Australian studio Hassell has concealed an exhibition space for the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, England, beneath a grass-topped dome informed by the site's iconic Lovell Telescope."Designed to protect and enhance views across the site, the pavilion sits seamlessly within the natural setting or the arboretum, where visitors can roam freely with an elevated viewpoint across the parkland," said Hassel.

Jodrell Bank Observatory approached Hassel to transform its visitor experience into a "journey of discovery", with an exhibition space that celebrates the site's heritage and traces the history of radio astronomy and astrophysics.Looking to respect the protected site, the studio hid the entire structure beneath a grass-covered concrete dome. With a diameter of 76.2 metres, it matches the dish of the site's Lovell Telescope – the UK's largest radio telescope.

At the centre of the First Light Pavilion is a large concrete drum containing a 150-seat auditorium and the exhibition space.This is surrounded by a ring of spaces including a cafe, kitchen, classroom, offices and toilets.Two sweeping arc-shaped concrete walls puncture the dome's southern edge to mark the visitor entrance. A slim cut-out in their surface cast a single line of light across the foyer.Similar openings form a service yard to the west and a circular terrace providing external cafe seating to the east. This seating area is aligned with the position in the sky in which the Lovell Telescope first detected the Russian satellite Sputnik in 1957.

For the interior displays, Hassell worked with exhibition designer Casson Mann. The team repurposed sections of one of the telescope's old radar dishes as curved panels for projections.In other spaces, the form of the First Light Pavilion is used to create immersive displays, such as in the auditorium "pod" where a screen follows the curve of the wall, and in the multimedia room where the domed ceiling can be used for night-sky projections.