The ShowBoats Design Awards seek to reveal – and applaud – innovative-thinking in superyacht design. This can include eco-friendly yachts that are built with a look to protecting the planet, the best new superyacht tenders, or how interior and exterior design can be tied together in holistic design perfection. Innovation can also be seen in the entries for the Young Designer of the Year Award – who are often influenced by the original innovators, those esteemed designers who receive the honour of Lifetime Achievement Award.
ShowBoats Design Awards 2015 – Superyacht Tender and Innovation Award Winners
HOLISTIC DESIGN AWARD – SPONSORED BY: MTN
Winner: Terence Disdale Design for 81.8m Kibo built by Abeking & Rasmussen
The nature and definition of holistic design always spurs a lively discussion and critique among the design professionals on the judges’ panel about all the parts that create the whole. Individual elements of profile or décor they appreciated in other categories sometime create dissonance when viewed as a complete environment. While some projects earned the remark that they looked like two hands struggling for ownership of a single pen, from 11 finalists, Kibo, designed inside and out by Terence Disdale, emerged as the favorite for its “mellowness” and consistency between refinement and form language. Clean colours and space resonated well for the judges who found the total package to be something they could call timeless. The designer’s brief notes the form is created as a skin around interior content of living spaces with cohesive but different ambiances.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AWARD – SPONSORED BY: RINA
Winner: 73m Grace E built by Picchiotti – Perini Navi Group
This prize is awarded by RINA, the first classification society to encourage yacht designers and owners to minimize noxious emissions. RINA’s panel selected Grace E as best, raising the bar for clean yacht design. The diesel-electric propulsion package enables the yacht to run with a modulated load on four generators, lowering the fuel consumption, while the use of advanced exhaust gas treatment on the propulsion engines and diesel generators cuts the emissions far beyond what is compulsory under IMO conventions. From the hydrodynamic point of view, the hull and the azipod system considerably reduce resistance. The separating/compacting garbage system and the enforcement of a comprehensive environmental management plan that commits both crew and passengers to its use allows everyone to enjoy this wonderful boat while fully respecting nature.
TENDER DESIGN AWARD
Winner: 9.6m SL Limousine by Ken Freivokh Design and built by Pascoe International
While entries in this category represented both enclosed limousine and open sport boat types, all were evaluated not just on appearance or mechanical installation, but also for their cockpit design, functionality for purpose and relationship to the parent yacht for docking. Not only was the 9.6 meter Pascoe Limousine the most highly customised of the competitors and the heaviest, it was judged the most specific in its support to its mothership, a 100.8-meter motor yacht. Because the tender can be boarded within a flooded bay, it has two entry points with full standing headroom at each, twin engines for 40-knot speed and redundancy and an impressive list of safety and security features. Among its luxuries are the fact it can carry 14 guests at a time and that its lighting and audio can be controlled both from the helm and from inside via iPad.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD – SPONSORED BY: Blohm+Voss
Winner: Luca Brenta
“Luca began walking around boatyards in his childhood, tagging along behind his father who was building a cruising boat to his own design. It was a very special experience that would set Luca on a path to the fascinating world of design and boat building.
During his days at university in Milano, Luca built his first quarter-tonner named Babaloo. In 1979 came his first cruising boat. The 60-foot wooden hulled Malu showed some impressive innovative features, and she was fast. In 1987, I joined Luca’s office and became a partner a year later. It was perfect timing as the first Wallygator was on the drawing board; an exciting project driven by two Lucas -Brenta and Bassani – who shared the same vision of bringing the pleasure of performance sailing to a large cruising boat. Soon after came their very first ketch built in carbon, the 100-foot Wallygator, the most innovative boat of her day and still a very contemporary and competitive fast cruiser.
With Bassani pushing concepts and ideas as might a visionary movie producer, Brenta was part of the perfect cocktail of talented people who made his vision come true, testing hundreds of unexplored paths to create the ultimate yacht. Consider the iconic yacht Wallygator, Wally B, Kenora, Ghost, Chrisco, the “B” Yacht series and the power boat Logica 147: Every project had its own very specific character to meet very specific owner briefs and they have become iconic designs in their own right. These yachts create truly a remarkable timeline, and I was lucky enough to be part of it all. I congratulate Luca on this very well deserved Lifetime Achievement Award”. – Lorenzo Argento
YOUNG DESIGNER OF THE YEAR AWARD – SPONSORED BY: Oceanco
Winner: Timur Bozca for Cauta concept
This is the first event in which a sailing yacht has been chosen as the subject, an area previously avoided on the basis that such designs need a degree of specialist knowledge and lack of it might deter many from entering. There was certainly no lack of entries, with 34 individuals or teams submitting designs, and in general, the standard was extremely high. Some designs exhibited more talent in their draftsmanship and exterior design, while others showed more aptitude at interior layout. After lengthy discussion by the 13-strong jury drawn from the ranks of the world’s leading yacht designers, Timur Bozca was declared the worthy winner. His design was unique in its Dynarig sail plan, which, in combination with what the judges considered to be a very proficient, forward-looking exterior style, created an accomplished yacht of striking appearance.