The theses that follow, focusing on special and futuristic boat designs or scenarios, are made by students as the final step of their degree program, just before entering the various professional realities.
In the University of Genoa‘s degree program undergraduates discuss an original paper of a scientific and technical nature, developed under the guidance of a faculty advisor (and possible co-advisors) with great freedom of ideas. They thus demonstrate that they have achieved awareness of the topics covered, attained analytical and synthesis skills, critical sense, autonomy of judgment, and possess written, graphic, and oral expressive skills in both expository and logical-argumentative directions.
THE THREE SELECTED THESES
The idea conceived by Emilio Gallo in the first work presented, “Sanlorenzo SX150Art,” is that of an exhibition space for Art Basel: a sailing contemporary art museum, based on the vision of a Sanlorenzo SX grown to 110 feet.
“Future Scenarios,” the thesis of Andrea Oselin and Elisa Perrone, hypothesizes a modular tessellation system that allows flexible and reversible transformations, different customizations up to even changes in the face and mood of the craft.
In “Searvice: in port as well as in roadstead,” Giulia Ferrara and Francesca Puzziello envision an innovative on-the-sea delivery business: a start-up to support nautical tourism that can fill gaps in services currently available.
“Exhibition Yacht for Art Basel, Sanlorenzo SX150Art.”
- Thesis: Emilio Gallo
- Supervisor: Prof. Massimo Musio-Sale
This project was guided by the desire to conceive of an environment in which artworks could innovatively express their function as social glue while retaining a distinctive note of uniqueness associated with the nautical environment.
The focus was on creating an exhibition space that could harmonize the needs of the art world with yachting-related environments and languages.
Changing dynamics
The development of the concept was guided by preliminary research on the situation of the art market before and during the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indeed, the growing orientation toward mass forms of exhibition has been called into question in the pandemic period: the dynamics of selling and showing artworks have changed, and there has been a growing interest in digitization and innovation in general. The trend now seems to be to explore solutions that incorporate some of these elements in the return to large, post-pandemic trade shows.
Art e boating
From this starting point, the in-depth study of current needs involving one of the most prestigious art fairs in the world began: Art Basel.
In order to meet these needs through a nautical approach, research has turned toward the relationship between the nautical and the art world in general, exploring the practical manifestations of this connection over the past decades.
Increasingly robust partnerships
Special interest was paid to the well-established connection between the Sanlorenzo shipyard and the Art Basel fair, as well as the path of increasingly robust partnerships that have inspired the design focus. With the patronage of the shipyard’s style director, Sergio Buttiglieri, and the assistance of Professors Massimo Musio-Sale (University of Genoa) and Janine King (Florida International University), a 150-foot-long model from Sanlorenzo’s SX range was conceptualized.
This yacht, recognizable as the flagship of the range but innovative in functionality, has been designed with an open space layout and all the necessary spaces to serve as an exclusive multifunctional area for Art Basel events around the world. In addition to being a navigating exhibition space for traditional art collections, the vessel is designed as a place to project digital works such as NFT on holographic media or through videomapping, thus integrating artistic innovation with cutting-edge technology.
“Future Scenarios”
- Thesis: Andrea Oselin, Elisa Perrone
- Supervisor: Prof. Maria Elisabetta Ruggiero
The revolution introduced by an ever-increasing trend toward the adoption of loose furniture aboard yachts and pleasure ships has brought the dimension of sailing closer to that of civilian living. In doing so, it has disrupted the use of these spaces, involving the elimination of certain geometric constraints that conditioned the arrangement of furniture surfaces.
The design driver
The question that became a binding design driver, as characteristic of any radical innovation process involving semi-industrialized processes, was the drive for optimization.
In the present case, surfaces have become a tool of expression by imposing a non-binding matrix with maximum versatility; this, as a direct consequence, lays the foundation for a new design process and dialogues with a changing world, aiming for sustainability not only of materials but of the entire life cycle of products.
Lighten the refit industry
Environmental awareness is taking concrete steps to nurture the exponentially growing reuse market for hulls close to disposal. How? Introducing a tool that would relieve the refit sector, now close to saturation, whose staggering costs and increasingly contracted timelines too often result in major decreases in quality downstream of processing without resulting in effective evolution of the ship system.
The details of the developed system
The Master’s thesis titled “Future Scenarios” recounts the development of a modular tessellation system geared toward the removability of naval interiors and furnishings through flexible and reversible transformations, allowing the vessel to be imagined as a bed, undone and remade according to temporary and non-temporary needs, with its own wardrobe at its disposal.
The application lends itself to a greater extent on board vessels longer than 35 m, to the strategic advantage of designers, shipyards and actors involved in the process: it exploits the infinite potential of a flexible system as it is modular and parametrically designed, allowing the perceptual, formal, and material transformation of an environment in a few hours.
The added value
Crucial was the involvement, right from the conception stages, of Flou SpA: a company that sets a standard in the furniture and textile market, possessing the key skills for product conception aware of the product sectors it involves.
