SCIENCE LESSON.

On the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow, a new complex brings together cultural and exhibition elements to disseminate present and future scientific advances.

In 1995 BDP won a national architectural competition to design the Glasgow Science Centre at Pacific Quay, a spit of land on the south bank of the River Clyde. The Centre aims to bring together scientific knowledge, existing technology and future developments, through a series of exhibition and cultural facilities.

The scheme consists of three discrete elements. The largest is a long, pod-shaped form housing an exhibition space, planetarium and two theatres, together with an assortment of cafes, shops, offices and workshops. Nuzzling one end of the huge pod is a 350-seat IMAX theatre (the first of its kind in Scotland), housed in an organically mutated dome-like structure. Pod and dome are linked to a glazed reception pavilion capped by an oversailing fabric roof. The third part of the triumvirate is the Wing Tower. Soaring 100m above the quay, the tower will be Glasgow's tallest structure and is designed to rotate gently according to wind direction, like a giant weather vane. Two glazed lifts transport visitors up from an exhibition space in the tower's podium to an elevated cabin with spectacular citywide views.

Through its inventive employment of materials, structure and services the entire centre forms a kind of 'super-exhibition', intended to illustrate the role of science and technology in buildings. Environmental considerations encompass natural ventilation through the stack effect, a concrete structure to increase thermal mass and the use of river water as a cooling agent. There will also be provision for photovoltaic systems and a series of external exhibits that harness wind, solar and tidal energy, to disseminate the message of environmental responsibility. The Science Centre is one of the largest Millennium projects of its type and will form the hub of a network of similar centres in Scotland and beyond.