JASON SILVA: SHELTER IS THE BACKBONE OF CIVILIZATION.
IT IS THE SCAFFOLDING THAT SUPPORTS OUR MODERN WORLD.
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT, OUR HOMES, BUILDINGS,
AND CITIES FUNDAMENTALLY SHAPE HUMAN EXISTENCE.
THEY SCULPT OUR WORLDVIEWS AND UNITE US AS A SPECIES.
WITH SHELTER, WE BUILT ORDER FROM CHAOS.
WE DREAMED AND IMAGINED.
WE DISCOVERED THAT REALITY WAS NO LONGER FIXED.
IT COULD BE BUILT, ENGINEERED, AND DESIGNED.
THE WORLD WAS OURS TO CREATE.
FROM TREETOPS TO SKYSCRAPERS,
OUR SHELTERS HAVE EVOLVED WITH US,
EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
SMALL NOMADIC TRIBES HAVE MUSHROOMED INTO
MEGACITIES OF MILLIONS,
CONNECTING BILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND IDEAS,
EACH METROPOLIS LIKE A COLLECTIVE BRAIN FOR
THE HUMAN RACE.
OUR SHELTERS ARE MORE THAN JUST PROTECTION
FROM THE ELEMENTS.
THEY ARE WINDOWS INTO THE HUMAN CONDITION.
OUR SPACES REFLECT WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE VALUE.
THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW OUR SPECIES BANDED TOGETHER AND
BUILT A WORLD OF OUR OWN DESIGN.
HOW SHELTER INSPIRED NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SOCIETIES.
AND HOW THE MODERN WORLD WAS BUILT THROUGH BLOOD,
SWEAT, AND TEARS.
THIS IS ORIGINS.
IT'S THE GREATEST ADVENTURE STORY EVER TOLD,
THE STORY OF HUMANKIND.
WE'RE GOING BACK IN TIME TO EXPLORE SOME KEY MOMENTS.
ORIGIN MOMENTS THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF
OUR SHARED HISTORY.
HUMANS ARE A SOCIAL, COOPERATIVE SPECIES.
AND THE STORY OF SHELTER IS THE STORY OF LEARNING TO LIVE
TOGETHER AS WE CARVE OUT OUR PERSONAL SPACE WITHIN NATURE,
AND FIND OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD.
TODAY, THAT PLACE IS UNMISTAKABLE.
WE ARE SEEMINGLY EVERYWHERE, EVERYWHERE WE WANT TO BE.
SHELTER IS THE STORY OF HOW WE SHAPED THE WORLD AROUND US,
AND HOW THAT WORLD SHAPED US BACK,
SHELTER BROUGHT US TOGETHER, BUT IT ALSO SEPARATES AND
DIVIDES US...
WE ARE ONE SPECIES, BUT BILLIONS OF INDIVIDUALS.
THE END RESULT IS CIVILIZATION.
IN THE BEGINNING, WE CREATED SHELTER JUST TO KEEP US SAFE.
EURASIA, 12,000 B.C.
A HUNTER-GATHERER IS EXPOSED IN A HOSTILE WORLD.
WOUNDED, HE'S ON THE CUSP OF DEATH.
HIS ONLY CHANCE IS TO GET BACK TO THE REFUGE OF HIS TRIBE.
BRIAN FAGAN: IF YOU IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT LIVING IN A
TREELESS ENVIRONMENT, WHERE SUB-ZERO WINTERS
LASTED NINE MONTHS.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE SAFELY?
IF YOU HAVE NO WOOD, WHAT DO YOU USE?
THEY USED THE BONES OF LARGE ANIMALS LIKE THE MAMMOTH,
WHICH FORMED A DOME OVER WHICH THEY WOULD PUT HIDES.
THEY WERE IN A SENSE A FORM OF IGLOO BUILT OF BONES.
I WOULDN'T SAY IT WAS COMFORTABLE BUT IT WAS VIABLE.
¶ ¶
WOMAN: BRING THE HEALER!
WHAT HAPPENED?
LEAD HUNTER: LIONS.
I RAN, BUT COULD NOT RUN FAST ENOUGH.
WOMAN: I'M WITH YOU.
HEALER: BRING HIM INSIDE.
WOMAN: STAY WITH US.
HUNTER: IF HE DIES, WE NEED SOMEONE STRONG TO LEAD US.
[SCREAMS].
[CRYING]
JASON SILVA: IN A DANGEROUS AND UNCERTAIN ENVIRONMENT,
A TRIBE'S IDEA OF SHELTER EXTENDS NOT ONLY TO THE LIVING
BUT TO THE DEAD AS WELL.
HEALER: IT IS TIME TO GO TO THE GODS.
MINA CHOW: THIS NOTION OF A RITUAL IS THIS THING THAT YOU
NEED TO THINK ABOUT IN REGARDS TO ARCHITECTURE.
AND THE FIRST RITUAL, FROM THE VERY BEGINNINGS,
PRE-CIVILIZATION, WAS HONORING THE DECEASED, BURIAL.
IT WAS A VERY POWERFUL STATEMENT OF INFINITY,
LONGEVITY, AND OF ETERNAL LIFE.
JASON SILVA: THE IDEA OF SHELTERING A FALLEN COMPANION
WITH BURIAL MEANS NO PERSON IS EVER FORGOTTEN.
A CONCEPT OF LINEAGE EMERGES, OF REVERING PAST GENERATIONS,
WHILE CELEBRATING NEW ONES.
¶ ¶
HUNTER: I'M HONORED AND WILL BE A STRONG LEADER.
HEALER: I'M HAPPY.
MINA CHOW: WHEN SCIENTIST FIRST FOUND THESE BONES,
THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE ACTUALLY KILL SITES.
BUT IN REALITY, THEY WERE PLACES OF GATHERING.
AND THIS IS FUNDAMENTAL TO ARCHITECTURE,
BECAUSE ARCHITECTURE IS A SOCIAL ACT.
BRIAN FAGAN: THIS INSTINCT OF COCOONING IN A WAY,
OBVIOUSLY STEMS FROM BEING WARM AND ULTIMATELY,
EMOTIONALLY, FROM BEING CLOSE.
BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE AROUND THE FIRE IN A SMALL HUT,
THERE WAS A SENSE OF COMMUNITY BETWEEN YOU ALL.
THIS CLEARLY PLAYS INTO PROVIDING SHELTER.