The added value, to the revolution of the design, construction, and application process, is the experience offered: to sail on a ship capable of changing face and mood, personalized and transformable, versatile in both furnishings and layout, capable of expressing its soul also through the integration of natural and artificial light, while respecting the needs and in the rhythms of a shipowner who today demands a ship capable of leading an industry that instead, historically, has always chased the market.
“Searvice: in port as in roadstead. Designing a start-up to support nautical tourism”
- Thesis: Giulia Ferrara, Francesca Puzziello
- Supervisor: Prof. Massimo Musio-Sale, Assistant supervisor: Prof. Paolo Nazzaro
The main purpose of this paper was to identify the needs of the nautical tourist and assess the gaps in an industry that has experienced significant growth rates in recent years but has failed to replicate such a trend in the areas of innovation and digitization.
Specifically, the objective of the thesis is to design a start-up that provides a system of services to the nautical tourist who stops at the roadstead, through the development of a boat designed according to the needs of the business.
Manage services and orders
Ordering and delivery services, which are widespread throughout Italy on land and offered by an increasing number of players, are still very limited in the nautical arena. Searvice’s idea, therefore, is to replicate the success of these start-ups through an easy-to-use platform that allows people to receive a range of services directly on board that can make the boating vacation experience more comfortable.
The start-up “Searvice – in port as well as in roadstead” divides the services offered into two macro-categories: Basic and Premium:
- the “Basic” category includes services that involve booking an order and receiving the product on board (food and grocery delivery, rent toys, garbage, post-delivery, pharmacy and equipment);
- the “Premium” category involves booking a professional figure who can expand the onboard experience (worker, chef, beauty, bartender, photographer).
These services aim to maintain the established habit of online ordering and, at the same time, create a point of reference for tourists in their time of need.
Delivery catamaran
Through the online platform and dedicated app it will be possible to receive orders and ship them to users using the Searvice Boat: a catamaran having a length of 7.90 m, width of 4.60 m equipped with electric propulsion, batteries, photovoltaic panels, and a drone for small deliveries.
On the vessel, the areas of predominant importance are the loading and unloading areas, located near the mooring areas, and The Hub, which is its beating heart: a space designed to stow all orders. Its central location is strategic in delivery, as it is easily accessible from all sides. Its volume has been divided into smaller departments according to the type of order, and their color scheme is inspired by cargo ships.
Screen prints depicting the icons of the various services have been made on the doors of the boxes so as to make onboard operations more intuitive. The boxes are interchangeable with each other, which gives the possibility to change the hub setting according to the most received requests. All these considerations justify the decision to create a boat from scratch, as certain details are required for the delivery of these services.
Respect for the environment
The startup also pays special attention to respecting and protecting the environment. In fact, it is not limited to exclusive customer satisfaction; it also aims to provide a benefit to the environment and non-boating businesses.
Indeed, think of the environmental benefits of reduced travel by private boats in the harbor area, the presence of a well-organized waste collection service, and the possibility of partner companies to expand their market by getting in touch with customers on the sea. This initiative, finally, stands as a vision of a digital future on the sea.
It is one of the University of Genoa’s degree programs and is subordinate to the Architecture and Design Department. The main venue is the University’s La Spezia Campus; the Coordinator is Prof. Maria Carola Morozzo della Rocca e di Bianzè.
The Degree Course lasts two years and has a limited number of students (40 students, 4 of whom are from outside the EU); after an entrance exam, holders of a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Design and Architectural Science, or other degrees as long as they have 45 CFUs in certain SSDs on the plan or, finally, an equivalent Italian or foreign degree; knowledge of a European Union language is required.
The training course
The objects of study range from luxury yachts, in which sensitivities to contemporary languages are relevant, to the interior design of cruise ships, from performance craft (sail or motor) to concept design for new modes of water transportation, to the restoration or refitting of existing units beyond accessory and component design.
Through multidisciplinary training, skills are developed: of integrated design of aesthetic, formal, functional qualities of nautical products; of design control of series and one-off production processes; of strategic project management through integrated market scenario evolution forecasting; of project and product content communication.
More technical aspects are also studied: float geometry, fluid dynamics, structural sizing, space distribution, appendage design, and the choice of propulsion systems and apparatus.
Learning by doing
Design experience, application labs, and workshops are the basis of the “learning by doing” principle: sharing projects developed along the way with professionals or companies in the field, three-dimensional modeling skills, 3D printing and prototyping are the basis of the working philosophy.
Activities such as university regattas, educational cruises, training internships in shipyards or professional firms, and overseas experiences round out the range of activities undertaken.
Sectors of employment
The areas of employment are: designer in the technical offices of shipyards, studios, or design companies developing accessories for the industry; designer of exteriors or interiors of ships and pleasure craft as freelancers; production coordinator in shipyards; designer of the rehabilitation, redevelopment, and maintenance of existing vessels; contract designer for cruise ships; entrepreneurial opportunities of various kinds to which graduates can aspire. The employment rate is very high both nationally and internationally, reaching 90 percent within one year after graduation.
