PickVidsBest Civil engineering & construction Videos
The 70 Civil engineering & construction videos here were recommended by different people across different months. Choose by who it is for: 3 introductory, 2 intermediate, 65 for a general viewer, and 0 for someone who wants the harder derivation. Most of them are an explainer. What they share is that one picture or analogy is used to supply a missing concept. Channels you will keep seeing include Practical Engineering, Tom Scott, Kirsten Dirksen.
Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]
Not Just Bikes introduces the "stroad", a street-road hybrid common in the US and Canada that fails at both jobs.
1. How Buildings Learn - Stewart Brand - 1 of 6 - “Flow”
The first episode of Stewart Brand's 1997 BBC series based on his book How Buildings Learn, covering how buildings change after they are built.
What Really Happened During the Texas Power Grid Outage?
Practical Engineering's explanation of the February 2021 Texas winter storm and the resulting power grid outage.
Orbital Rings
Isaac Arthur explains the orbital ring, a megastructure launch-assist system that could move bulk cargo cheaply to orbit and beyond.
Building a Cathedral without Science or Mathematics: The Engineering Method Explained
Bill Hammack of engineerguy explains how medieval engineers designed stone cathedrals using rules of thumb, with no science, mathematics or literacy.
World's Largest Batteries - (Pumped Storage)
Practical Engineering explains pumped storage hydropower, which makes up most grid-scale electricity storage.
Neom - The Line - The Rise and Fall of Saudi Arabia's Linear City.
Patrick Boyle's deadpan account of Saudi Arabia's Neom and The Line megaproject, a planned 170 km linear city that has been scaled back to a fraction of its size.
Primitive Technology: Tiled Roof Hut
The Primitive Technology channel shows the construction of a tiled roof hut in the bush using only primitive tools and materials made in earlier videos.
Taipei 101 Damper movement on 12 May 08
Tourist footage of the 660-ton tuned mass damper in Taipei 101 swaying during tremors from the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
This giant model stopped a terrible plan
Tom Scott tells how John Reber's plan to dam San Francisco Bay was disproved by the Army Corps of Engineers' giant hydraulic Bay Model in Sausalito.
Why China Is so Good at Building Railways
A Wendover Productions explainer on how China built the world's largest high-speed rail network so quickly and why its rail strategy differs from America's.
Why Do Reversing Trucks Not Beep Any More?
Tom Scott stands by a construction site and explains why reversing vehicles now use a white-noise hiss instead of beeping.
EC's Big Announcement
Essential Craftsman announces the start of a spec house build on a scenic lot, kicking off a long series.
New Earthships capture more energy, water & food at lower cost
Kirsten Dirksen tours new Earthships, homes built from tires, bottles and cans that generate their own energy, collect water and grow food.
The Boring Company Information Session
A long information session where The Boring Company presents its vision for Loop, an underground high-speed transit system, and the traffic problems it aims to solve.
What It Really Takes to Convert an Office Building to Apartments | Odd Lots
An Odd Lots podcast episode on why converting empty office buildings into apartments is hard.
Arcologies
An Isaac Arthur episode on arcologies, self-sufficient habitats that could house whole cities, on Earth or on harsh worlds.
I thought this rotating house was impossible.
Tom Scott visits a rotating house near San Diego and explains how electricity, gas and water keep working on the rotating part.
Was Roman Concrete Better?
Practical Engineering compares modern concrete with that of the Roman Empire, covering modern techniques like roller compacted concrete and water-reducing admixtures.
Building the Moroccan Court
A short film following Moroccan artisans from Fez as they build a traditional 15th-century-style Moroccan court inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
What is Concrete?
Practical Engineering gives a short introduction to concrete, covering the difference between concrete and cement, the ingredients, and reinforcement.
The Vegas Loop Is Getting Progressively More Stupid
CityNerd critiques the Las Vegas Loop, the Boring Company's tunnel transit system, arguing its design and operation are poor.
Earth-cooled, shipping container underground CA home for 30K
Kirsten Dirksen profiles Steve Rees, who buried two shipping containers to build an earth-cooled, off-grid 640 sq ft home in Northern California for about $30,000, solar included.
Shanghai Tower (650 meters)
A POV video of climbers illegally scaling the 650 m Shanghai Tower while it was under construction, filmed on a helmet camera.