The 'Titanic: Designed and Built in Belfast' exhibition journeys into the past through the lens of RJ Welch - who was the official photographer at Harland & Wolff where the legendary liner was built.

The new exhibition, developed with Belfast City Council for the 2008 Titanic Made in Belfast Festival, will open to the public tomorrow (Saturday).

W5 says the exhibition takes a new approach to the tale of the doomed liner, focusing on the wider context of the shipyard's design and craftsmanship of vessels in the run-up to the building of Titanic.

Photographs uncover the scale of the shipyard, the environment in which men worked and the variety of crafts that led to the design and build of ships prior to Olympic 400 and Titanic 401.

A spokesman said: "The exhibition also looks at the ambition of Lord Pirrie and his management team to produce the largest ships in the world.

"At a time when competition for the transatlantic market was cut-throat, White Star Line's rivals Cunard looked poised to capture the market through speed.

" The designs of Olympic and Titanic were conceived to provide the traveller, especially the first class passenger, with comfort and luxury.

" The images show the increasing degrees of luxury and passenger comfort of the ships over this time. Harland & Wolff knew about luxury and this was evident from the splendour of the ships such as the Oceanic II and Briton, built some 10 years before Olympic and Titanic, to the gymnasia and swimming pools, which offered on-board distraction for wealthy travellers."

Some of the original images of Titanic and Olympic were damaged in an air raid on the yard during World War Two, but photographs from other ships, especially Titanic's 'sisters', Olympic and Britannic, provide an insight into the Titanic story.

"In many ways the most striking aspect of this new exhibition is the sense it gives of Belfast's industrial history and heritage," the spokesman said.

"This is brought to life with three short film and audio clips starting with key historic elements, including the creation of Harland & Wolff and its links with the White Star Line, followed by dramatised overview of the building, launch and fitting-out of Titanic.

"These stories are told through the experiences of Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland & Wolff, and Artie Frost, a foreman fitter and a member of the nine-man Guarantee Group chosen to sail with the ship, and finally the tragic events, first hand accounts and theories of the sinking.

"The exhibition will also offer an interactive element where visitors can access information on the BBC Newsline's new 'Titanic Journey' website as well as the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum's 'Titanic Built in Belfast' site.

"The images and memories of Belfast's golden age of shipbuilding add depth and context to the overall Titanic story and it is this collection of memories that has been the key to the ship's eternal appeal for generations, and will remain so for generations to come."

Titanic: Designed and Built in Belfast, from March 1-30, 2008, free with admission to W5.