Climbing Great Buildings

Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, built from 2000 and designed by Daniel Libeskind, is an example of a new wave of architectural design that is both dramatic and disturbing, a building that plays with the senses and provokes wonder. In his final climb of the series, Jonathan, aided by top climber Lucy Creamer, scales over 50 metres up the building to reveal how the museum is designed to reflect war itself. He scales the huge air shard to investigate how the building deliberately disorientates visitors; he finds himself part of the exhibition when he abseils down inside the water shard; and he explores the technological advances that allowed the building, with its 7,400 square metres of aluminium, to be constructed in just two years.