Tomorrow’s Superyacht - new designers discuss the future

Innovation fuels revolutionary design and nowhere is this truer than with the new generation of yacht designers. The Annual Young Designers Getaway brings the most inspired of young yacht designers together to meet, network and discuss their thoughts on the future of our industry.

Organized by Bolidt, Esthec, Oceanco and Boat International, this year’s Getaway challenged the attendees to consider the Next Generation superyacht. Over the course of an intense challenge, the designers produced some insightful concepts on which the superyacht of 2025 will be based.

Ready for a glimpse into the future of superyacht design? These three key concepts, and the ideas within them, will underpin the superyacht of the future.

Sustainability

The need to be conscious of environmental impact is fundamental to future design of superyachts.

As one of our young designers, Aristoteles Betsis, highlighted, superyacht owners are conscious of the importance of sustainability, as with all major industries across the world this is an increasingly hot topic. After all, environmental concerns impact us all and the superyacht industry is taking personal responsibility for its own impact.

Using the right materials can have a great impact on sustainability. For example, Bolidt decking systems have a minimal carbon footprint, making them a natural choice for designers with an eye on sustainability.

Yacht designers will also need to consider the life cycle of materials. Filippo Felan was focused on paying attention to reusing materials in interesting and innovative ways. This can be through new applications or even combining different materials together.

The superyacht of 2025 will need to be conceived with an owner-focused empathy. It is our job to design not only what our owners tell us they want, but what they need and what they will want in five or ten years’ time.

The first step in this is to ignore current design trends. What the market is doing now will be dated and have been replaced within the next seven years. As Sena Jinen pointed out, it is our job to predict the next trend and then define it.

Designers will also need to include connectivity as a core need in superyacht design. Owners expect seamless integration with digital devices and services throughout their yachts. Any successful design will need to thread connectivity solutions through the yacht.

Filippo Felan sees that smart materials will also form a core to next generation design. Integration of smart glass will provide user connectivity and interaction on an unprecedented scale.

We will also see sensor and feedback integration into construction materials which will have beneficial implications for security and connectivity for owners.

Beyond integration into the design of the superyacht of the future, we will also need to consider how to make best use of technology itself.

The whole concept of technology as an idea should be reimagined. In place of the functional concept, the new generation of designers will need to consider technology as a material. Lucía Margarita Rábago Mayer of VBH said this is part of the story which the yacht needs to tell. How best to utilize new, existing and re-imagined technology will be the cornerstone of the superyacht of 2025.

Filippo Felan expects that we may also see that the superyacht of 2025 could be crew-less, with functions being completely automated.