Speaking of Design

Once known as the "richest hill on Earth" for its wealth of mineral deposits, Butte became the first major city in Montana thanks to the boom of copper mining. But early 20th century mining practices led to serious environmental consequences, including contaminated local groundwater unfit to drink. The city’s new Basin Creek Water Treatment Plant has become a source of civic pride, showing off some of the flashiest technology in the drinking water industry. But on top of many engineering firsts, the facility’s story is rooted in the rich history of Butte.

We're back for Season 2, where we'll take you to what was once known as the Richest Hill on Earth, and learn how a one-of-a-kind water treatment plant that's helping a community change its perception.

Civil engineers and construction managers often find themselves building massive bridges and interchanges capable of moving millions of vehicles efficiently through growing metropolises. But a small team from across the United States took a break from that world, volunteering two weeks of their time to venture into the rainforest of Panama and build a much simpler structure — a footbridge across a river. Despite unique challenges from travel, weather and living conditions, these volunteers partnered on a Bridges to Prosperity project to connect a community to its schools, a hospital and markets across the river. And in the process, this group of engineers and constructors saw firsthand the difference their profession makes in people’s lives.

On the next episode of Speaking of Design, we’ll meet a group of volunteers who traveled to Bajo Cobre, Panama, to build a pedestrian bridge that spanned a river, connecting the community to the school, hospital and markets that they depend on for their livelihood.

The people of Kansas City love the new KC Streetcar, and you’ll find the vehicles packed on a beautiful summer day. But the idea of building a modern streetcar faced questions and doubts from business owners and residents in a city without rail transit since the 1950s. To get the concept on the rails, the project team played had to educate, listen and collaborate to design a streetcar the community would support. The result? Today, many of those initial skeptics are singing its praises — in some cases literally.

On our next episode, we'll take a ride on Kansas City's popular downtown streetcar, and find out what it took to bring streetcars back to the city for the first time in more than 50 years.

As U.S. forces drew down in Afghanistan, a new phase of counterinsurgency strategy took place. In support of the U.S. Department of Defense, an Air Force Civil Engineer Center program sought to strengthen Afghanistan’s national security by building new universities, government buildings, training sites, barracks, recruiting stations, air bases, roads, bridges and other facilities needed for the country’s security forces. However, for the American construction management team providing leadership, oversight and training, the program amounted to more than the facilities. It was about creating professional jobs for Afghans, boosting the economy and providing hope.

On our next episode of Speaking of Design, you'll hear the story of how former American military service members working in the engineering industry are helping to reconstruct a nation whose people have suffered through decades of war.

Just north of the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood had fallen into a state of disrepair. Described by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as "a barren expanse of cracked concrete, weeds and towering trees surviving against a background of neglect," the area was filled with abandoned buildings and prone to sewer overflows. But rather than going forward with a typical storm sewer expansion, residents of the area saw an opportunity to solve the overflow problem with a solution that transformed the entire neighborhood.

Coming soon, an episode about one of Atlanta’s most popular wedding destinations, which started as a storm sewer project.