Manchester, United Kingdom

Designed by Hassell, the new £20.5m First Light Pavilion set to open to the public this year, forming part of a major new project that will share and celebrate the pioneering heritage of Jodrell Bank, the UK’s latest UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Home to one of the world’s largest and most powerful radio telescopes, the Lovell Telescope, Jodrell Bank is known for using radio waves to explore deepest space.

The telescope enables Jodrell Bank to make ground-breaking discoveries like quasars, pulsars, and gravitational lenses, and the site was awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status last year. It has also been inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The First Light Pavilion intends to transform the visitor experience at the famous observatory, bringing radio astronomy principles, and the stories of Jodrell Bank’s pioneering scientists to life for the thousands of people who visit every year.

Integrated into the landscape, the pavilion’s circular form references the shape and exact size of the neighboring Lovell telescope’s 76.2-meter (250 ft) diameter dish.

Hassell worked closely with the University’s astronomers and exhibition designers, Casson Mann, on the design of the highly immersive circular exhibition space and auditorium.

A new gallery will innovatively re-use sections of the original 1957 observation dish from the Lovell Telescope as a backdrop for displays and projections covering periods in the site’s rich history from its early beginnings, through the Space Race and the Cold War, to the present day.

Meanwhile, an auditorium will provide space for planetarium shows, evening lectures, film projections and cultural events.

The round, dome-like structure of the building cleverly mirrors the circumference of the iconic Lovell Telescope.

Within the dome are a number of cutaways including the Pavilion’s entrance built into a curved concrete wall designed to reflect the arc of the sun.

Two separate walls then guide visitors in, with a single glass slot cut out at the centre, illuminating a meridian line cast onto the floor at the entrance, echoing a history of astronomy in architecture.

A multi-media room houses special exhibitions and cater for night-sky projections, as well as educational lectures, and live links to other science facilities. exiting the drum will give way to a café and circular courtyard cut into the mound.

“The Observatory team has been totally committed to developing the site in a way that is sensitive to its heritage, yet transformational in its future impact. To have been part of this team is an exceptional opportunity for Hassell,” states Julian Gitsham Hassell Principal.

“We are delighted that construction work is about to begin on our visionary new First Light Pavilion. The architecture of the building itself is tied to the sky, in a way that expresses humanity’s long journey towards understanding our place in the Universe,” states Teresa Anderson Director of Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre at the University of Manchester.

Architects: Hassell
Exhibition Designers: Casson Mann
Client: The University of Manchester