MINA CHOW: ONCE YOU MEET THE FUNDAMENTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR
SURVIVAL, YOU HAVE FOOD IN YOUR BELLY, YOU'RE WARM.
YOU'RE IN A PLACE OF COMFORT,
ENOUGH SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT YOUR
BODILY FUNCTIONS IN TERMS OF SURVIVAL.
WHAT WE START TO DO IS, OUR MINDS START TO ACTUALLY
PUT ORDER,
AND IT'S AN INTENTIONAL ORDER THAT THE EGO PUTS IN
PLACE, THEN YOU START TO CREATE A SENSE OF IDENTITY.
AMANDA FOREMAN: ONCE HUMAN BEINGS START TO THINK
ABOUT THEMSELVES IN A SELF-CONSCIOUS WAY.
THEY AREN'T JUST A HERD OF GAZELLES GALLOPING
ACROSS THE PLAINS.
THEY ARE HUMAN BEINGS, WITH CHILDREN TO LOOK AFTER,
WHO REQUIRE MANY YEARS OF TENDING.
AND IT NO LONGER MAKES SENSE TO KEEP ON MOVING AROUND
BECAUSE THEY HAVE SHELTER AND A COMMUNITY.
BILL BRYSON: BUT THROUGHOUT A GREAT DEAL OF HISTORY,
THEY ALL ESSENTIALLY SHARED THE SAME SPACE.
BEFORE FIREPLACES AND CHIMNEYS,
WHEN PEOPLE JUST GATHERED AROUND AN OPEN FIRE IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE ROOM, THERE WAS NO PRIVACY AT ALL.
EVERYTHING THAT WE DO IN PRIVATE NOW,
YOU WOULD DO PUBLICLY THEN, MORE OR LESS.
IT WASN'T UNTIL ABOUT EARLY 1300'S THAT MODERN
CHIMNEYS WERE INVENTED.
AND THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING BECAUSE IT ALLOWED THE SMOKE
TO BE DIRECTED OUT OF THE HOUSE, AND BECAUSE OF THAT,
THEN PEOPLE COULD BUILD UPSTAIRS.
AND SO PEOPLE DISCOVERED AN ENTIRELY NEW CONCEPT,
WHICH IS PRIVACY.
AS SOON AS PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO RETREAT TO PRIVATE ROOMS,
THEY COULD START DOING ALL KINDS OF THINGS.
YOU COULD HAVE ILLICIT RELATIONSHIPS, FOR INSTANCE.
YOU COULD HAVE CONVERSATIONS THAT COULDN'T BE OVERHEARD.
YOU COULD ALSO DEVELOP MODESTY IN A WAY THAT WOULDN'T HAVE
BEEN KNOWN BEFORE.
AND IT CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE DEALT WITH EACH OTHER
WITHIN FAMILIES AND SOCIETAL ARRANGEMENTS.
ATTITUDES BETWEEN THE OWNERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD AND
THEIR SERVANTS BECAME MUCH MORE REMOTE AND STRATIFIED,
BEDROOMS EVOLVED, AND IT MEANT THAT PEOPLE BEGAN TO LIVE
SEPARATE LIVES, AND YOU COULD COME UP WITH NEW IDEAS,
AND THAT UTTERLY CHANGED THE WAY WE LIVE.
JASON SILVA: SHELTER GAVE US TIME, SPACE,
AND EVENTUALLY A NEW SOCIAL ORDER.
IT UNITES US, BUT ALSO DIVIDES US.
BRINGS US TOGETHER AS A SPECIES BUT ALLOWS US TO
BECOME INDIVIDUALS.
WE BEGAN TO DREAM ABOUT HOW TO CHANGE THE WORLD.
WE STARTED SMALL, TRIBAL HUTS.
NOW WE HAVE CITIES THAT HOUSE TENS OF MILLIONS.
MODERN CITIES ARE MIRACLES OF DESIGN AND ENGINEERING,
THEY COME WITH CONSEQUENCES.
ENERGY CONSUMPTION, OVERCROWDING,
THESE PROBLEMS PLAGUE THE MODERN METROPOLIS.
ANCIENT DESIGNERS BUILT SHELTERS THAT COMPLEMENTED
NATURE, NOT BATTLED AGAINST IT.
AND NOW WE ARE LOOKING TO THE PAST TO SOLVE
OUR PROBLEMS TODAY.
KYLE BOCINSKY: FROM ABOUT AD 600 TO AD 1300,
THE ANCESTRAL PUEBLO PEOPLE LIVED HERE.
IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN A LOT OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION TO
BUILD A VILLAGE LIKE THIS ONE.
OVER 150 DIFFERENT ROOMS,
PROBABLY THAT MANY PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER.
PEOPLE WERE LIVING IN WHAT AMOUNTS TO APARTMENT BUILDINGS
ALL TOGETHER, STACKED ONE ON TOP OF ONE ANOTHER.
WE'RE IN A SHELTER THAT'S A SOCIETAL SHELTER.
YOU WOULD BE BUFFERED AGAINST RISKS,
SO IF YOUR FARM PLOT DIDN'T PAN OUT FOR A YEAR,
YOU HAD NEIGHBORS WHO COULD HELP YOU OUT.
I MEAN, YOU'D ALSO BE IN THIS VERY DEFENSIBLE SPACE
IN CASE PEOPLE ATTACKED YOU.
THESE WALLS, WHICH ARE REALLY THICK,
ALSO HAVE GREAT THERMAL PROPERTIES.
THEY'RE SOAKING UP HEAT DURING THE DAY AND THEY
RELEASE THAT AT NIGHT.
BY THE MORNING TIME, THEY'RE NICE AND COOL AND
THEY TAKE A WHILE TO WARM UP.
SO IT WOULD HAVE KEPT THINGS SORT OF AIR CONDITIONED AND
VENTILATED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE VILLAGE.
MINA CHOW: EARTH IS VERY MUCH OF AN INSULATING MATERIAL,
DIRT, GROUND, CLAY.
AND WE FORGOT ABOUT ALL OF THIS WHEN WE INVENTED AIR
CONDITIONING AND HEATING, BUT IT ENDED UP CREATING AN ENERGY
CRISIS LATER ON.
SO WE STARTED REVISITING A LOT OF THESE THINGS THAT
WE HAD ABANDONED.
BARBARA BOUZA: THERE ARE MANY ELEMENTS THAT WE'VE TAKEN FROM
THE PAST THAT ARE STILL RELEVANT TODAY, IF NOT,
EVEN MORE RELEVANT TODAY.
