Titanic Belfast

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Titanic Belfast

County Down


View of the main entrance and sign to Titanic Belfast
Type: Museum
Location
Grid reference: J35097534
Location: 54°36’30"N, 5°54’35"W
City: Belfast
History
Built 2009 – 2012
By: Eric Kuhne and Associates
Museum
Information
Website: titanicbelfast.com

Titanic Belfast is a museum visitor attraction in the docklands of Belfast. Opened in 2012, it is a monument to Belfast's maritime heritage.

The building stands beside the River Lagan (on the Downshire side of the river) on the site of the former Harland & Wolff shipyard. This is now Belfast’s ‘Titanic Quarter’, named because it is where the RMS Titanic was built.

The attraction tells the stories of the Titanic, which hit an iceberg and sank during her maiden voyage]] in 1912, and her sister ships RMS Olympic and HMHS Britannic. The building contains some 130,000 square feet of floor space, most of which is occupied by a series of galleries, private function rooms and community facilities, plus the addition of Hickson’s Point destination bar in March 2018.

History

Titanic Belfast seen in context from the front

The building is located on Queen's Island, an area of land at the entrance of Belfast Lough which was reclaimed from the water in the mid-19th century. It was used for many years by the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff, who built huge slipways and graving docks to accommodate the simultaneous construction of the Olympic and Titanic. The decline of shipbuilding in Belfast left much of the area derelict. Most of the disused structures on the island were demolished. A number of heritage features were given listed status, including the Olympic and Titanic slipways and graving docks, as well as the iconic Samson and Goliath cranes.[1]

The derelict land was renamed the "Titanic Quarter" in 2001 and was earmarked for regeneration.[2] Development rights over 185 acres was subsequently bought by Harcourt Developments at a cost of £47 million, with 23 more acres set aside for a science park. The redevelopment plans included houses, hotels and entertainment amenities plus a maritime heritage museum and science centre.[3] In 2005, plans were announced to build a museum dedicated to Titanic to attract tourists to the area, with the aim of completing it by 2012 to mark the centenary of the ship's maiden voyage and sinking.[4]

A number of ideas were put forward for the attraction. Among ideas considered were reconstructing the massive Arrol Gantry in which Titanic and Olympic were constructed,[4] or building an illuminated wire frame outline of Titanic in the dock in which she was fitted out.[5] In June 2008, details of a project  – known then as the "Titanic Signature Project" – were announced.[6] and funding was pledged from taxpayers’ money, Belfast City Council and others with the rest intended to come from private investment]]. The task of creating the visitor attraction was taken on by Harcourt Developments, who enlisted the help of the American architect Eric Kuhne and British exhibition designers Event Communications.

The building, now known as Titanic Belfast, was expected to attract 425,000 visitors annually. It was intended to serve a transformational function as a focus for the regeneration of the city.[7] It forms part of the Titanic–related heritage sites in Titanic Quarter, including the disused headquarters and drawing offices of Harland & Wolff, the SS Nomadic – the last surviving White Star Line ship – and Hamilton Dock, Titanic’s Dock and Pump house and the Titanic and Olympic slipways.[8]

First year visitor numbers significantly exceeded projections, with 807,340 visitors passing through its doors, of whom most were from outside Northern Ireland. In 2015 there were 625,000 visitors.[9] and in 2017/18, 841,563 people visited, with 84% from outside Ulster.[10]

Design and construction

Titanica in front of Titanic Belfast

Eric Kuhne and Associates were commissioned as concept architects, with Todd Architects appointed as lead consultants. The building's design is intended to reflect Belfast's history of shipmaking and the industrial legacy bequeathed by Harland & Wolff. Its angular form recalls the shape of ships' prows, with its main "prow" angled down the middle of the Titanic and Olympic slipways towards the River Lagan.[7] Closer resemblance to the other player in the drama has resulted in local folk nicknaming it "The Iceberg".[11] Most of the building's façade is clad in 3,000 individual silver anodised aluminium shards.[8] It stands 126 feet high; the same height as Titanic’s hull.[11]

View looking down into the atrium

The interior of the eight-storey building provides 130,000 square feet of space.[7] Its centrepiece is a series of interpretive galleries exploring aspects of the building, design, sinking and legacy of Titanic. On the top floor of the museum is Belfast's largest conference and reception space, the Titanic Suite, a banqueting facility capable of seating 750 people. A reproduction of the original staircase on the Titanic, made famous by the James Cameron film Titanic in 1997, is located in this conference centre. The building also provides education, community, retail and restaurant facilities plus a community resource centre.[12]

The construction of the building cost £77 million with an additional £24 million spent on pre-planning, enabling works, underground car park and public realm enhancements. The foundations to the building involved one of the country's largest-ever concrete pours with 923,870.5 gallons (4,200.0 m³) of concrete delivered by 700 concrete lorries in 24 hours. Harcourt Construction (NI) Ltd oversaw the design and building phase of the project.,[8] a subsidiary of Dublin-based property development company Harcourt Developments Ltd.[12]

In front of the building is Titanica, a sculpture by Rowan Gillespie depicting a diving female figure. Made of bronze, it is mounted on a brass base, evoking the design of figureheads on ships' prows, and is meant to represent hope and positivity, and not a drowning pasenger.

