New wave
The iconic structure is architect Zaha Hadid’s interpretation of Glasgow’s seafaring past.
Exhibition spaces, a café and retail and education areas are split over two floors, housed beneath a self-supporting and unique geometric shape.
A rippling zinc structure sits atop a steel frame, representing a wave, or pleat: transition zones are formed where the structure ‘turns’. Glazed facades face the city in one direction and the riverfront in the other.
Realising this vision demanded a close working relationship between architect, builder and structural engineer. CAD drawings and scaled-down models provided a focus for that vision.
Creating this effect required experience in ‘fabric engineering’ and BAM’s contractor forged theirs on projects as diverse as the Millennium Dome and Pink Floyd concerts.
