Can skyscrapers be made safer, more efficient, and livable in our rapidly growing cities? Skyscrapers are gleaming symbols of prestige, and an ingenious way to save space in dense urban areas. But as buildings rise ever higher, what are the risks of these architectural behemoths?
Do we truly know how they will hold up in earthquakes, fires and wind? What have--or haven’t—we learned from past tragedies? But even as we devise ways to defend them against potential disasters, can we also make them more livable, interactive, and eco-friendly?

Andrew Graham-Dixon retraces Vasari's footsteps for this captivating two-part film in a short Art of Italy season. He's an enthusiastic guide, lapsing easily into Italian conversation with the custodians of galleries and chapels who allow him a private view. From Brunelleschi's Duomo in Florence to less familiar marvels - a Donatello sculpture; Masaccio frescoes - he illustrates how rapidly ideas developed. A final treat for him - and us - is a tour of the Vasari Corridor, a rarely accessed gallery that zigzags across the Florentine rooftops.

Graham-Dixon reveals how the north of the country has produced some of the most dazzling and iconic art of the modern age. Spain's turbulent history has shaped artists from Francisco Goya to Pablo Picasso. Graham-Dixon argues that Spanish architecture is the art form now taking the nation forward in the new millennium.

In southern Jordan lies the spectacular city of Petra. Built over 2,000 years ago, it contains innumerable architectural treasures: colossal buildings carved into cliffs and hundreds of tombs, temples, and baths. Petra was a rich and prosperous city, and yet, it resides in the heart of an inhospitable region. How did the Nabataeans manage to transform this desert area into a luxurious city?

Scientists and engineers fight to save Notre Dame Cathedral after the 2019 fire. When the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral erupted in flames in April of 2019, firefighters battled for nine gruelling hours to save the historic landmark. Still, Paris came alarmingly close to losing more than 800 years of history. Now engineers are in a different race against time: to rebuild the roof and secure the medieval structure of Notre Dame. Underneath the charred scaffolding and vaulted ceilings of the cathedral, scientists study the components of Notre Dame’s iconic structure to puzzle out how best to repair it.

Three years after the devastating fire, Lucy Worsley has exclusive access to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris at a key turning point of the restoration. Work to rebuild and restore the monument is being ramped up in a bid to meet the ambitious deadline to reopen it to the public in 2024. Scaffolding now fills the interior of the cathedral, giving Lucy and the team unprecedented close-up access to every inch of the structure. Lucy meets scientists, historians and craftspeople working to return the 850-year-old Gothic masterpiece to its former glory.
The fire coated Notre-Dame with tons of toxic lead dust, so specialists are now decontaminating the site. Unique access to the stunning rose windows allows Lucy and the stained-glass historians to uncover the mysteries of these enigmatic 13th-century works of art. An unforeseen legacy of the fire threatens to destroy the remaining vaulting, so the team must develop an ingenious solution to save the stonework. The loss of the roof during the fire reveals hundreds of large iron staples embedded in the stone along the top of the walls. And the incredible task of sourcing and cutting two-thousand perfect oaks gets underway to rebuild the world's most complex medieval timber structure - Notre-Dame's extraordinary roof and spire.