Designed by Elisha & Morrison's London workshop, it is a truncated bronze cone with a mirrored glass top, more reminiscent of a sculpture by Richard Serre than a traditional educational - and entertainment - institution. The planetarium cuts the prime meridian in half, and the angle of inclination of its cone to the earth's surface - 51.5 degrees - corresponds to the geographical latitude of Greenwich. If you extend its line further, to the firmament, then it will point to the North Star.
Thus, the abstract form reflects the conventional concepts of the standard of time and geographic coordinates that this point on the world map represents.
On the other hand, this restraint of form allowed the planetarium to easily fit into the wonderful ensemble of historic buildings that Greenwich can boast. This is the House of Queen Inigo Jones, and the Webb, Wren, Hawksmoor and Vanbruh Hospital, and the first building of the 17th century Royal Observatory, and many others.
The inner dome of the planetarium itself is inscribed in the outer cone of the building, the entrance to the premises of which is below ground level. The stars in his "sky" will be displayed with the help of a modern laser projector, which has not yet been found anywhere else in Europe. The hall is designed for 120 spectators, and the fact that its vault is not, in its essence, a dome, but is inscribed in a cone, has significantly improved its acoustic qualities.
