100 years ago today, the completed hull of the RMS Titanic left the cradle of the Arrol Gantry and took to the water for the first time.
Launching a vessel over 882 feet long and weighing 24,360 tons was no small feat, with 15 tons of tallow, 3 tons of soft soap, and 5 tons of train oil and tallow mix being required to ease her stern-first slide into the Lagan.
Once safely afloat, the mighty hull was towed to the deepwater wharf where she would be fitted-out as a liner of unparalleled luxury and comfort.
A service of commemoration will take place today to mark this momentous moment in the life of the liner, on the very site of the Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast.
Led by Chris Bennett, chaplain of Belfast's Titanic Quarter development, it will include a moment's silence for the 1,517 people who lost their lives upon the liner's maiden voyage; an event that was to make Titanic's tale such a poignant mix of triumph and tragedy.
As a symbolic flare is launched at 12:13 BST, the precise hour of the launch, it's glow will be reflected in the partially-plated hull of the Titanic Signature Project: a concrete reminder that this Irish engineering achievement is not forgotten.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/31/titanic-centenary-belfast
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/uk-northern-ireland-13602851
Background
CivicArts / Eric R. Kuhne and Associates is a research and design firm founded in 1983 as an international design consultancy dedicated to the reintegration of architecture, landscape and the civic arts. With projects in North America, Europe, Australasia and the Middle East, Eric R. Kuhne and Associates is renowned for its efforts to build great civic spaces in retail, leisure, commercial office, waterfronts, public buildings, parks and gardens. Each project claims a significant restoration of the story-telling qualities of architecture and the landscape through an aggressive civic arts program.
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