SUCH AS SOLAR ORIENTATION, THE PRESERVATION OF WATER,
THE ORIENTATION OF THE WIND.
HOW THAT BEGINS TO SORT OF IMPACT THE STRUCTURAL
SOUNDNESS OF A BUILDING AND THE FORM AS WELL.
WE COMPLETED THE SHANGHAI TOWER IN 2015,
AND PART OF THE CONCEPT WAS CREATING THIS DOUBLE SKIN,
AND THAT SERVES AS MULTIPLE PURPOSES,
IN TERMS OF HOW THE AIR FLOWS THROUGH IT,
AND THE CURVE GOING UP THE BUILDING IS ABOUT REALLY
WORKING WITH THE WIND.
IF THAT BUILDING WAS BEING DESIGNED IN NEW YORK OR IN
TOKYO OR IN THE MIDDLE EAST, IT WOULD TAKE ON A VERY
DIFFERENT SHAPE.
IT'S VERY MUCH DESIGNED FOR ITS CONTEXT,
DESIGNED FOR ITS LOCATION.
KYLE BOCINSKY: IN OUR IMAGINATIONS OF THE PAST,
WE TEND TO OVERSIMPLIFY THINGS.
PEOPLE CALL IT UNDER-IMAGINING THE PAST.
THESE WERE LARGE VILLAGES.
THEY TOOK COOPERATION, THEY TOOK COORDINATION,
AND RITUAL SOLIDARITY.
WE NEED TO APPRECIATE THAT.
JASON SILVA: OUR FIRST SHELTERS WERE CENTERED
AROUND THE HEARTH.
THE WARMTH AND THE POWER OF FIRE CEMENTED THE BONDS
BETWEEN FAMILIES AND FRIENDS.
THIS IS THE ORIGIN OF COMMUNITY, OF HUMANITY.
THEN THE HUMAN GENIUS FOR INNOVATION KICKED IN.
OUT OF IT GREW VILLAGES, FORTRESSES, CITIES.
BUT AS BIG AS WE BUILT, WE HAVE ALWAYS CHERISHED THE
CONCEPT OF A SPECIAL PLACE, A PLACE CALLED HOME.
BUT IT TOOK ONE AMAZING LEAP OF IMAGINATION TO MAKE THE
HOMES WE LIVE IN TODAY POSSIBLE.
SOMEONE HAD TO FRAME A WINDOW TO THE FUTURE.
JASON SILVA: FOR MOST OF HUMAN HISTORY,
OUR SPECIES ROAMED THE EARTH IN SMALL ISOLATED BANDS.
WHAT UNIFIED THESE DISTANT TRIBES?
WHAT DROVE US TO UNITE AND BUILD TOWERING CITIES WHERE
MILLIONS OF STRANGERS LIVE SIDE BY SIDE?
11,000 YEARS AGO, IN THE MIDDLE EAST,
STONE AGE PEOPLE CAME TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE
A MYSTERIOUS RELIGION.
THEY TRAVELED HUGE DISTANCES TO GOBEKLI TEPE,
HUMANITY'S OLDEST KNOWN TEMPLE.
SERPENTS, FOXES, WILD BOARS, CARVED INTO LIMESTONE PILLARS;
ANIMAL SPIRITS THEY REVERED.
THE CENTERPIECES OF AN ANCIENT RELIGION THAT WE
MAY NEVER UNDERSTAND.
THIS PLACE WAS A TOWERING ACHIEVEMENT,
BUILT THOUSANDS OF YEARS BEFORE WRITING
AND METAL TOOLS.
THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE IT.
THEIR FORESIGHT AND COORDINATION FORESHADOWED THE
RISE OF MODERN ENGINEERING.
AROUND THE GLOBE, AT STONEHENGE AND BEYOND,
WE UNITED UNDER A COMMUNAL REVERENCE FOR THE EARTH,
THE HEAVENS, AND THE SUPERNATURAL.
SHARED TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS BLOSSOMED INTO GROUP IDENTITY.
THIS MENTALITY PAVED THE WAY FOR THE FORMATION OF
THE FIRST GREAT EMPIRES.
EMPIRES THAT WERE UNITED BY A COMMON RELIGION,
RULED BY KINGS WHO CHANNELED THEIR VERY GODS.
THE POWER OF BELIEF AND SYMBOLIC THINKING LIT THE FUSE
THAT IGNITED CIVILIZATION.
THE ENTIRE CONCEPT OF SHELTER WAS TO KEEP NATURE AT ARM'S
LENGTH AND PROTECT OURSELVES FROM ITS FURIES.
BUT ACCESSING THE BEST OF NATURE WHILE KEEPING OUT THE
REST HAS ALWAYS POSED A CHALLENGE.
TODAY, WE BUILD GREAT TOWERS OF GLASS,
SO TALL THEY ALMOST REACH THE HEAVENS.
IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT SOMETHING SO BASIC AS A PANE
OF GLASS WAS ONCE CONSIDERED AN INCREDIBLE LUXURY,
AND THAT FOR MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS,
DESPITE CONQUERING LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATION AND EVEN TAMING
FIRE, WE LIVED MOSTLY IN THE SHADOWS.
THAT ALL BEGAN TO CHANGE IN THE TIME OF THE ROMANS.
79 A.D.
THE ROMAN EMPIRE'S NEWEST INNOVATION, GLASS WINDOWS,
ARE APPEARING IN BUILDINGS IN THE FATEFUL CITY OF POMPEII.
BILL BRYSON: THROUGHOUT A GREAT DEAL OF HISTORY,
THERE WAS NO GLASS AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS.
SO IF YOU WANTED TO HAVE LIGHT ENOUGH TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE
DOING IN THE DAYTIME, IT ALSO MEANT YOU HAD TO HAVE AN
OPENING IN THE WALL, WHICH WOULD ALLOW WIND TO COME
BLOWING THROUGH, AND RAIN TO WASH IN, AND BIRDS TO FLY IN,
AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS.
YOUR ONLY OPTION WOULD BE TO COVER THAT OPENING,
BUT THEN YOU'D BE IN DARKNESS.
SO THERE WAS A TRADE-OFF.
SEXTUS: WILL IT FIT?
CLAUDIO: IT SHOULD BE FINE.
SEXTUS: HOW IS SHE?
GAIA: NOT WELL.
SEXTUS: HELLO MOTHER.
[BABY COOING]
NO MORE WIND OR RAIN INSIDE.
