Imperial War Museum

Episode image for Imperial War Museum

Episode 15 of 15

Duration: 30 minutes

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of British architecture and construction's development over the last 1,000 years.

The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, built from 2000 and designed by Daniel Libeskind, is an example of a new wave of architectural design that is both dramatic and disturbing, a building that plays with the senses and provokes wonder.

In his final climb of the series, Jonathan, aided by top climber Lucy Creamer, scales over 50 metres up the building to reveal how the museum is designed to reflect war itself. He scales the huge air shard to investigate how the building deliberately disorientates visitors; he finds himself part of the exhibition when he abseils down inside the water shard; and he explores the technological advances that allowed the building, with its 80,000 square feet of aluminium, to be constructed in just two years.

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Credits

Camera Operator
Ian Burton
Series Producer
Adam Barry
Presenter
Jonathan Foyle
Participant
Lucy Creamer
Director
Emma Gray
Executive Producer
Emma Read

Broadcasts

  • Tue 28 Sep 2010 18:30 BBC HD

  • Tue 28 Sep 2010 18:30 BBC Two except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue)

  • Fri 24 Dec 2010 09:30 BBC Two except Northern Ireland (Analogue), Wales (Analogue)

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