SeaCity Museum tells the story of Southampton's maritime heritage and the connection between the city and the Titanic.
2013 RIBA Award, Shortlisted
2013 Civic Trust Award
2012 Solent Design Awards; People’s Choice Award
As a maritime city with a long port history, this part of Southampton's identity – past and present – is almost completely hidden from public view, and the new museum reinforces the city as a cultural destination as it marked the centenary of the Titanic disaster in 2012.
SeaCity Museum tells the story of Southampton's maritime heritage and is housed in the city's Grade II* listed Magistrates' Court, one of the most important 1930s building complexes in the south of England and the first 'civic centre' in the UK.
The project provides 3,105m² of accommodation, 2,000m² of which is exhibition and learning spaces. The new galleries tell the Titanic story from the perspective of the crew and their families using personal objects, documents, photographs and oral history testimony from the collections. The main hall recreates the dockside scene in Southampton as the Titanic prepared to depart.