Hickson’s Point

Opened in March 2018, the destination bar aims to resemble an authentic 1900s Belfast pub. The name of the space is inspired by Robert Hickson, one of the first shipbuilders in Belfast.

Rooms of Museum

The exhibition was designed by London-based exhibition designers Event Communications and consists of nine interpretative and interactive galleries, covering the following themes:

Ticket booths
  • Boomtown Belfast – the city at the start of the 20th century

The first gallery recreates scenes from Belfast at the time of Titanic’s construction in 1909–11. It illustrates the city's major industries before leading through an original set of gates from the Harland and Wolff shipyard into an interactive floor presenting Titanic’s construction plans, along with original drawings and scale models of the ship.[13]

  • The Shipyard – a ride aboard a mini-car up and around a replica of Titanic’s rudder

The second gallery is dominated by a steel scaffold standing 65.6 feet (20.0 m), which alludes to the Arrol Gantry built to aid the construction of Titanic and Olympic. The actual gantry was four times the height of the gallery's representation.[14] A lift carries visitors to the top of the gantry, where scenes of shipbuilding are displayed through audio and images. The visit continues on a six-seater car which takes the visitor on a ride through a recreation of a shipyard which moves through a scale replica of Titanic’s enormous rudder.[13]

  • The Launch – how Titanic was launched on 31 May 1911

The Launch gallery portrays scenes from the Spring day when Titanic was launched into Belfast Lough, watched by 100,000 people. It overlooks the slipway from which Titanic was launched and a window enables visitors to see the slipways and docks as they appear now.[13]

  • The Fit-Out – the fitting-out of Titanic from her launch through to April 1912

The fourth gallery presents a large-scale model of Titanic to illustrate how the ship appeared to its passengers and crew, depicting all three classes of cabins. A central feature in the gallery presents a 360-degree computer-generated tour around Titanic through all the levels of the vessel, from the engine room to the dining saloons and the bridge.[13]

  • The Maiden Voyage – the journey from Belfast to Southampton, and from there to Cherbourg, Cobh and westwards

The ship's disastrous maiden voyage is depicted in the fifth gallery, which depicts the ship's boat deck. Visitors can walk across the wooden deck, sit on benches or look out at a view across the docks and harbour. The gallery also presents photographs of the ship by the Jesuit photographer Francis Browne, who was aboard Titanic for the leg from Southampton to Queenstown (Cobh) in on the south coast of Ireland.[13]

  • The Sinking – the disaster of 14/15 April 1912

The sixth gallery portrays the sinking of the Titanic with the background sound of Morse code SOS messages being sent to other ships. Images of the sinking are combined with audio of survivors telling their stories and illustrations of the confused press reporting of the disaster. The iceberg is evoked by a wall of 400 replica life-jackets, on which an image of the sinking ship is projected.[13]

  • The Aftermath – the legacy of the disaster

The aftermath of the sinking is documented in the seventh gallery, which is dominated by a full-size replica of one of the lifeboats used to evacuate passengers from the ship. The American and British inquiries into the disaster are portrayed on either side of the lifeboat through videos and information panels. Visitors can use interactive screens to search the passenger and crew lists to find out if one of their relatives was aboard the ship. The gallery also presents information on the subsequent histories of Harland and Wolff and Titanic’s sister ships.[13]

  • Myths & Legends – the facts behind some of the stories about the Titanic

The disaster gave rise to numerous legends and myths, perpetuated through films, plays, books and poems. Visitors are able to explore aspects of the RMS Titanic in popular culture|popular culture inspired by Titanic. Interactive screens also enable the visitor to explore myths about the ship.[13]

  • Titanic Beneath – about the wreck of the Titanic and its rediscovery

The last gallery presents Titanic as she is now, 12,000 feet below the surface of the North Atlantic. Presented in conjunction with the discoverer of the wreck, Dr Robert Ballard, the gallery illustrates his expeditions to the ship through footage, audio and images. A fish-eye view of the wreck is set under the glass floor. Below the floor is the Ocean Exploration Centre, Titanic Belfast's principal educational facility, which shows marine biology and exploration in Ulster's coastal waters as well as Ballard's various expeditions around the world.[13]

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Titanic Belfast)

References

  1. ↑ DOENI Case bajssdy.
  2. ↑ Macalister 6 February 2001.
  3. ↑ Cowan & Gow 13 April 2002.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arendt 5 May 2005.
  5. ↑ Peterkin 19 October 2005.
  6. ↑ McHugh 19 June 2008.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 McConnell Oct–Nov 2010.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Belfast Telegraph 15 April 2011.
  9. ↑ Choat, Isabel (6 September 2016). "Take the kids to … Titanic Belfast". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/sep/06/titanic-belfast-family-holidays-day-trips-northern-ireland. 
  10. ↑ "Titanic Belfast named world's best tourist attraction at Tourism Oscars". Belfast Telegraph. 2 December 2016. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/titanic-belfast-named-worlds-best-tourist-attraction-at-tourism-oscars-35263608.html. Retrieved 15 May 2019. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ediss 15 April 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 McGonagle 19 April 2011.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 Dougan 2 April 2012.
  14. ↑ Choat, Isabel (6 September 2016). "Take the kids to … Titanic Belfast". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/sep/06/titanic-belfast-family-holidays-day-trips-northern-ireland. 
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