NO MORE COLD FOR MOTHER.
[RUMBLE]
[DOGS BARKING]
GAIA: WHAT'S HAPPENING?
SEXTUS: THE VOLCANO IS JUST LETTING US KNOW IT'S THERE.
IT'S AMAZING.
[LOUDER RUMBLE]
CLAUDIO: IT COULD ERUPT AT ANY TIME.
SEXTUS: TAKE THE BABY.
I WILL STAY WITH MOTHER.
I WILL SEE YOU ALL SOON.
I PROMISE.
JASON SILVA: AS MOUNT VESUVIUS RAINED DOWN VOLCANIC ASH AND
ROCK OVER A MATTER OF HOURS, POMPEII WAS WIPED OUT.
THOUSANDS DEAD.
CULTURE DESTROYED.
BUT BURIED DEEP IN THE ASHES, GLASS WINDOWS SURVIVED.
IN POMPEII'S DESTRUCTION,
ROMAN INNOVATION WAS PRESERVED.
IAN FREESTONE: SO THIS IS A PIECE OF RAW ROMAN GLASS.
THE MATERIAL THAT WAS SHIPPED ROUND THE WORLD.
FOR EXAMPLE AT POMPEII, THEY WERE ABLE TO SHAPE IT INTO
WINDOWS BY RE-MELTING IT.
ONCE PEOPLE HAD ESTABLISHED YOU COULD MAKE A TRANSPARENT
MATERIAL, IT MUST HAVE MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE.
WINDOWS HAD ALWAYS BEEN QUITE SMALL,
BECAUSE THEY NEEDED TO KEEP THE HOUSE WARM,
BUT ONCE THEY COULD PUT GLASS IN THEIR WINDOWS,
THEY MADE HOUSES AND BUILDINGS WITH REALLY BIG WINDOWS,
WHICH WERE LIT BY NATURAL LIGHT INSIDE.
IT MUST HAVE MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE TO THE WAY
PEOPLE COULD LIVE.
BILL BRYSON: THROUGHOUT MOST OF HISTORY,
MOST PEOPLE LIVED ON THE VERY EDGE OF PROFOUND DARKNESS.
IF YOU WERE AT HOME WITH YOUR FAMILY IN THE EVENING,
YOU WOULD ALL BE GATHERED AROUND A SINGLE LIGHT SOURCE,
A SMALL LAMP OR A CANDLE OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
SO YOU HAD TO BE AT THE SAME TABLE OR SITTING VERY CLOSE
WITH EVERYBODY ELSE.
IT'S AN AMAZING FACT THAT EVERY TIME YOU OPEN YOUR
REFRIGERATOR, YOU GET MORE ILLUMINATION THAN THE AVERAGE
HOUSEHOLD HAD ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD IN THE 19TH CENTURY.
AS A SPECIES, WE HAVE BEEN REALLY,
REALLY VERY UNCOMFORTABLE.
IT'S ONLY IN THE LAST CENTURY OR SO THAT WE HAVE BEEN
ROUTINELY WELL ILLUMINATED, WARM, OUT OF THE ELEMENTS.
JASON SILVA: WHAT IF WE COULD CREATE OUR OWN LIGHT?
BANISH THE DARKNESS FOREVER?
THEN NOT ONLY WOULD ILLUMINATION GIVE US COMFORT,
IT WOULD GIVE US FREEDOM.
BILL BRYSON: THE INVENTION OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHT WAS A HUGE
TRANSFORMATIVE EVENT.
IT MADE NIGHT AS USEFUL AS DAY.
AND ONCE HOUSEHOLD LIGHTING BECAME COMMON,
SO TOO DID MAGAZINES, PERIODICALS,
NEWSPAPERS PROLIFERATED, BOOKS OF ALL KINDS PROLIFERATED.
PEOPLE BECAME A LOT MORE INTERESTED IN THE WRITTEN
WORD, IN A WAY THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.
IT WAS THAT SORT OF SPREAD OF KNOWLEDGE THAT REALLY MADE THE
MODERN WORLD.
JASON SILVA: HUMANS THRIVE IN THE LIGHT OF THE SUN.
WE CRAVE IT.
THE INVENTION OF THE WINDOW, WE BROUGHT THAT LIGHT INSIDE,
AND THE ELECTRIC LIGHT MADE US MAGICIANS,
ABLE TO CONJURE THE LIGHT SEEMINGLY OUT OF NOTHING.
THERE IS ANOTHER SOURCE OF POWER THAT SPARKS HUMANITY,
A POWER STRONG ENOUGH TO BRING TOGETHER WHOLE POPULATIONS AND
INSPIRE BUILDINGS OF INCREDIBLE SIZE AND BEAUTY.
THE POWER OF FAITH.
JASON SILVA: WITH THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION,
SHELTER HAS EVOLVED FROM A BASIC NEED INTO A FORM OF ART.
EVER SINCE THE FIRST STONE MASONS LAID THE CORNERSTONES
OF CIVILIZATION, BUILDERS HAVE BROUGHT OUR DREAMS TO LIFE.
PRIDE.
UNITY.
POWER.
FAITH.
OUR BUILDINGS ARE A WINDOW INTO THE VALUES OF OUR CULTURE.
IN ANCIENT EGYPT, AN OBSESSION WITH THE AFTERLIFE DROVE THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE GREAT PYRAMIDS,
MASSIVE TOMBS BUILT AS VEHICLES FOR IMMORTALITY,
AN EMBODIMENT OF EGYPTIAN CULTURE.
ANCIENT BUILDERS IN ASSYRIA AND ROME KNEW THAT BUILDINGS
PROJECT POWER, AND COULD BE USED TO INTIMIDATE AND COERCE.
BY ALTERING THE WORLD WITH OUR OWN DESIGNS,
WE HAVE THE POWER TO ALTER OURSELVES.
BUT NOTHING SHAPED ARCHITECTURE MORE
THAN OUR BELIEFS.
ALL OVER THE WORLD, WE SOUGHT A CONNECTION TO THE DIVINE,
THROUGH TEMPLES AND CHURCHES THAT SEEMED TO REACH
UP TO THE HEAVENS.
WITH EVERY NEW DESIGN, WE PUSHED THE ENVELOPE OF
SELF-EXPRESSION.
OUR STRUCTURES ARE SO MUCH MORE THAN BRICK AND MORTAR.
THEY ARE REFLECTIONS OF OURSELVES.
