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Stunning skylines are fuelled by money – and Hong Kong has one of the most stunning in the world. With a lack of land on the island, the only way is up. The most prized – and expensive - plot is the financial district of Central where one skyscraper towers above the rest, star of Batman movies and gleaming white pillar of capitalism, 2 International Finance Center. Presented by Matt Berman.

Behind the glistening façade of Boston’s John Hancock Tower lies one of the most embarrassing moments in architectural history. The insurance company wanted to express their corporate might by building a modernist skyscraper in the heart of Boston’s historic core.Their dream tower turned into their worst nightmare and what followed is one of the most unbelievable tales in architectural history. Presented by Matt Berman.

In the late 1980s the Malaysian government decided to build a skyscraper so unprecedented in size and so ambitious that it sought to overtake Chicago’s Sears Tower as the tallest building in the world. The result – the elaborately curved Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur – achieved both goals. Presented by Matt Berman.

With the highest roof on earth, the sleek Shanghai World Finance Center stands in the city that has overtaken New York and Chicago as skyscraper capital of the world. Setting the standard for a new generation of supertall skyscrapers, this Japanese-developed tower, built on Chinese land, also symbolises a new era in relations between the two previously hostile countries after Japan's violent invasion of China in the 1930s. Presented by Matt Berman.

Taiwan, China’s renegade province, wanted to make the world sit up and notice it – so it built the planet’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in its capital city. An architectural meeting of East meets West, Taiwan’s biggest global advertising board and symbol of achievement was a defiant gesture towards its neighbouring superpower, and a calculated quest for Taiwanese commercial attention proving that in modern times, the super-tall building is more than just the corporation HQ of the past. Presented by Matt Berman.

1180 Peachtree is a striking icon on the Atlanta skyline, its huge fins making it distinct from other skyscrapers in the city. But it’s not all about good looks - 1180 is creating a new era for the city’s towers. Presented by Matt Berman.

In 1991, One Canada Square, the UK's tallest skyscraper, changed the London skyline. But the Cesar Pelli designed icon wasn't in the heart of the capital. Instead, the developers had taken a billion dollar gamble on creating an international financial centre, symbolised by this obelisk-shaped tower, in the desolate docklands of the city's East End. But when the world property market collapsed just after the complex was completed, the developers went bankrupt and a large part of the tower lay in darkness...

The strongest building on Earth, Torre Mayor is constructed to withstand earthquakes that would obliterate the average skyscraper. Built in the wake of Mexico City’s most devastating earthquake in 1985, this monument to engineering has become a haven of safety in one of the world’s most active seismic zones. But can the ever growing height of skyscrapers compete with typhoons and earthquakes? Can man’s high rise addiction really conquer nature? Presented by Keith Keaveney.

Even before the modern skyscraper, the super tall building has been a source of innovation and fierce competition – and no time was the fight for height fiercer than in the late 18th century when cathedrals across Europe competed to make their spires the tallest. Cologne was the tallest building in the world for 4 years – but where did the money for these religious super spires come from? And just how fierce – and dirty - did the fight become? Presented by Charlie Luxton.

Skyscrapers have transformed cities across the globe - most notably the famous skyline of Manhattan. But on 9/11, this historic cityscape became forever linked with one event that forced architects to rethink. Designed by skyscraper guru David Childs, from renowned architects SOM, 7 World Trade Center is the first building to be constructed on Ground Zero and it has taken skyscraper safety to new levels. But overlooking a plot of land that symbolises the risk of building tall, do those who work in it really feel safe?

Every major city has a symbolic piece of architecture that projects its image to the world. But what happens when a city loses its trademark icon? This was exactly the problem that faced Malmo in Sweden - but it came up with the perfect way to reinvent itself. The city decided to build a radical skyscraper, created by one of the world's most innovative architects, Santiago Calatrava. But daring design always courts controversy - and the whole project very nearly ended in disaster.

The iconic 375 Park Avenue in New York, built in 1958 by the king of Modernist design, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, changed skyscraper design forever. As the world's most influential and copied tower, it has inspired the square glass blocks of every global skyline. But behind its revolutionary glass façade is the fascinating story of how a skyscraper that couldn't afford to be built got built - and how its creator finally managed to realise his 40-year architectural dream.