Renzo Piano

London is an especially busy metropolis these days with the upcoming Olympics. The city is also unveiling The Shard, Western Europe's new tallest building with a height of 1,016 feet. Just as with the opening of other major landmarks in history, The Shard's opening is not without controversy. Many wonder if Renzo Piano's designed building accentuates the existing skyline or if it has a negative aesthetic.

Episodes from 2005

Narrated by Brad Pitt, Season 3 covers: a profile of the Aga Khan's Al-Azhar Park in Cairo, Egypt, a 500-year-old dump-turned-"urban lung"; Canadian architect Brian MacKay-Lyons, who applies Nova Scotia's vernacular pragmatism to projects around the world; Melbourne, Australia's transformation from a tired, vacant city into a thriving, sustainable metropolis; world-class architect Renzo Piano's integration of nature into his design for San Francisco's elegant, environmentally responsive natural history museum; the efforts to rebuild New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward in a way that is environmentally, culturally and socially sustainable; and the visionary Dutch architects transforming recycled materials into modern design masterpieces.