THEY REVEAL WHAT WE VALUE, WHAT WE THINK, AND ULTIMATELY,
WHO WE ARE.
MAN HAS ALWAYS STRIVED TO FIND HIS PLACE IN NATURE
AND TO TRANSCEND IT.
NOT JUST IN THE SHELTERS WE BUILD FOR OURSELVES,
BUT IN THE SHELTERS WE BUILD FOR OUR GODS.
BUT LIKE SO MANY NESTING DOLLS,
RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS AND SACRED SITES BEGIN TO
BUILD UPON THEMSELVES.
A SHRINE REPLACES A SACRED SPACE,
A CHURCH OR A TEMPLE REPLACES THE SHRINE,
AN EVEN BIGGER TEMPLE,
CATHEDRAL OR BASILICA REPLACES THAT.
WHY?
TO DRAW ATTENTION TO EACH RELIGION'S HOUSES OF WORSHIP
BY BUILDING BIGGER AND TALLER, BY USING THE MOST CUTTING EDGE
ARCHITECTURE OF THE TIME.
THAT'S WHY WE LOOK TO THESE PLACES TO FIND WHERE
INNOVATION STARTS.
THE ORIGINS OF ALL THE MIGHTY SUPERSTRUCTURES AROUND US
TODAY LEAD BACK TO MEDIEVAL EUROPE.
DURHAM, ENGLAND, 1080.
AFTER MANY YEARS OF WAR, THE NORMANS ARE LOOKING TO
BUILD A SYMBOL OF THEIR POWER AS THE CONQUERORS OF ENGLAND.
THEY HAVE THEIR SIGHTS ON SAXON LAND IN THE NORTH,
A STRATEGIC LOCATION THAT'S VERY APPEALING TO
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
REVEREND CAMERON: THESE WERE POWERFUL POLITICIANS.
THEY WERE THERE TO IMPOSE THEIR POWER
AND THEIR AUTHORITY.
AND I THINK THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT ONE OF THE
MOTIVATIONS WOULD BE TO SHOW,
"WE NORMANS CAN MAKE AN EVEN BETTER AND MORE HOLY SPACE
THAN YOU SAXONS HAVE EVER DONE."
¶ ¶
BENEDICTINE MONK: THE GROUND IS FLAT HERE.
THIS SITE IS PERFECT.
¶ ¶
MAN: WHY ARE THEY BACK?
BARMAID: I DON'T KNOW, BUT IT ISN'T GOOD.
FRIAR: WE FLATTEN THE EXISTING CHURCH, ST. CUTHBERT'S.
TO MAKE WAY FOR THIS WONDERFUL MONUMENT.
BUT WE WILL NEED MORE LAND.
BISHOP: DESTROY THE TOWN.
MAN: YOU UNDERSTOOD WHAT THEY SAID.
TELL ME.
LOCAL MONK: YOUR CHURCH IS TO BE KNOCKED DOWN.
YOUR HOUSE TOO.
JASON SILVA: NORMAN BISHOP WILLIAM OF ST. CALAIS
WANTED A STRUCTURE THAT WOULD SURPASS ALL OTHERS.
IT WOULD TAKE 40 YEARS OF UNRELENTING LABOR UNTIL A
CATHEDRAL, THE LIKES OF WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE,
WAS REVEALED TO THE WORLD.
REVEREND CAMERON: DURHAM SITS ON THIS GREAT CROWN OF EARTH
LOOKING DOWN TO THE RIVER WEAR ON MOST SIDES.
IT'S A POWERFUL BUILDING THAT YOU CAN SEE FOR MILES.
BILL BRYSON: TO SEE IT FROM OUTSIDE IS A GENUINELY AWESOME
EXPERIENCE BECAUSE IT IS JUST, IT IS JUST MASSIVE.
YOU HAVE TO TRY TO IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE
FOR PEOPLE WHO'D, WHO'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LARGER THAN JUST
A, A HUT OR A SMALL HOUSE.
IT WOULD HAVE MADE THEM ALL BUT FALL TO THEIR KNEES AND I
THINK ONE OF THE GREAT DISADVANTAGES OF LIVING IN THE
AGE WE DO IS THAT WE CANNOT SEE THESE BUILDINGS WITH THE
EYES THAT THEY WERE INTENDED TO BE SEEN WITH.
THESE WERE BUILDINGS THAT WOULD TAKE MAYBE A COUPLE
GENERATIONS TO BUILD.
AND SO THE PEOPLE THAT WERE DESIGNING THEM,
STARTING OUT ON THEM, KNEW THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY,
ANY HOPE OF SEEING THEM COMPLETED,
AND YET THEY WERE WILLING TO DEVOTE THEIR WHOLE LIFETIMES
TO WORKING ON THEM.
MINA CHOW: WHAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING ABOUT THE DURHAM
CATHEDRAL WAS THIS NEW INNOVATION OF THE RIBBED VAULT
WHICH IS TWO BARREL VAULTS INTERSECTING TOGETHER.
THEY WERE COMING UP WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION METHODS TO
INTRODUCE NATURAL DAYLIGHT.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BRING NATURAL LIGHT INTO
A GATHERING SPACE?
NOT ONLY BECAUSE YOU CAN SEE, OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A PRACTICAL
REASON, BUT IT WAS A WAY OF MANIFESTING GOD
INTO THE SPACE.
THAT GOD WAS LIGHT.
BECAUSE OF THE HEIGHT OF THE BUILDING AND BECAUSE OF THE
OPENINGS BEING A CERTAIN SIZE, THE RAYS OF LIGHT THAT CAME IN
ALMOST BECAME TACTILE BECAUSE YOU COULD SEE THE EDGES OF THE
LIGHT, AND THAT IN ITSELF WAS A MANIFESTATION OF GOD
IN A TACTILE FORM.
REVEREND CAMERON: THE ENGLISH CATHEDRALS IN PARTICULAR WERE
BUILT FOR LENGTH AS WELL AS HEIGHT.
THEY ARE MUCH BIGGER THAN THEY NEED TO BE FOR THE COMMUNITIES
WHO WORSHIPPED IN THEM.
AND THAT POSES THE QUESTION OF WHY DO WE NEED SUCH A,
A SPECTACULAR STRUCTURE.
BARBARA BOUZA: WHEN I THINK OF A CATHEDRAL,
I THINK OF THE ABILITY TO BUILD SOMETHING BIGGER.
