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A new building is currently pushing its way towards the sky in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.
Drive over the Lagan Bridge or along the historic Queen’s Road in the heart of the former shipyard2 and you will see a stunning piece of architecture coming to life. The new Titanic visitor attraction is creating excitement amongst the tourist trade and the public.
It is no accident that the time it will take to construct is a mirror of RMS3 Titanic’s build. Nor is it coincidental that the shape of architect, Eric Kuhne’s ultra-modern building resembles the hulls of four ships. The building is in the same spot where the famous ship was built by Belfast shipbuilder Harland and Wolff 100 years ago. The scale of the building will mimic the actual size of the ship.
The building is clad in metal shards4 and when the light plays on them it looks like the movement of water. From above, the building resembles a white star, the symbol of Titanic’s operators.5 When finished, the visitor attraction will be surrounded by public realm, including reflecting pools and a trail which will take the visitor on a journey through Belfast’s industrial past.
Belfast has been slow to tell Titanic’s story from its point of view. It has taken nearly 100 years for the fate of the “practically unsinkable” ship to be reconciled in the minds of the city which built her. She was sent out with such pride and yet less than two weeks after leaving her home, she was at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While other cities around the world, some with strong Titanic connections and some with no connection at all, have built attractions, Belfast has lagged behind, almost uncertain of what to do with the story. In 2011 and 2012, the city is at a stage where it can celebrate the achievement of engineering which Titanic represents as well as telling some of the unknown stories of the men who built her and sailed on her.
Drive over the Lagan Bridge or along the historic Queen’s Road in the heart of the former shipyard2 and you will see a stunning piece of architecture coming to life. The new Titanic visitor attraction is creating excitement amongst the tourist trade and the public.
It is no accident that the time it will take to construct is a mirror of RMS3 Titanic’s build. Nor is it coincidental that the shape of architect, Eric Kuhne’s ultra-modern building resembles the hulls of four ships. The building is in the same spot where the famous ship was built by Belfast shipbuilder Harland and Wolff 100 years ago. The scale of the building will mimic the actual size of the ship.
The building is clad in metal shards4 and when the light plays on them it looks like the movement of water. From above, the building resembles a white star, the symbol of Titanic’s operators.5 When finished, the visitor attraction will be surrounded by public realm, including reflecting pools and a trail which will take the visitor on a journey through Belfast’s industrial past.
Belfast has been slow to tell Titanic’s story from its point of view. It has taken nearly 100 years for the fate of the “practically unsinkable” ship to be reconciled in the minds of the city which built her. She was sent out with such pride and yet less than two weeks after leaving her home, she was at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. While other cities around the world, some with strong Titanic connections and some with no connection at all, have built attractions, Belfast has lagged behind, almost uncertain of what to do with the story. In 2011 and 2012, the city is at a stage where it can celebrate the achievement of engineering which Titanic represents as well as telling some of the unknown stories of the men who built her and sailed on her.