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'And when the Muslims conquered Damascus in 636,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38'they shared the building with their Christian neighbours
0:21:38 > 0:21:41'for nearly a century.'
0:21:41 > 0:21:45This court's a fantastic architectural space,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49but incredibly, it's only a shadow of its former self.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Originally, all these surfaces were covered with mosaic.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56Imagine it - gold glistening in the sun.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58They were executed in the 8th century,
0:21:58 > 0:22:00but some of the mosaic does survive,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04it's behind me here in this colonnade, now rather faded.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08It shows, I suppose, Damascus in the 8th century.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11There's the river Barada, full of water,
0:22:11 > 0:22:15trees, plants, little houses,
0:22:15 > 0:22:20palaces, mosques, an image of paradise.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29The Muslims rebuilt within the ancient walls in 705
0:22:29 > 0:22:31to create the greatest mosque in the world.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35But they didn't just sweep the past away.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44'Inside are rows of Corinthian columns from the cathedral.'
0:22:48 > 0:22:51'The memory of the old building was kept alive
0:22:51 > 0:22:54'in this vast Muslim prayer hall.'
0:22:58 > 0:23:03And this historic structure is still a living place of worship.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14I love this mosque. It is warm, welcoming,
0:23:14 > 0:23:18a sense of calm, a sense of peace.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21People come here to contemplate, to pray, of course.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24Families wander around, a wonderful atmosphere.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27Terrific carpets everywhere.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31- And the sounds, sounds of... - PHONE RINGS - ..telephones,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35chanting, people just going about their daily life.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Very, very reassuring.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Can't help but sitting here and feeling
0:23:42 > 0:23:43that within these ancient walls
0:23:43 > 0:23:48still resides the soul of the ancient city of Damascus.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09'And Damascus has survived and prospered
0:24:09 > 0:24:11'because people of different religious faiths
0:24:11 > 0:24:14'found a way of living together.'
0:24:26 > 0:24:29So the city was divided into separate areas,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32each home to a trade or religious group.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34So there'd be a Muslim quarter,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36a Christian quarter, a Jewish quarter.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39And each of these groups would feel secure
0:24:39 > 0:24:40in their maze of streets,
0:24:40 > 0:24:44with their gates and those fortified tower entries.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48The place would be utterly confusing to unwelcome strangers.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05'The most magnificent houses have simple,
0:25:05 > 0:25:07'almost nondescript exteriors.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19'I'm on way to meet Hind Kabawat,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22'one of the residents in the Christian quarter.'
0:25:23 > 0:25:25DOGS BARKS
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Oh, yes.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31- Hello.- Hi, how are you? Welcome.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Thank you very much. This must be your wonderful home.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Lovely little entrance with marble.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Shall I go in here? Aah, how lovely!
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Glad to have you in our house.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Thank you very much, I have brought a gift for you.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49You don't have you, thank you very much, thank you very much.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- I do appreciate it. - Thank you very much.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55- Something maybe for us to nibble at as we chat.- Later?
0:25:55 > 0:25:58Now, I hope!
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Fantastic, beautiful with the fountain.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Typical of these courtyard houses.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Yes, this is where we sit in the afternoon and the evening
0:26:06 > 0:26:09in the spring and the fall.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11And we usually spend the summer here in the courtyard,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14especially in the evening, it is very cool here,
0:26:14 > 0:26:17and the temperature is very refreshing and very nice.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20The smell of the courtyard, the visuals
0:26:20 > 0:26:23and the sound of the fountain must be wonderful.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27Birdsong, sounds, the senses, all the senses engaged.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Beautiful architecture. But you say in here, this is where you...
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Yeah, let's go and see.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35- Glad to have you here. - Thank you very much.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38I am very pleased to be here!
0:26:41 > 0:26:44- Oh, ah! - So it's warmer here, right?
0:26:44 > 0:26:46It's an interior sort of pool, fountain.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50I suppose it's Ottoman period, so it's 18th century, I guess.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53I love the black and white stonework
0:26:53 > 0:26:57and all these arches, recesses, beautiful.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00You see, my sweet friend, this is the deeds.
0:27:00 > 0:27:01The deeds to the house?