IT'S BIGGER THAN MAN HIMSELF.
WHY WAS THAT IMPORTANT?
YOU START TO SEE AS ARCHITECTURE HAS
EVOLVED OVER TIME.
A CAR FACTORY.
A SKYSCRAPER.
LOOK AT THE SIZE OF AN AMAZON DISTRIBUTION CENTER.
THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BIGGEST FOOTPRINTS OF A
BUILDING YOU'D EVER SEE.
IT'S REALLY BEEN A REFLECTION OF WHAT THAT BUILDING IS
TRYING TO REPRESENT TO ITS OWN COMMUNITY.
IT IS REALLY ABOUT PURPOSE.
MINA CHOW: WE ALWAYS ASPIRE TOWARDS GREATER
THINGS THAN OURSELVES.
WE HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO FLY.
WE'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO SCALE MOUNTAINS.
IT'S BECAUSE IT BROUGHT US CLOSER TO SOMETHING THAT WAS
BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.
JASON SILVA: FOR MILLENNIA, WE WANTED BUILDINGS THAT COULD
SCRAPE THE SKY, TOUCH THE HEAVENS.
BUT THE HEIGHTS WE HOPED TO SCALE WERE LIMITED BY THE
SHORTCOMINGS OF OUR CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS AND THE
WEAKNESS OF THE HUMAN BODY.
WHEN STEEL AND CONCRETE CAME ON THE SCENE IN THE LATE
19TH CENTURY, WE FINALLY HAD THE TOOLS TO BUILD TALL.
WE LACKED ONE KEY PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY,
SOMETHING WE ALL TAKE FOR GRANTED TODAY.
MINA CHOW: BEFORE WE HAD SKYSCRAPERS,
WE COULD ONLY BUILD TO APPROXIMATELY SEVEN STORIES.
A PART OF IT WAS BECAUSE OF MASONRY CONSTRUCTION,
BUT PART OF IT WAS ALSO BECAUSE OF THE HUMAN LIMITS OF
HOW FAR WE WOULD CLIMB STAIRS.
SO WE WOULD CLIMB STAIRS, MAYBE WHEN WE'D GET TO SEVEN
STORIES AND WE WOULD BE OUT OF BREATH.
SO THEN YOU NEEDED THIS TRANSPORT SYSTEM.
ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL DEVELOPMENTS THAT ALLOWED FOR
SKYSCRAPERS TO HAPPEN WAS THE OTIS ELEVATOR.
AMANDA FOREMAN: WE TAKE ELEVATORS FOR GRANTED TODAY,
BUT WHEN THEY FIRST CAME INTO EXISTENCE PEOPLE COULDN'T
BELIEVE IT.
RICK PULLING: IN THE MID-1800S PEOPLE DID NOT RIDE ON
ELEVATORS BECAUSE THEY WERE UNSAFE.
ELEVATORS WERE AN INDUSTRIAL INVENTION.
THEY MOVED FACTORY GOODS FROM FLOOR TO FLOOR VIA A ROPE.
THE INVENTION OF THE SAFETY BRAKE IN 1853 KIND OF TURNED
THAT ON ITS HEAD.
WHEN THAT ROPE BROKE THE PLATFORM WITH ALL OF THE GOODS
WAS IMMEDIATELY PREVENTED FROM FALLING.
FOUR YEARS LATER, THE FIRST PASSENGER LIFT WAS INSTALLED.
AMANDA FOREMAN: IT JUST SEEMED UNBELIEVABLY FANTASTIC.
TOURISTS TO AMERICA IN THE 1850'S AND '60'S WENT OUT OF
THEIR MINDS WHEN THEY ENCOUNTERED AN ELEVATOR.
THERE'S A STORY OF THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE WHO WENT TO
NEW YORK AND HE TRIED AN ELEVATOR AND THEN HE WROTE
HOME TO HIS FAMILY TO SAY,
"I JUST RODE ON A VERTICAL RAILROAD."
RICK PULLING: THE INVENTION OF THE SAFETY ELEVATOR ENABLED
THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO TALL.
WE SAW THE CHANGE FROM THE MOST DESIRABLE SPACE BEING AT
THE BOTTOM OF THE BUILDING TO NOW THE FLOORS AT THE TOP OF
THE BUILDING, ABOVE THE NOISE AND THE SMELL,
AND WITH THE ABILITY TO HAVE A VIEW AND MORE NATURAL LIGHT.
SO WE SEE THE URBANIZATION, THE TREND OF PUTTING MORE
PEOPLE IN A SMALLER SPACE EVOLVING TO BE A VERTICAL
SPACE TO WHAT WE SEE TODAY, 150, 160,
200-STORY TALL BUILDINGS.
JASON SILVA: AT ITS MOST BASIC,
SHELTER KEEPS THE RAIN OFF OUR HEADS,
KEEPS OUR ENEMIES AT BAY, OR JUST KEEPS US WARM AT NIGHT.
BUT WE HAVE MADE IT SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT.
FROM DURHAM CATHEDRAL TO THE BURJ KHALIFA,
OUR BUILDINGS ARE PROJECTIONS OF POWER,
EMBODIMENTS OF OUR ENGINEERING PROWESS,
AND MANIFESTATIONS OF OUR UNIQUELY HUMAN LOVE OF BEAUTY.
TODAY, JUST ABOUT ANYONE CAN CREATE
THEIR PERSONAL MASTERPIECE.
BY THE 20TH CENTURY AS THE SAYING GOES,
A MAN'S HOME BECAME HIS CASTLE.
JASON SILVA: FOR CENTURIES, HUMANS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO
FIND THE BEST WAY TO LIVE TOGETHER WITHOUT SACRIFICING
THEIR PRIVACY.
WE'VE BUILT FORESTS OF TALL BUILDINGS TO WORK
IN BUT MOST OF US DON'T WANNA LIVE IN THEM.
AT THE END OF THE WORKING DAY,
IT'S NICE TO HEAD HOME TO A PLACE WE CAN CALL OUR OWN.
IN AMERICA, THAT DREAM LED TO THE ORIGIN OF A NEW WAY OF
LIVING, A WAY TO LET PEOPLE LIVE NEAR THE CITY,
BUT HAVE THE SPACE AND PRIVACY OF THE COUNTRY.
1947, LEVITTOWN, NEW YORK, THE BIRTHPLACE OF MODERN SUBURBIA.
ALFRED LEVITT: INTELLIGENT PLANNING OF COMMUNITIES IS NOT
A UTOPIAN DREAM.
