Young Designer of the Year Award Winners – Where Are They Now?

Nicolò Piredda, 2018 winner (student category)

Scooping the 2018 student prize "fast-tracked" the career of Nicolò Piredda, who impressed judges with his 60 metre explorer yacht concept Galàna. Piredda went on to complete his coveted three-month internship at Dutch yard Oceanco, which saw him work across various processes such as feasibility, construction, durability and concept development. He has since landed a full time job at superyacht design firm Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design.

Nicolò described winning the award as a “career shortcut”. “As a young designer, I used to dream about getting involved in the superyacht industry and now I’m handling my own projects,” he said. “I couldn’t even imagine being here a year ago.”

Thibaud Le Merdy, 2017 winner (student category)

Design: Comète, 80m motor yacht with tenders

Winning the student category in the 2017 Young Designer of the Year Awards provided an immediate boost to Le Merdy’s career as he was offered a role with Silver Arrows Marine less than 24 hours after the prize giving ceremony. This placement has seen him work on the Mercedes-Benz designed Arrow 460-GT speedboat.

Le Merdy (pictured above at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2017) is currently undertaking a three-month internship with Oceanco — part of his prize — after which he will return to Silver Arrows Marine and continue to develop personal projects. Summing up the past ten months, he told Boat International: “All the hard working that went into my entry for the Young Designer of the Year award was worth it.”

Eric Laurent, 2017 winner (professional category)

Design: Hearsay, 80m motor yacht with tenders

Since he won the professional category at the 2017 Young Designer of the Year Awards, Laurent (pictured above at the World Superyacht Awards 2017) has built new partnerships with architects, engineering firms, captains, designers and brokers. Mainly involved in new builds, his studio Elision Design has also been working on refits, tender designs and production yachts with a particular focus on the 60 to 100 metre market.

Timur Bozca, 2015 winner

Design: Cauta, 55m sailing superyacht with revolutionary Dynarig

The 2015 Young Designer of the Year Award brief called for an innovative design for a hypothetical first-time owner — a couture fashion designer who planned to live aboard and who came with an extremely specific set of requirements for cruising and lifestyle. This was the first year a sailing yacht design was specified, and presented a challenge for the entrants, many of whom lacked significant technical knowledge in the field. But it was young designer Timur Bozca and his striking Cauta design, with her forward-looking exterior style and innovative Dynarig sail plan, that won the day.

Despite receiving several job offers after winning the Neptune, Bozca elected to continue working on his own. Based in Milan, his design studio, Timur Bozca, specialises in both yacht and auto design.

Raphael Laloux, 2014 winner

Design: Symphony, 60m SWATH

Three-time Young Designer of the Year entrant and transportation design student Raphael Laloux had his moment to shine at the 2014 competition, when his innovative SWATH concept Symphony was awarded the Neptune. The 60-metre Symphony received the nod from the judges for being a well-balanced design that met the spec as a world cruising family vessel while introducing innovative features.

Laloux’s career in yacht design began a year prior, when as a finalist at the 2013 ceremony he was offered a job to develop a motor yacht range for Loguer Design. After winning the prize, Laloux joined Philippe Briand’s team and currently works on a variety of projects, from production boats for Beneteau to a 50 metre for Pendennis and an 80 metre Vitruvius with Turquoise Yachts.

Stefano Inglese, 2013 winner

Design: Project Granturismo, 65m motor yacht for the car enthusiast

The brief for the 2013 Young Designer of the Year competition called for a 65-metre motor yacht with long range capability specced for an avid car collector who eschewed formality and traditional expedition vessel styling. It was Italian architectural design graduate Stefano Inglese and his Granturismo design that triumphed over other entrants, particularly for its ‘masculine and stylishly edgy’ exterior design inspired by the GranTurismo sports cars.

