PIECE by piece, Glasgow's £125million entertainment venue on the banks of the Clyde is nearing completion.

It will be one of the city's most striking buildings, where the world's top music performers will entertain thousands of fans.

And now engineers are putting some of the final touches to the building -including layers of external giant inflated 'foil pillows'.

The hi-tech external cladding on the gigantic circular-shaped structure will allow the building to shimmer in 12.8million different colours.

Hydro bosses said the venue's "unique" exterior has been made possible by using a special film, originally developed by Nasa for the space industry.

The Evening Times was given exclusive access to the 12,000-seater Finnieston venue to capture the latest stage in the development.

John Sharkey, SECC chief executive officer, said: "The unique outer cladding of The SSE Hydro is almost complete.

"One hundred out of 140 'foil pillows' have now been installed and inflated and will allow natural light to illuminate the venue during the day.

"At night, images can be projected onto the surface and LED lights will give The Hydro the ability to 'glow' 12.8m different colours."

When completed, the venue's roof, at its tallest point, will be twice as high as that of Glasgow's Queen Street Station.

Builders can often be seen walking on the roof of the Scottish Hydro Arena, as they put the finishing touches to the building, which will play host to top music, sport and comedy events.

As we previously reported, the 330-tonne central section of the roof was lifted into place last May.

In October, construction workers held a 'topping out' ceremony to celebrate the last bolt being tightened up.

The latest development comes almost six weeks after a fire ripped through the roof of the under-construction entertainment venue.

However, Hydro bosses are confident the fire-damaged venue will open on time.

They believe the construction project remains on target for Rod Stewart's opening concert in September.

Bosses said that everyone involved in the project has remained "sharply focused" on achieving the original target opening date of September 30.

The fire, which happened on June 8, is thought to have been caused by sparks from welding work on the roof.

The Hydro will be part of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre complex by the Clyde.

In addition to Rod Stewart, artists lined up to play the arena include Jessie J, Fleetwood Mac, The Proclaimers, Bruno Mars, Peter Gabriel and Simple Minds.

The venue will play host to an estimated 140 world-class music, comedy, theatre, sport and family entertainment events each year.

Projections suggest the venue has the potential to generate an extra £131m in revenue for Glasgow.

With an audience of around 1m visitors each year, The Hydro aims to be one of the top five indoor music arenas in the world.

As far as drawing crowds to stellar artists goes, it will rank alongside such famous venues such as New York's Madison Square Garden and London's O2 arena.

rebecca.gray@eveningtimes.co.uk