IT'S PLAIN COMMON SENSE.
DOLITA CATHCART: AFTER THE WAR THERE WAS MONEY TO BE
MADE IN AMERICA IN BUILDING HOMES FOR THE RETURNING VETS
AND THESE NEW FAMILIES.
WELL, ABRAHAM LEVITT AND HIS TWO SONS WILLIAM AND,
AND ALFRED HAD AN IDEA, BUY BIG PLOTS OF LAND,
BUILD LOTS OF LITTLE STARTER HOMES FOR THESE NEW FAMILIES,
AND THEN OFFER A LOW COST WAY FOR INDIVIDUALS TO BEGIN TO
ENTER INTO THE MIDDLE CLASS.
WELL, THAT WAS LEVITTOWN.
BILL: I WANNA BUILD A TOWN WE CAN ALL BE PROUD OF.
ALFRED LEVITT: YEAH.
DAVID KUSHNER: IT WAS REALLY A STROKE OF GENIUS
BETWEEN THESE TWO BROTHERS.
ALFRED WAS VERY MUCH INTO THIS IDEA OF CREATING SOME KIND OF
A NEW, UTOPIA MIGHT BE TOO STRONG OF A WORD,
BUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
ALFRED'S IDEA WAS THAT WE'RE GONNA SELL YOU THIS POD THAT
YOU CAN ACCESSORIZE.
YOU CAN BUILD OUT THE ATTIC, YOU CAN BUILD OUT ON THE
HOMES, AND THIS WAS A REALLY VERY PROGRESSIVE IDEA TO SUCH
A DEGREE THAT NO TWO LOOK ALIKE.
BILL HELPED TO EXPLOIT THE GI BILL,
GET THE GOVERNMENT MONEY THAT COULD HELP TO SUBSIDIZE THE
CREATION OF LEVITTOWN AND ALSO ALLOW PEOPLE TO
BUY HOMES FOR $8,000.
MINA CHOW: THIS WHOLE NOTION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM IS TIED
TO BEING ABLE TO HAVE A SINGLE FAMILY HOME, A YARD,
A PLACE OF YOUR OWN.
WHAT WAS INCREDIBLE ABOUT LEVITTOWN WAS IT
WAS MADE POSSIBLE.
BECAUSE OF ALL THESE GREAT ADVANCES TO BE ABLE TO
CONSTRUCT MATERIALS CHEAPLY SO THAT THE,
THE PIECES WOULD COME IN A KIT OF PARTS THAT WERE,
SOME OF THEM WERE PRE-ASSEMBLED BUT THEN THEY
WOULD BE DELIVERED ON SITE AND THEN THEY COULD BE PUT
TOGETHER VERY QUICKLY.
IT WAS A CONFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIRE COMING
TOGETHER AND SO IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE ALL OVER
THE UNITED STATES, THIS NOTION OF A SUBURB.
BERNICE: CAN WE AFFORD IT?
EUGENE: VETERANS PROGRAM, WE CAN.
BERNICE: THEN WE CAN GET MARRIED.
YOU'D HAVE A GARAGE.
EUGENE: AND YOU WOULD HAVE FLOWERS.
MAN: THANK YOU.
AGENT: COMES WITH THE LATEST APPLIANCES.
NO FENCES.
EVERY HOUSE PAINTED THE SAME COLOR AND [INAUDIBLE].
EUGENE: WE WANT TO LOOK AT A MODEL FOR SALE.
AGENT: I'M AFRAID THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE.
EUGENE: WHY IS THAT?
AGENT: THE OWNERS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT HAVE NOT AS YET
DECIDED WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO SELL THE HOMES TO NEGROES.
BERNICE: WHAT?
AGENT: THAT'S IN THE CONTRACT.
"THE TENANT AGREES NOT TO PERMIT THE PREMISES TO BE USED
OR OCCUPIED BY ANY PERSON OTHER THAN MEMBERS
OF THE CAUCASIAN RACE."
EUGENE: THAT'S ILLEGAL.
WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO BUY A HOME.
AGENT: I'M SORRY.
IT'S, IT'S IN THE CONTRACT.
SALESMAN: I THINK YOU SHOULD LOOK SOMEWHERE ELSE.
NEXT PLEASE!
MAN: YEAH, YOU KEEP WALKING.
MAN 2: GO ON, GET!
MAN 3: GET OUT OF HERE!
DOLITA CATHCART: THESE HOMES WERE REALLY MEANT FOR ONLY ONE
GROUP OF, OF AMERICANS: WHITE AMERICANS.
NO BLACKS, NO JEWS NEED TO APPLY.
IN FACT, ABRAHAM LEVITT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
LIVE IN THE VERY HOMES THAT HE WAS BUILDING.
IN THE LATE '60'S MY MULTI HERITAGE FAMILY THOUGHT,
"LET'S BUY A HOUSE IN LEVITTOWN."
SO WE DROVE OUT TO LONG ISLAND AND WE WERE MET
WITH THE MOST HORRIFIC STARES
FROM THE OTHERS WHO WERE THERE TO LOOK OVER THE HOUSE.
WE CAME ACROSS THIS ONE BOOK TITLED ZOG,
WHICH APPARENTLY STOOD FOR ZIONIST OCCUPIED GOVERNMENT.
THE WHOLE LIBRARY SEEMED FILLED WITH
ANTI-SEMITIC TEXTS.
THAT PRETTY MUCH PUT THE KIBOSH ON THE CATHCART FAMILY
MOVING TO, TO LEVITTOWN.
WE DIDN'T WANNA GO LIVE ANY PLACE WHERE ANYONE WAS GOING
TO BE HATED.
DAVID KUSHNER: PROGRESSIVES WITHIN LEVITTOWN WERE TAKING
PART IN A, A KIND OF A COMMUNITY DISCUSSION GROUP TO
TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THIS, THIS COMMUNITY HAD THIS
EXCLUSIONARY POLICY.
RESIDENT: I WAS TERRIBLY SHOCKED TO FIND THAT THERE
WERE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY WHO WOULD BE SO
VIOLENTLY OPPOSED TO IT.
I RATHER THOUGHT THAT EVERYONE WOULD JUST ACCEPT
IT AS I WOULD.
WELL MY CHILD AND I HOPE MY CHILDREN GO TO AND LIVE IN A
GROUP THAT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE WORLD.
