442 completes Britannia's Royal Deck designs
442 Design has completed the design for the new £1.5m Royal Deck Restaurant on board The Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh’s historic port of Leith.
Britannia is a five-star visitor attraction and one of the UK’s premier venues for corporate events. The Royal Deck will be used as a restaurant by visitors to Britannia during the day and extend the range and size of corporate events that can be hosted on board in the evenings.
The new space has been created by a slim steel truss which frames glass walls and supports a timber-paneled ceiling. A tensile fabric canopy stretches over the structure, replicating the original awning that would have been in place on the Royal Deck when Her Majesty The Queen entertained on board Britannia.
The original teak deck has been refurbished and a new bar and galley created to cater for guests. All galley extract is drawn through the original ship’s funnel. The existing passenger lift has been extended to the upper deck area to enable ease of access between decks.
Bob Downie, chief executive of The Royal Yacht Britannia, said: “This is a major and very exciting development; bringing the Royal Deck back into use embraces Britannia’s past in order to preserve a future for others to enjoy."
Kevin Rettie, creative director of interiors at 442 Design, added: “This was a challenging and highly prestigious project to work on. We hope we have achieved the balance between adding something striking and elegant with a unique atmosphere and importantly something that complements the original design.”
The Royal Deck is available for corporate entertaining now, and will open as a Restaurant at the end of March 2009.