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More than a billion citizens. More than three thousand years of history. And yet China can seem opaque from the outside, monolithic and inscrutables. Discovery Channel asked DF&A to show audiences modern China from the inside, with close-up stories of everything from agriculture to the arts. The result: How China Works, a two-season, six-part documentary portrait of an ancient country that moves at high speed into the future.
SEASON 1
Season one of How China Works explores China's rapid transformation into a global economic powerhouse by examining its ambitious infrastructure projects and urban development strategies. The show highlights China's ability to blend cutting-edge technology, innovative engineering, and traditional culture to overcome massive logistical and environmental challenges. Each episode delves into various projects such as the construction of megacities, sustainable development initiatives, and complex transportation systems, showcasing China's commitment to modernity while maintaining its historical roots. Forster provides insights into how China’s approach to problem-solving and scale is shaping the future of global architecture and infrastructure.
SEASON 2
Season two of How China Works continues to explore China’s architectural and engineering marvels, focusing on more innovative and groundbreaking projects that push the limits of design and technology. This season covers a diverse range of developments, including futuristic urban landscapes, massive renewable energy projects, and high-speed transportation networks. Forster investigates the strategies behind China’s rapid urbanization and the country's push for sustainability in the face of environmental challenges. The series also emphasizes China’s expanding influence on global infrastructure and how its unique approach to construction is reshaping cities and economies worldwide.
How can we bring architecture to life for the general public without oversimplifying the ideas behind it? In 45 episodes across 5 seasons, “Build It Bigger” took the typical amazement-TV format and turned it into an engaging and rich investigation into the role that pioneering building projects play in the lives of citizens, cities, and countries. Audiences traveled with host and producer Danny Forster around the world to explore groundbreaking architectural and engineering projects—which Danny put not just on screen but in context. “Build It Bigger” ultimately became the highest rated show on the Science Channel (where it moved after its first season) and won a 2010 Directors Guild of America award.
Ten years after 9/11, no one was telling the remarkable story of what happened after the attacks on the World Trade Center and their immediate aftermath. How does a city respond when a hole is torn in its fabric? How can architecture answer the historical, emotional, political, and practical needs of a city in mourning–but still in motion? DF&A teamed up with Steven Spielberg to produce a six-part series documenting the rebuilding of Ground Zero, from the perspective of architects, city planners, construction workers, activists, first responders, and survivors.
More celebration than sales pitch, this film nimbly links 432 Park Avenue, the world’s tallest residential building, to other achievements in art and elevation, while creating an irresistible vision of luxury. Our goal was to make a film that expressed the allure of living here without resorting to the typical reel of real estate superlatives. Instead, using a four-minute dreamlike sequence of images, we revealed an entire world within and around these apartments, a world rich in culture and history—not just amenities.
