The stuffy Royal Astronomical Society in Burlington House has lost the capacity to make the subject exciting and relevant to citizens. In this age of popular science, with films and television programmes on the wonders of the universe, what could make more sense than a new astronomical museum and research centre in Regent Street, sitting behind a retained commercial street-front so as to encourage shoppers to drop in? On the preserved façade, various mechanical cast-iron objects pop through to provide echoes of earlier devices like telescopes and orreries, while also alluding to the tradition of rich decorative details in London's older buildings. At the rear, a public garden includes an open-air amphitheatre for the dissemination of the latest astronomical discoveries.
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