On the south coast of England, The Warrior is an ironclad warship whose design sparked an arms race between nations.

In Prague, a grand public works facility cleaned up the polluted water supply and helped set a template for others to follow. While in San Francisco, the mint building was designed to be both fireproof and earthquake proof and helped rebuild the west coast after facing down the ultimate test.

A mill on the outskirts of Manchester was part of a dawning revolution in the way we work - the factory. A bridge in St. Louis, USA pioneered the use of steel - a construction material that would reshape our world. And a vast hangar in Brazil built to house the airships transformed passenger travel in the 20th century, but those giants of the sky owed a debt to an earlier age.