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

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.

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.

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.