Brunel also became involved in designing ships for transatlantic shipping. His boat, The Great Western was at the time the largest steam ship in the world and first sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1837.

Brunel was a man of boundless energy and ideas who was said to sleep only 4 hours each night. He died at the age of 53 from a stroke and kidney failure.

During the Crimean War, Brunel developed the pre-fabricated army hospital to allow the troops to get hygienic, easy-to-use aid closer to where they were fighting. The first of these was erected in 1855 and had space for 1,000 beds. He designed the hospital in response to a letter to the War Office from Florence Nightingale asking for extra aid.