Everything about Glasgow Science Centre totally explained
Glasgow Science Centre is a visitor attraction located on the south bank of the
River Clyde in
Glasgow,
Scotland. It is a purpose-built
science centre comprised of three principal buildings which are the
Science Mall, an
IMAX cinema and the
Glasgow Tower. The Scottish tourist board,
VisitScotland, awarded Glasgow Science Centre a five star rating in the visitor attraction category.
Buildings
Science Mall
The Science Mall is a titanium-clad crescent shape structure that houses three floors of interactive science-learning exhibits, a Science Show Theatre and the ScottishPower Planetarium. The
planetarium, sponsored by
Scottish Power, contains a
Zeiss optical-mechanical projector that projects images of the night sky onto a 15m diameter dome.
IMAX Cinema
The IMAX cinema was the first, and remains the only, IMAX cinema to be built in Scotland. It opened to the public in
October 2000, several months prior to the opening of the two other buildings.
Glasgow Tower
At 127 metres high, Glasgow Tower is currently the tallest
tower in Scotland and the second tallest free-standing structure after the
Inverkip Power Station chimney. It also holds a
Guinness World Record for being the tallest tower in the world capable of rotating 360 degrees from its base to its top.
Design
It is shaped like an
aerofoil (as if an aircraft wing had been set in the ground vertically), with computer-controlled motors to turn it into the wind in order to reduce wind resistance. The tower, previously known as the Millennium Tower, was the winning design in an international competition to design a tower for the city centre of Glasgow. The tower is the spiritual successor to the
Clydesdale Bank Tower that stood on approximately the same spot during the
1988 Glasgow Garden Festival.
Tallest Building Debate
When completed in
2001, it became the tallest tower in Scotland. The website for the tower claims it's "The tallest freestanding building in Scotland". Although the tower has an observation desk (at 105 metres), it doesn't have floors continuously from the ground and therefore it isn't considered a building by the
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). Once complete, the 39-storey
Elphinstone Place residential tower in the city's financial district, will replace Glasgow Tower as Scotland's second tallest structure, and become Scotland's tallest building.
History
The tower has been plagued by safety and engineering problems throughout its history. Problems with the Nigerian-made
thrust bearing on which it rotates led to it being closed between
February 2002 and
August 2004. On
30 January 2005, ten people were trapped in the lifts and only rescued after five hours. Following the incident, the tower re-opened again on
December 21 2006.
In September 2007, a charity abseil event was held on Glasgow Tower.
History
Opened to the public in
June 2001, Glasgow Science Centre is part of the on-going redevelopment of
Pacific Quay, an area which was once a cargo port known as Prince's Dock. The architects of the Glasgow Science Centre were
Building Design Partnership, however the Glasgow Tower was originally designed by the architect Richard Horden with engineering design by
Buro Happold. It was built at a cost of around
£75 million, including £10 million for Glasgow Tower, with over £37 million coming from the
Millennium Commission.
In the media
In the
CBeebies television programme
Nina and the Neurons, the title character Nina is a
neuroscientist who works at Glasgow Science Centre.
Several programmes including
CBBC's
Do Something Different were filmed in and out of Glasgow Science Centre.
The area surrounding the Glasgow Science Centre is expected to become
Glasgow's equivalent of
London's
south bank, home of
The London Studios. More programming is to be filmed around the science centre because of the new
STV headquarters, which opened in June 2006, and
BBC Scotland Television Studios which began to broadcast programming in the summer of 2007.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Glasgow Science Centre'.
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