IWhat is the Dome about?

The Millennium experience will take place on a 181-acre (1 acre » 0.5 hectare) site on the North Greenwich peninsula bounded on three sides by the River Thames. It is part of a 300-acre former gasworks which had been derelict for more than two decades and was the largest undeveloped site on the River Thames.

The dome at Greenwich, conceived as "an international icon and the largest building of its kind in the world", is to be the centerpiece of the UK's millennium celebrations.

The Dome will be over 50 meters in height with a diameter of over 300 meters. It will have the capacity for 40,000 people and around 100,000 visitors a day are expected (12 million a year). Capable of accommodating almost two Wembley Stadiums or 13 Royal Albert Halls, it would cover the whole of Trafalgar Square and the surrounding buildings.

The opening ceremony, on 31 December 1999, promises to be spectacular. On that night, visitors will discover exhibits and attractions about British ideas and technology, all based on the following theme: what are the choices facing humankind in the 21st century and beyond ?

The Dome’s performance arena will be the setting for the central experience: a show with live performers and stunning visual effects repeated throughout the day. The different zones will be arranged around it, under the all-weather exhibition environment provided by the dome. Each zone will contain multilevel pavilions representing a different aspect of time. Detailed plans are currently being developed by the exhibition designers.

The Exhibition site will comprise: the Millennium Dome, Meridian Point, Meridian Gardens, Millennium Park, the Millennium River Walk, The Millennium Plaza, public transport facilities, including the Jubilee Line extension underground station at Greenwich North, bus/underground interchange, river piers and boat services, coach parking, and park and ride services from off-site car parks.

1. Key Facts and Figures

    

The Millennium Park and Lakes: a new open public space linking the Exhibition site to the proposed development areas to the south of the Peninsula.

Meridian Point: lying directly on the Greenwich Meridian, it will provide the focal point of the Millennium Gardens. It will be the home of a wide variety of events during the Millennium year. Millennium Point encompasses a landing stage, performance arena and other facilities.

Meridian Gardens: located between Meridian Point and the Millennium Dome, Meridian Gardens will provide a gateway to the Exhibition for visitors arriving by boat and a dramatic backdrop to Millennium Point.

The Millennium River Walk: a new riverside walk will extend the full length of the site providing vistas over the river down towards the Thames Barrier.

The Millennium Plaza: it will be the main entrance to the Exhibition for visitors arriving by underground, coaches, buses and by river. The Plaza will also provide a location for performance areas and other visitor facilities.

Jubilee Line Station: the new station on the Jubilee Line will open in 1998 and it will provide direct access to the site from central and east London. The new station is the largest underground station ever constructed. It will take 12 minutes from central London by tube to get there; the tube should be capable of delivering 22,000 people an hour into the site.

The construction: it will span a period of approximately 2.5 years until Autumn 1999. The overall cash budget for the project is £758M as agreed by the Government and the Millennium Commission in January 1997 and confirmed in June 1997. The cost of the dome alone is £260M. The Millennium Experience will create over 5,000 jobs at the Exhibition and over 2,000 jobs in the construction phase.

Richard Rogers is undoubtedly one of the greatest contemporary architects in the London. His highly individual and recognizable style came to public attention through buildings such as the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Lloyds Building in the City of London. Currently responsible for the Millennium Dome, you can surf this site for information about the Richard Rogers Partnership and also about other projects his team are currently working on.