Oh, not you too… you may think. Well, yes, I’m kind of joining the ever growing army of people commemorating the centenary of the magnificent Titanic. I’m also doing it from a slightly different perspective. Architecture.
The centenary has given us two beautiful museums. The Titanic House has just opened in Belfast, Northern Ireland where Titanic first touched the water in 1912. The museum is designed by Eric R. Kuhne and it’s a very clever amalgamation of two distinctive themes: ships and icebergs. The texture of the white section is also a great success.
As far as the interior is concerned, the central part of the building is a modernised copy of the original ship’s 1st Class staircase. Kuhne’s project has cost £100 million to build.
The other architectural delight is not that far away from me – it’s the SeaCity Museum in Southampton. It will officially open on April 10 – the same day the ship departed from Southampton 100 years ago.
In monetary expression, the SeaCity is more modest – just £15 million were required to convert and extend the old Magistrates courts and Police head quarters. It was partly funded by lottery money and displays a great example of joining an old building with a new ultra-modern extension
In the meantime, let’s remember all the people who were lost in the sea! Although the majority of the commemorative events will take place on April 15 (the day the ship sank), there are plenty of interesting events around that date. Check your local news and visit http://www.titanicheritagetrust.org.uk/2012eventscal.htm for a good list of Titanic events.
