Feature Fireplaces designed, made and installed the furnaces as part of the re-creation of the ss Great Britain’s engine.

Brunel’s ship was the world’s first great ocean liner. Launched in 1843, the ship set new standards in engineering, reliability and speed. She was the world's first large iron ship and the first to be driven by a screw propeller.

The design brief was to recreate the furnaces – hot, realistic, with lots of life. The four stokehole fires provided a highly realistic result, delighting the customer. Mirror stainless steel to give impression of depth and width, to compensate for the limited space available. Traditional coals were rejected as too dark and lifeless, instead we used coloured glass cullet – tumbled lumps of glass 1-2” in diameter - to give maximum light and life to the fires. We used readily available components and worked with the client to make the fires easy to maintain.

• Brunel's ss Great Britain - Winner of the Gulbenkian Prize for Museum of the Year 2006 - the Biggest Arts Prize in the U.K.
• www.ssgreatbritain.org
• Credits for photos to Stephen Lewis, Bristol Evening Post and ss Great Britain Trust