Among the lottery-funded projects which have proved less of an instant success are the Millennium Dome, Millennium Bridge and Glasgow Science Centre Tower.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Lottery's finest to mark 10 years

The resident mage is a student of astronomy and planetary science, so I decided the tower should have its own Foucault pendulum, attached to the 7th floor ceiling and swinging freely through open spaces in each floor below.

FORBES: This Is What It Looks Like When Game Design Gets Geeky

The 60-acre site is currently undergoing a major transformation and is home to the Glasgow Science Centre, Imax Cinema, the Millennium Tower and Pacific Quay Developments' business park.

BBC: Artist's impression of Pacific Quay bridge

Across the river, the following decade, Gustave Eiffel began work on his monumental iron tower as an emblem of industry and science.

ECONOMIST: The Dreyfus affair: Pointing fingers | The

The tower, which forms part of the Glasgow Science Centre complex in Govan, was opened in a blaze of publicity in 2001.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Scotland | Glasgow and West | Troubled science tower to reopen

The site is one of three acres that will eventually contribute to the three-tower, 1.1 million-square foot complex called Alexandria Center for Life Science.

FORBES: Meet Manhattan's Stalled Construction Site-Turned-Urban Farm

Two decades ago, conservatives liked to argue that the ivory tower had put academics out of touch with reality, and that conservatism had reason and science on its side.

FORBES: Conservatives' Reality Problem