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Yes, this is the original one from the Ottoman times.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08- Oh, good heavens! To your family? - Yes.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12So your family's been here several hundred years, in that case.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Tell me about living in Damascus. I think it's wonderful.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24The atmosphere is so peaceful and friendly, tolerant.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27Very, very, pleasing place.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29It is a very tolerant place.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32A Christian family, we've lived here for a few hundred years.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34We have never had any problems.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37Our Shi-ite or Sunnis friends, we don't even know.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40We're just like friends and we have been living here for ever.
0:27:40 > 0:27:41It's been great.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45Here's a call to prayer from the mosque nearby.
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Exactly, and Sunday you hear all the churches also.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51You have the Jewish area here, we are so close
0:27:51 > 0:27:54and we are very good friends with everybody.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58It's a very tolerant capital, beautiful, cosmopolitan.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00It's very sort of exciting, isn't it?
0:28:00 > 0:28:05The most ancient city on Earth should also be one of the most,
0:28:05 > 0:28:08I suppose harmonious, the most model of how cities ought to be.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12A lesson from the past applied to the present and future, isn't it?
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Exactly. Exactly.
0:28:22 > 0:28:24'The miracle of Damascus
0:28:24 > 0:28:28'is its strong sense of history and identity.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31'An identity that does not depend on one culture or religion.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34'And one way the past is kept alive
0:28:34 > 0:28:38'is through the tradition of story telling.'
0:28:38 > 0:28:40SPEAKS IN ARABIC
0:29:13 > 0:29:15CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:29:23 > 0:29:24Very good, very good.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29It's an incredible to think that Damascus was ancient
0:29:29 > 0:29:31when Rome became a power in the land,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35was old when the Pharaohs ruled in Egypt.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38The city's had a turbulent history,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41attacked by the Christian crusaders in the 12th century.
0:29:41 > 0:29:47Pillaged horribly by Tamerlaine and his Mongols in 1401.
0:29:47 > 0:29:52But it survived. It's seen empires and tyrants come and go.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54It offers a fantastic object lesson
0:29:54 > 0:29:59in how people can live together, creatively and in harmony.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02It's a wonderful city in which to be.
0:30:37 > 0:30:41This is New York City, the stunning city of towers.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52The skyscraper, the building of the modern age,
0:30:52 > 0:30:55has been with us for just over a century,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58ever since we learned how to build huge metal frames
0:30:58 > 0:31:01to carry the massive loads.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09The skyscraper transformed the way cities are built
0:31:09 > 0:31:12and the way they are lived in, for good and for ill.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22From the earliest days, they have had their enemies,
0:31:22 > 0:31:26but the city high-rise is here to stay.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Getting its design right is vital
0:31:29 > 0:31:32if we're to live in harmony on this overcrowded planet.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38In midtown Manhattan,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42there's one skyscraper that has long intrigued me.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46The soaring tower of the Rockefeller Centre.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01It's part of a vision of a better way of living and working
0:32:01 > 0:32:03in a crowded modern city.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08The tower is staggeringly tall and slender.
0:32:11 > 0:32:16The setbacks, the small sections cut into like steps,
0:32:16 > 0:32:20give the tower an abstract, sculptural quality.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Although it looks wide from the side,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28from the front it's almost blade-like.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31It has a Cubist, machine-like beauty.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33It's reaching for the future.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41A family of 13 buildings frame the main tower,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44occupying 22 acres of the city.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51'The tower contains offices,
0:32:51 > 0:32:54'but this is no mundane place of work.'
0:33:10 > 0:33:12Good afternoon, Mr Cruickshank.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Oh, excellent, you were expecting me.
0:33:14 > 0:33:17- Welcome to Rockefeller Centre. - Thank you very much.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21- What a fantastic place it looks to work.- Isn't it? It sure is.
0:33:22 > 0:33:23'The tower started in 1931,
0:33:23 > 0:33:28'and the lobby's a sensational example of Art Deco.
0:33:28 > 0:33:34'The materials and details are of the highest quality, very tactile.'
0:33:42 > 0:33:47This really is a spectacular and magnificent space.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50It's not just the entrance to a private set of offices,
0:33:50 > 0:33:54it's also a public thoroughfare, full of shops.
0:33:54 > 0:33:58It's part of the city and it's full of inspiring art.
0:33:58 > 0:34:03Over there is a mural showing American progress.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06The marriage of brawn and brain.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10In the centre, a rendering of Rockefeller Tower itself.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12It's all very idealistic.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15And that's a clue to the story of this building
0:34:15 > 0:34:18which is all to do with vision and courage.
