It was here that the plans for the ships were made real. The Loftsmen were geometrists and exacting, they had to be, it was their scale that ruled everyone else’s actions and led to a perfect ship.
To know the future, we have to understand and respect the past. The Loft Lines is located on what was a key part of Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard. This part of the site was where the shipbuilding yard was born, then it grew and spread across the whole of Queen’s Island as business boomed.
The Loft Lines is located on the site of the Mould Loft. This was a large, dry, bright room with an enormous black floor. The shipyard plans were brought here from the drawing office. Every line and curve was drawn in life size in chalk on the black floor. Then timber batons were created as templates and passed on to the platers.
‘Fairing’ the
sharp edges of city
centre living.
Sometimes the more famous draftsmen’s plans were corrected or ‘faired’ by those who knew when a curve or angle wouldn’t work in real life. Likewise, we are ‘fairing’ the sharp edges of city centre living by creating a carefully managed, beautiful place to live, walk, play and meet. The Loft Lines is a part of the city worth sharing.