AND NOT BEING AN INTEGRATED GROUP IT IS,
IT IS NOT NOW A REPRESENTATIVE OF SOCIETY.
DAVID KUSHNER: YOU STARTED TO SEE A KIND OF A RIFT WITHIN
THIS GREAT AMERICAN SUBURB OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SUPPORTING
CHANGE AND THOSE WHO CERTAINLY WERE RALLYING AGAINST IT AND
AS IS OFTEN THE CASE, IT WAS A VERY LOUD BUT VOCAL MINORITY
OF PEOPLE WHO WERE AGAINST THIS.
BUT IN THE FACE OF JUST TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE EVIL,
THERE CAN BE INCREDIBLE GOODNESS.
AND I THINK IT'S JUST SOMETHING THAT WE SEE IN OUR
LIVES TODAY SO IT WAS A COMPLEX LEGACY THAT IS LEFT.
JASON SILVA: LEVITTOWN WAS FINALLY INTEGRATED.
THE SLOW TRICKLE OF PROGRESS OPENING UP THE AMERICAN DREAM
TO EVERYONE.
IT'S NEVER EASY GETTING GROUPS OF HUMANS TO LIVE
TOGETHER IN HARMONY.
NOW TRY TO IMAGINE DESIGNING SHELTER FOR ASTRONAUTS BOUND
ON INTERPLANETARY MISSIONS.
THESE PIONEERS WILL HAVE TO LIVE AND TRAVEL TOGETHER FOR
MANY MONTHS AT A TIME.
ONCE THEY GET TO THEIR DESTINATION THEY WILL NEED
SHELTER FROM THE MOST HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT MAN
HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED.
DESERT PLAINS OF MARS, NO AIR, NO WATER,
AND AN ATMOSPHERE THAT CAN'T SHIELD YOU FROM RADIATION.
ROBERT BIGELOW: THE FURTHER YOU ARE FROM EARTH,
THE MORE IMPORTANT LARGER AND LARGER VOLUMES ARE.
SO, IF YOU WERE GOING TO MARS ALL THE OTHER ARCHITECTURES
ARE NONSENSE WHEN I TALK ABOUT A 100 CUBIC METER SYSTEM
OR 150 CUBIC METER SYSTEM TO TRANSPORT PEOPLE ON A MISSION.
THAT BORDERS ON CRUEL AND INHUMANE PUNISHMENT.
THE BEAM IS A TESTING FACILITY.
IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT NASA HAS AN EXPANDABLE HABITAT
ATTACHED TO STATION.
LISA THOMAS: THE BEAM HAS BEEN UP ON THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION SINCE MAY.
IT'S 16 CUBIC METERS FULLY EXPANDED,
BUT THE B330 IS 330 CUBIC METERS.
ROBERT BIGELOW: SO, IF YOU WERE GOING TO MARS YOU'D
PROBABLY WANT TWO OR THREE OR FOUR OF THESE 330S TOGETHER.
LISA THOMAS: HERE WE ARE IN THE CORE OF THE B330.
IT'S DESIGNED TO HOUSE UP TO SIX ASTRONAUTS.
DIFFERENT AREAS TO EAT IN,
DIFFERENT AREAS TO EXERCISE IN.
ALL OF THOSE THINGS BECOME VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPERIENCE AS GOOD AS POSSIBLE.
ROBERT BIGELOW: THIS SPACECRAFT CAN BE MODIFIED TO
SERVE DIFFERENT MISSIONS; IT COULD BE A DORMITORY,
IT COULD BE A FARM, IT COULD BE A HOSPITAL.
LISA THOMAS: THAT WOULD CHANGE THE WAY THAT WE SEND PEOPLE TO
SPACE AND IT WOULD CHANGE THE WAY WE CREATE
DESTINATIONS FOR SPACE.
JASON SILVA: WE'VE COME A LONG WAY FROM USING MAMMOTH BONES
TO PROTECT US FROM THE ELEMENTS.
BUT THESE SPACE CAPSULES IN MANY WAYS BRING US BACK TO THE
ORIGINS OF HUMAN SHELTER.
THE NEED TO CREATE A SPECIAL PLACE WHERE WE CAN HUDDLE
TOGETHER AND FIND SOME WARMTH AND SECURITY IN AN OTHERWISE
HOSTILE UNIVERSE.
¶ ¶
THE DAUNTING JOURNEY TO THE MODERN WORLD HAD ITS HUMBLE
BEGINNINGS LONG AGO.
FROM MAMMOTH BONE HUTS TO MEGACITIES,
THE EVOLUTION OF SHELTER MIRRORS THE
EVOLUTION OF HUMANITY.
IT ALL BEGAN AROUND THE FIRE, AS WE SHED OUR NOMADIC PAST
AND CRAFTED OUR FIRST HOMES AROUND THE HEARTH,
THE CENTERPIECE OF HUMAN CULTURE WHERE OUR
WORLD WAS BORN.
BUT TO TRULY BECOME MODERN, WE HAD TO UNITE.
IT WAS OUR COMMON BELIEFS THAT DREW US TOGETHER AND SET US ON
THE PATH TO CIVILIZATION.
THE PURSUIT OF SAFE HAVENS HAS SPURRED NEW INNOVATIONS,
NEW FRAMES OF MIND, AND NEW SOCIETIES.
WE'VE BUILT A WORLD OF WONDERS,
A WORLD OF OUR OWN DESIGN.
OUR SHELTERS ARE THE CHILDREN OF OUR IMAGINATION,
MONUMENTS EMBODYING THE HUMAN SPIRIT.
THESE ARE SOME OF OUR MOST TOWERING ACHIEVEMENTS.
WITH BRICK AND MORTAR WE HAVE CONQUERED THE EARTH,
FROM THE TROPICS TO THE ARCTIC.
WE HAVE SEIZED CONTROL FROM NATURE AND BUILT
OUR OWN ENVIRONMENT, RADICALLY RESHAPING THE FACE OF
OUR HOME PLANET.
THIS GLOBAL CIVILIZATION REVEALS WHO WE TRULY ARE:
A SPECIES OF LIMITLESS AMBITION.
OUR OUTWARD EXPANSION HAS LEFT US NOWHERE TO GO BUT UP.
THE VOID OF SPACE AND HAZARDS OF OTHER WORLDS POSE THE
BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO SURVIVAL WE HAVE YET FACED.
HOW WILL OUR SPECIES FARE IN THE CENTURIES TO COME AGAINST
THE PERILS OF THE UNKNOWN?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL.