Space 2001

Rising above the surrounding low-level industrial units and housing in the north of the city, this £52 million millennium project provides a glimpse into the innovative use of construction materials and methods as well as space travel.

Home to a new research facility run by the Universities of Leicester and New Hampshire, the project also opens up the space age to the general public.

The first Challenger Learning Centre to be constructed outside of North America, coupled with a 200-seater planetarium, are impressive claims for any visitor attraction. But they don't come close to the Space Centre's main feature – a 42-metre high building with plastics walls, which resembles a giant, bulging crysalis.

Set to fire the imagination of any visitor, this Nicholas Grimshaw-designed building acts as the main entrance to the centre and houses two of the largest exhibits: 32-metre high American and British rockets – installed prior to the walls being formed.

The virtually-transparent skin was manufactured by specialist suppliers Skyspan International and is formed of a soft, etfe plastics material. "It's basically a big bag," describes m&e contractor Drake & Scull's Rob Matthews. Each bulge is an individual, sealed pillow, connected to the steel rims which make up the building frame. These pillows are kept inflated at a pressure that matches the wind speed and external conditions. Matthews explains: "The wind would just rip [the material] apart if it became deflated." Monitoring equipment at the top of the tower measures weather conditions and the inflation of the building skin is automatically controlled.

The servicing of the tower is simple yet novel. The natural greenhouse effect the skin creates also makes the services vital.

On either side, a row of satellite-shaped units stretch almost the height of the building. These are actually radiant heaters, arranged to complement the space-age feel. The services to these heaters run down the structure's main vertical supports. Plastics hoses providing the air to the skin follow the same route, branching off at each pillow.

Installation of these services employed the unconventional method of abseilers, who, entering from the top of the tower, connecting the units to the supports just as the skin was being formed. Motorised louvres in the tower roof provide the ventilation; these are automatically controlled on temperature sensors.

The rear of the tower connects directly to the main exhibition area. It also contains staircase access to several viewing platforms up the height of the building, the highest of which gives a dramatic view over the tip of the rockets. The design of this staircase is intended to mimic the Cape Canaveral-type pre-launch structure.

Two risers, one either side of the tower stairwell take the main services the entire height of the tower in a single run. Standard electrical products have been used throughout the building. "The only part of the job which was not standard was the tower," stated Drake & Scull sub-contractor Daryl Spencer. The sheer height and lack of working space at each level made project co-ordination essential. All servicing in the exhibition hall is at roof level. Careful control of conditions in this area is necessary due to the sensitive nature of the exhibits; this is carried out by a central bms.

The planetarium, located in the exhibition area, offered another opportunity for applying the latest technology. Both structure and audio-visual effects have been supplied by specialist American companies. The building consists of two domes: a perforated, white-painted steel inner surface; and an external surface separated from the first by around one metre. This outer dome also provides the backdrop to the sky scenes – a black fibreglass material was sprayed to the internal surface to ensure total darkness for the specialist lighting effects.

No such gimmicks were used for the tower. "The outside cover will give a blue glow at night without any special lighting effects," stated Matthews – a finishing touch sure to fire the public's interest come lift-off on 30 June.