After receiving his doctorate in architecture, Ingelese worked in London at an ‘archistar’ office before joining Studio Vafiadis, his family’s design firm, in Rome. Responsible for new concept development, Inglese and his team unveiled a Sport Oceanic line for Columbus Yachts and have a 70 metre project under construction at the builder’s yard in Naples.

Michael Givens, 2011 winner

Design: KT, 76.8m classic fantail motor yacht with modern twist

Timeless elegance was the theme of the year when Michael Givens took home the Neptune for his 76.8 metre concept. Dubbed KT, the winning design perfectly balanced traditional with modern, and featured fantail styling with a long classic sheerline, a beach club, plenty of deck space and a tender garage forward. The narrow hull form coupled with Azipod propulsion promised efficiency for this 1930s-inspired design specced for the first-time yacht owner.

Givens started his career in yacht design, working with Jonathan Quinn Barnett at JQB, Ltd. in Seattle, Washington. After working with Delta Marine and the Delta Design Team for four years, Givens has recently returned to JQB, Ltd. where he has quite a few projects in build, from large yachts to production boats.

Adam Voorhees, 2010 winner

Design: Ra, 66m diesel/electric motor yacht

With an emphasis on multifunctionality and transformability, the winning Young Designer of the Year Award design for 2010 was the 66-metre Ra by California-based post grad, Adam Voorhees — who returned to the competition after being named a finalist in 2009. Inspired by the Egyptian sun god Amun-Ra, the design explored interactions with light to reinforce guests’ connection with the sea. Not only did the concept fully comply with RINA Green Star Plus criteria, it also specified build materials of fully recyclable aluminium and composites.

After his impressive design won him the coveted Neptune, Voorhees unveiled an array of collaborative designs with industry’s leading names. His first superyacht project — the 25-metre sailing yacht Aandeel — launched in 2013. Currently, Voorhees has a variety of design work underway, including a series update with LeBreton Yachts and a Bruce Farr racing yacht refit. Voorhees also teaches at his alma mater, the ArtCenter College of Design, dabbles in residential interior design, is creating a line of outdoor furniture for an American brand, and writes occasionally for Boat International Media’s Megayachts book.

Maila Speitkamp-Thon, 2009 winner

Design: Draconis, 43.6m multihull with low carbon footprint

As the talk of environmental responsibility reached a crescendo in 2009, the second annual Young Designer of the Year competition awarded German industrial design student Maila Speitkamp the coveted Neptune for her design, Draconis. This 43.6-metre luxury catamaran boasted not only a low carbon footprint, but innovative folding sail wings and the ability to transform into a motor yacht as well.

Draconis was the thesis project for Speitkamp’s studies in Industrial Design at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Upon graduation, Speitkamp became a freelance designer working on yacht projects and spent several years lecturing on yacht styling at her alma mater’s Institute of Ship Technology and Transport Systems department. Today, Speitkamp and her husband Adrian Thon run industrial design firm Thon Design, in Essen, Germany, which specialises in machinery and equipment, measuring devices, electro-mobility and smart home appliances, among other applications.

Fadi Pataq, 2008 winner

Design: Pelagia, 70.26m steel/aluminium motor yacht

Words by Rebecca Cahilly

The inaugural Young Designer of the Year competition saw 40 entries from 12 countries, but it was American product design student Fadi Pataq and his 70.26 metre steel and aluminium motor yacht design, Pelagia, who took home the prize. At a time when 70 metre projects were few and far between, Pelagia was not only beautiful and artistic in design, but received a nod for her careful balance of form and function.

Since receiving the Neptune in April 2008, Pataq has worked with Chicago-based information technology firm TZ Intevia, but followed his passion for yacht design when a chance introduction at the Monaco Yacht Show led him to Abu Dhabi Mar. Much of his early work was on military vessels and patrol boats, but Fadi’s first superyacht project was significant — he was responsible for the exterior styling of the the 141-metre Swift141, Yas, one of the ten biggest superyachts in the world. Pataq is currently the Creative Director of Nobiskrug in Germany.

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