0:34:21 > 0:34:26The centre was built on the fortune of a great dynasty.
0:34:26 > 0:34:30John D Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company,
0:34:30 > 0:34:33making him the richest man in America.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37His son had planned to concentrate on philanthropic works,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41but a spectacular piece of bad timing left him stuck
0:34:41 > 0:34:43with a huge plot of land in 1929,
0:34:43 > 0:34:47just as America was devastated by the Wall Street Crash.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55'Panic gave way to despair.
0:34:55 > 0:35:00'Overnight, the richest country in the world had spawned bread lines,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03'soup kitchens and apple sellers.'
0:35:07 > 0:35:12Rockefeller Junior was left facing losses of 5 million a year.
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Faced with financial disaster,
0:35:14 > 0:35:19he put forward what seemed to many an insane plan.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21In the depths of the slump,
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Rockefeller proposed a giant development
0:35:24 > 0:35:26of offices, shops and theatres.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32'The work in the midst of catastrophic unemployment
0:35:32 > 0:35:35'when 40,000 men on the greatest real estate enterprise
0:35:35 > 0:35:38'ever undertaken by private capital.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42'The only outstanding building project in Depression-time New York.'
0:35:44 > 0:35:48From the early '30s, the 70-storey tower rose rapidly.
0:35:48 > 0:35:52The pioneering construction combined with specially commissioned art.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57Rockefeller's gamble paid off.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06More than 30,000 people work in Rockefeller Centre,
0:36:06 > 0:36:09in everything from a broadcasting company
0:36:09 > 0:36:11to airlines and an auction house.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25- Hello.- Hello, Mr Cruickshank. I will call Mr Gerard for you now.
0:36:25 > 0:36:26- Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32'I'm curious to see how the tower works as an office.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35'Is its strange narrow shape a problem?
0:36:35 > 0:36:39'To find out, I've come to meet a partner in a corporate law firm
0:36:39 > 0:36:40'who has worked here for 20 years.'
0:36:41 > 0:36:45One of our partners, who I am going to interrupt here.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48- Dan, come in, please. This is Laura Friedrich.- Hello.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50- Hi, how are you? - Very well, nice to meet you.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53- Good to meet you.- Sorry to take you away from your work.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57- No, no!- Lovely light office.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00Yes, they always notice the light in this office,
0:37:00 > 0:37:03because the building is so narrow that you have light on both sides.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05And it's very pleasant, I presume.
0:37:05 > 0:37:07Marian Baldwin, Dan Cruickshank.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10- How do you do?- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14This is not an efficient use of space but everyone has an exterior office.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17There is really no core except for the elevators,
0:37:17 > 0:37:20and I guess the only thing without windows are the washrooms.
0:37:21 > 0:37:27Now, these are two of our associates, one of whom is on the telephone.
0:37:27 > 0:37:33Nice to meet you. So, two in a room, eh? I see.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36How do you sort out who gets the window here?
0:37:36 > 0:37:40- Whoever's here first! - THEY LAUGH
0:37:42 > 0:37:46This is where my wife would say I live!
0:37:46 > 0:37:48But you'll understand that. This is my office.
0:37:48 > 0:37:52Nice home you've got! It's a corner office, how lovely.
0:37:52 > 0:37:53Yes, it is a corner office,
0:37:53 > 0:37:55and everybody likes to have a corner office,
0:37:55 > 0:37:57that makes you feel important.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Because of the setbacks here at Rockefeller Centre,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02there are eight corners on every floor.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04So, I have a very nice corner office.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07There is another corner just up there.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11So, with eight per floor and nine floors, you have 72 happy partners.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15Interesting! Can I see the view you've got? It looks terrific.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18Yes, of course. The curtain's here.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Although I don't get a lot of time to stand here and look,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24that is St. Patrick's Cathedral on the left
0:38:24 > 0:38:26- and just on the other side of 5th Avenue.- Yes.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40It isn't just the design that makes the Rockefeller so loved.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49This is a building that's always invited people in -
0:38:49 > 0:38:52it's part of the city.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55And now, nearly 100 million people pass through the centre each year.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05It's hard now to imagine it, but 100 or so years ago,
0:39:05 > 0:39:09all this was a European-style, low-rise city.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11And when the first skyscrapers started to appear,
0:39:11 > 0:39:14they were viewed with a deep suspicion.
