TOP10 World’s Most Beautiful Planetariums

September 1, 2016 volgalhs

Planetarium building has always been a challenging task for architectors. Its design can be any as the only and main funcion of it is to show and observe space objects. The Russian portal “Popular Mechanics” has selected TOP10 world’s most beautiful planetariums.

Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands

Eisinga Planetarium in Franeker, Netherlands, is the oldest planetarium built in 1770-s. It has no dome. The ceiling is painted in blue on which models of solar system’s objects including the sun are hung in the order a they are in the space.

Photos: omropfryslan, re-actor

The age of modern planetariums started with the advance of optics. The pioneer in projector contruction was the German company “Zeiss”. The manufactured devices required special building designs to be placed inside. At the beginning in Europe architectures made buildings like towers and temples and cathedrals. But later the nature of projector devices forced architectors to make planetarium buildlings with a round shaped roof – a dome. The so-called Space Race in 1950s-60s encouraged interest for planetariums. They were build everwhere across the USA, Europe and USSR.

Shanghai Planetarium, China

Shanghai planetarium is a recent creation in a “celestial” design.

“Drawing inspiration form astronomical principles, our design strategy provides a platform for the experience of orbital motion, and utilizes that as a metaphorical reference and generator of form,” says Ennead Architects, the company that won the nationa competition to build the Shanghai planetarium.

Photos: archdaily, aiachicago

At-Bristol Science Centre, UK

Bristol planetarium is designed in a traditional spherical shape.

Photo: wikimedia

“Infoversum” Planetarium in Groningen, Netherlands

Inforversum is a new modern 3D-planetarium in Groningen, Netherlands. It was built in 2015. The building design reminds of a planet surrounded by an asteroid circle. Unfinished lines of this “belt” are to evoke the feeling of perpetual motion of everything in the universe.

Photo: planetarium-hamburg

Yaroslavl Planetarium named after V. V. Tereshkova, Russia

Yaroslavl planetarium is named after the first spacewoman Valentina Tereshkova. The planetarium design is very complex. The building houses several halls for different purposes including an observatory.

Photos: agentika, Facebook/yarplaneta/

Nagoya Planetarium, Japan

Nagoya Planetarium in a shape of sphere stuck between the two houses and levitating above the heads of passers-by remains the world’s largest planetarium.

Photos: wikipedia, wowamazing

Tycho Brahe Planetarium in Copenhagen, Denmark

The Copenhagen planetarium is named after Tycho Brahe and has a conoid design.

Photo: visitdenmark

City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain, is a huge cultural and educational project. It houses an opera house and one of the world’s best interactive science museums which also includes a planetarium. The building isdesigned in a shape of an oyster with a pearl inside.