Bristol firms are being encouraged to back Being Brunel, the major project in the city to create a national centre of excellence celebrating the life, work and mind of Britain’s most famous engineer.
Being Brunel will include a unique public museum and visitor experience dedicated to Isambard Kingdom Brunel and will be developed in buildings alongside the ss Great Britain – one of the greatest engineering feats of its time. 
It is expected to attract more than 200,000 visitors a year and provide an annual £1m boost to tourism in Bristol – a city that also boasts two of Brunel’s other famous creations, the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bristol Temple Meads station.
Brunel remains a towering figure in Bristol and his inspiration lives on in its advanced engineering sector as well as its world-beating tech, environmental and creative industries.
Businesses in these sectors are now being targeted to join an exclusive Corporate Club to support Being Brunel and help contribute towards the additional £600,000 needed to complete the £7.1m project, which has already received Heritage Lottery funding.
Membership – which is limited to 15 member firms – gives businesses the opportunity to invite guests and employees to go on board the ss Great Britain after the crowds have gone in a series of exclusive events leading up to the museum’s opening, as well as giving them recognition within the museum.
Businesses to have joined so far include engineering giant Renishaw, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers, Hollandia UK, SMC Global Ltd, property developer Wapping Wharf and Stannah.
Membership prices are from £1,000 through £5,000 to £10,000 with different levels of benefits.
Staff from these firms were invited this week to the first gathering of the Being Brunel Corporate Club, giving them the chance to see the plans and images relating to the initiative, with entertainment and refreshments provided as part of an ‘after hours’ museum experience.
The project is being steered by the ss Great Britain Trust – the heritage charity that cares for the historic ship – and represents one of its largest and most exciting projects since the vessel itself was salvaged and returned to Bristol as a rusting hulk in 1970.
Trust director of development Louisa Pharoah said: “Our first Being Brunel Corporate Club event was a fantastic opportunity for the ss Great Britain Trust to thank the local businesses that have thrown their support behind a project that is hugely significant not just for the ss Great Britain, but for the city of Bristol as a whole.
“This initiative is going to put the city on the map as a national hub for all things Brunel, drawing in new visitors to the region and inspiring the next generation of engineers.”
Work is set to begin in 2016 on enhancing dockside buildings within which the new museum will be housed, recreating the look of the Victorian harbourside of Brunel’s day and paving the way for his significant legacy to be protected and harnessed for future generations.
Being Brunel will invite the public to immerse themselves in the engineer’s life and times, learn about his mistakes and celebrate his successes, as his story is brought vividly to life with never-before-seen personal possessions, documents and artefacts.
The new museum will give unprecedented access to artefacts from the National Brunel Collection – currently cared for inside the Archive Vault of the Brunel Institute at the ss Great Britain Trust. The national collection includes over 14,000 items from the University of Bristol Brunel Collection, the Clive Richards Brunel Collection and the ss Great Britain Trust Collection. Being Brunel will hold and exhibit the collections for the nation with items of international importance going on public display for the first time.
For more information about Being Brunel, visit ssgreatbritain.org/beingbrunel