0:39:31 > 0:39:33The success of the Rockefeller
0:39:33 > 0:39:37showed that skyscrapers didn't have to be objects of fear,
0:39:37 > 0:39:39but could enrich people's lives.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44The Rockefeller Centre occupies several city blocks,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47and within its domain, strives to create
0:39:47 > 0:39:49a more perfect vision of the city.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52And look - there are these incredible details.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56Here is this grille around the tree,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59wonderful Art Deco piece of work.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02It brings an amazing quality to the area,
0:40:02 > 0:40:03a really civic quality,
0:40:03 > 0:40:06marks it all out as being Rockefeller territory,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10confirms this place really is a city within the city.
0:40:14 > 0:40:17Here, art abounds as intended,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21to lift the spirits and proclaim the wonder of the modern age.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26And below ground, there are restaurants and shops,
0:40:26 > 0:40:30a pioneering idea back in the '30s.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34'It was once said you could do anything here
0:40:34 > 0:40:37'except sleep, pray and not pay rent.'
0:40:44 > 0:40:49I've never had such a good buffing. What a shine, it's a work of art!
0:40:52 > 0:40:56Visitors flock to the Rockefeller in their millions.
0:40:58 > 0:41:00But what do New Yorkers themselves think?
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Just look around, it's stunning!
0:41:04 > 0:41:06The glue that holds midtown together.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09- It's the greatest place on Earth. - It's tall and shiny.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12Splendid, it's like something you want to chew.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- Do you like this building?- Yes.
0:41:17 > 0:41:18That's a landmark!
0:41:18 > 0:41:21What the hell do you mean, do I like Rockefeller Centre?
0:41:34 > 0:41:38Unlike most office blocks, the Rockefeller is still full of life
0:41:38 > 0:41:40long after the workers have gone home.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57- Keep your arms out.- Oh, no!
0:41:59 > 0:42:01- No, man, you can do that.- Yes.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09If I fall on my back, I know one thing -
0:42:09 > 0:42:13I'll get a splendid view of the tower!
0:42:18 > 0:42:20PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
0:42:22 > 0:42:26'At the top sits Rockefeller's Rainbow Room and Grill,
0:42:26 > 0:42:29'where people come from all over the world
0:42:29 > 0:42:31'to drink in the atmosphere of New York.'
0:42:43 > 0:42:46High-rise buildings have been much criticised,
0:42:46 > 0:42:51but the Rockefeller Centre is the model of how it ought to be done.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55It combines private profits with public benefits,
0:42:55 > 0:42:57utility with beauty,
0:42:57 > 0:43:02it's a solution to modern city living, not one of the problems.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07For me, this is the most perfect skyscraper in the world.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45Sunrise over the rooftops of an immense shanty town
0:43:45 > 0:43:48on the west coast of India.
0:43:48 > 0:43:50INDIAN SINGING
0:44:09 > 0:44:15This is Dharavi in Mumbai, home to 600,000 people,
0:44:15 > 0:44:19and notorious as the largest slum in Asia.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22I find this place absolutely riveting.
0:44:22 > 0:44:27Here, in its organic forms, you can see the origin of cities.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31You can see how people living and working in extreme conditions
0:44:31 > 0:44:34create their own architecture.
0:44:44 > 0:44:50Here in Dharavi, you can sense how most major cities were born.
0:44:50 > 0:44:51Little has been planned.
0:44:51 > 0:44:56This is organic growth, architecture without architects.
0:44:58 > 0:45:03The people have created the buildings they need to survive.
0:45:04 > 0:45:06'Dharavi was built in the 20th century.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09'But it tells a much older story.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13'It speaks of the way people create communities,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15'how we learn to live together.'
0:45:22 > 0:45:25It's incredible, it's like being in a medieval European city.
0:45:25 > 0:45:30Narrow alleys, down there, looking into different homes.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32People getting dressed, ready to go to work.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36And here, there are overhangs on the first floor, like Tudor jetties.
0:45:40 > 0:45:43Hello. Hello.
0:45:45 > 0:45:50And just like a medieval town, Dharavi has lacked basic sanitation.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55Meaning that diseases like cholera are rife during the monsoon season.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15It was only in the 1970s that the state government moved
0:46:15 > 0:46:17to improve the appalling conditions here,
0:46:17 > 0:46:23building a handful of latrine blocks and communal taps.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30But there are still more than 500 people to every latrine
0:46:30 > 0:46:34and less than 30% of Dharavi has sewers.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39The desperate nature of living in Dharavi
0:46:39 > 0:46:44has stimulated the people to flights of creative exuberance.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48The residents build their homes from whatever comes to hand,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52using tarpaulin, scrap timber and bits of corrugated metal,
0:46:52 > 0:46:55adding bricks when they can afford it.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06'Dharavi contains some of the most inventive pieces of architecture
0:47:06 > 0:47:07'I've ever seen.'
0:47:17 > 0:47:19I love this brilliant, do-it-yourself,
0:47:19 > 0:47:22ad hoc architecture, using cheap and available materials.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25Look, that shutter's a fridge door!
0:47:26 > 0:47:29Ah, hello!
0:47:31 > 0:47:33The family that lives here has very kindly said
0:47:33 > 0:47:35I can have a look around inside.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39Hello.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41This is the main room of the house.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44I'm told six people live and sleep in here.
0:47:44 > 0:47:48Here's the bedding. And everywhere, beautiful, bright colours.
0:47:48 > 0:47:55And here is a shrine to Shiva with family portraits all round it.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57And here is the kitchen.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01Everything is very orderly,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04very arranged, very clean, wonderful.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16The story of Dharavi began over 70 years ago,
0:48:16 > 0:48:18when the Great Depression gripped India
0:48:18 > 0:48:22and rural workers migrated from the countryside to the cities.
0:48:25 > 0:48:29They were driven out of the countryside by poverty, by drought.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33They came to the city to make a living, to survive.
0:48:33 > 0:48:34When they got to Mumbai,
0:48:34 > 0:48:37the authorities didn't allow them to settle in the centre.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39Instead, they had to live on the edge of town,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42where nobody else with money wanted to dwell.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51300 families from Gujarat were among the first to arrive,
0:48:51 > 0:48:55and the fragile economy of Dharavi was born
0:48:55 > 0:48:57when they built kilns and began a pottery.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03It is a testament to their determination and resourcefulness
0:49:03 > 0:49:07that for five generations, potters have thrived in Dharavi,
0:49:07 > 0:49:12with their wares now even being exported abroad.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16How long have you been here?
0:49:16 > 0:49:18TRANSLATION
0:49:18 > 0:49:20What was Dharavi like then?
0:49:20 > 0:49:22What's your earliest memory of this area?
0:49:41 > 0:49:42Were you a potter from the start?
0:50:07 > 0:50:11Thank you very much for talking to me, very kind. And good luck.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23Over the decades, Dharavi grew,
0:50:23 > 0:50:28and each group that arrived formed its own distinctive settlement.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42This is where the Valmiki community lives.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44They are originally from North India
0:50:44 > 0:50:46and they are sweepers by trade.
0:50:46 > 0:50:50This community has grown on this site from the early 1950s.
0:50:50 > 0:50:53Some families came here, invited their friends and relatives
0:50:53 > 0:50:56to join them, and the community got bigger and bigger.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00I think many of the people would rather be in the countryside,
0:51:00 > 0:51:03but they can't, because there's no work there.
0:51:03 > 0:51:08This is the main temple, the Hindu. I am going to go inside.
0:51:22 > 0:51:23Thank you, thank you.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Communities come here to work,
0:51:35 > 0:51:38to try and build a better life for themselves.
0:51:38 > 0:51:41There's very little unemployment in Dharavi.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43'The irony is that these people provide
0:51:43 > 0:51:46'much of Mumbai's labour and industry,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49'but the city, which couldn't function without Dharavi,
0:51:49 > 0:51:51'does little to sustain life here.'
0:51:51 > 0:51:57There are some pretty nasty and hazardous industries
0:51:57 > 0:52:01located in Dharavi, most of these seem to be to do with recycling.
0:52:01 > 0:52:07All manner of things being recycled here, mostly, I think, plastic.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09All this is unregulated by the city, but then, of course,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13Mumbai does like Dharavi to do the city's dirty work for it.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21'And all this industry has allowed some of the older generation
0:52:21 > 0:52:24'to build up reserves of money to invest in their communities.
0:52:26 > 0:52:28'I was in for a few surprises.'
0:52:33 > 0:52:35Here's a school for the Tamil community,
0:52:35 > 0:52:37and here, the children are having a lesson.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41Very boisterous, very smart. Hello.
0:52:41 > 0:52:46- Hi!- Hi! Brilliant!
0:52:46 > 0:52:50And next door is a Hindu temple.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53So, school and temple unified in one building.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56Really, this community is doing very well, there's money here.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00And these brilliant scholars, I'm sure, will go a long way.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10'There's a feeling of pride and identity in the streets of Dharavi,
0:53:10 > 0:53:14'with some buildings that create a real sense of community.'
0:53:18 > 0:53:23Golly, a health club! Bharat Mata - Mother India.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Let's have a look inside.
0:53:29 > 0:53:30Hello, chaps.
0:53:33 > 0:53:34Well, well, well.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38I really didn't expect to see a gym in Dharavi!
0:53:38 > 0:53:43All these fellows, fine fellows they are too, working out.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47Very muscly type over there!
0:53:47 > 0:53:49Very well organised, and good equipment.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51Guy here's doing some sort of lift up. Very good!
0:53:57 > 0:53:58Admirable!
0:54:15 > 0:54:19Dharavi's not the sort of chaotic, squalid slum I imagined.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22Indeed, it's not really a slum at all in many senses.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25There's poverty here, but there's order, cleanliness.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27Everyone's now washing their clothes.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29Morning.
0:54:29 > 0:54:33The houses are in reasonable condition. Well-decorated.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37There's ornamentation, lovely little sacred tree here.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42There is an underlying order not apparent at first to outsiders.
0:54:42 > 0:54:46Different communities, different trades gathered together.
0:54:46 > 0:54:52And...all sorts of uses mixed together
0:54:52 > 0:54:55to make a very sort of balanced community.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57A community easy to live in.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00For example, here's a sort of corner shop. Hello.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Excellent supply of sweets for the children.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17In the past, Dharavi was regarded as an illegal slum
0:55:17 > 0:55:22and has always been at risk of demolition by the authorities.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28And now that the land value of the area is enormous,
0:55:28 > 0:55:32the city is proposing a radical redevelopment.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42'Poor it may be, but Dharavi is fighting back.'
0:55:44 > 0:55:48All this is productive people.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50They are not taking loan from the bank.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52The bank is not giving money.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54The government has not given a grant.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58Not a single one-inch structure has been built by the government.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00That's a central point.
0:56:00 > 0:56:02I mean, walking round Dharavi, looking,
0:56:02 > 0:56:05I mean, slum is not the right word, it is not a slum, is it?
0:56:05 > 0:56:08It's very organised, different communities.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11People are poor, but they maintain their streets,
0:56:11 > 0:56:15their houses, everything's cleaned and so on.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17And there's lots of industry going on.
0:56:17 > 0:56:19People have created this for themselves,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22their own enterprise, their own energy, their own money.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26I wonder what contribution the government has made, really.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Exactly, that's what we are questioning.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30The government has done nothing.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33Well, that's shocking, since the people who live here
0:56:33 > 0:56:35make such an obvious contribution to the city,
0:56:35 > 0:56:38the city should make a contribution to them.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41But the city is sucking the blood from you.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45The economy is ruling, the economy is booming.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49The whole land value has gone sky high.
0:56:49 > 0:56:53And what do you think the future will be?
0:56:53 > 0:56:57The government would like to bulldoze it.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00- Bulldoze, yeah, yeah.- Bulldoze it. So it is not easy.
0:57:00 > 0:57:04600,000 people, and it's going to be a war.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08If at all even the bulldozers come near, it will be a war.
0:57:13 > 0:57:15To visit Dharavi is like stepping back in time,
0:57:15 > 0:57:17to witness the origin of cities,
0:57:17 > 0:57:21of the way people first learned to live together.
0:57:26 > 0:57:30But if Dharavi is to evolve creatively in the modern world,
0:57:30 > 0:57:33then its residents must be listened to.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42Dharavi has surprised and delighted me.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45This is a place of warmth and welcome.
0:57:45 > 0:57:46Here, a multitude of diverse peoples
0:57:46 > 0:57:49have, through their energy and enterprise,
0:57:49 > 0:57:54and against all the odds, created a viable and vibrant community.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58A community which does much to serve the great city of Mumbai,
0:57:58 > 0:58:02but which, shamefully, Mumbai has done very little to help.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05This may be a place of economic poverty.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09There's no poverty of the spirit here, no poverty of the soul.
0:58:35 > 0:58:38Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:38 > 0:58:41E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk