Design and experience in the field.
Why does the designer need to have experience as well as technical knowledge.
When I worked at Intemarine , I was at my first experience as an architect and I entered a building site of great prestige and tradition. Intermarine as well as being an excellent reality famous for its composite constructions, especially in the military, had contributed to the construction of some historic sailing boats together with Tencara (by Raul Gardini). At the time of my arrival at the construction site there was great excitement, the yachts sector was developing very quickly and at the same time the Wally Power 118, commonly recognized as a design icon, was under delivery. In Intermarine the historical craftsmen knew the art of the seafaring well, and as such they knew how to do things better than any of my drawings, that’s why when I presented myself with the tables and the executives, they looked at them and often more than read them and receive them. they corrected them. The art of seafaring is learned through the years, but above all we learn by sailing by sea, not sitting at the desk behind a computer. Navigating means knowing the maneuvers during mooring and the spaces that sailors have at their disposal … .the distance between a winch and the bollard … .but also know that ropes do not disappear and that you have to foresee and draw spaces to contain them ……. Surfing means learning to tackle the waves with the right bow, knowing that the spry rail, maybe it will also be unsightly, but has a function and that it is better not to eliminate it for purely reasons of style, because the alternative can be to navigate with the wipes always on !!! :-)))
The yacht designer must know the life on board … of all the people who will live the yacht. Starting from the Captain and the whole crew. We often read articles asking for opinions about the spaces for the crew. There are certainly regulations that go to regulate these environments, giving indications and minimum volumes … why? because no one, or at least few think of these spaces as environments to be lived. Focus is always and only on the spaces for guests. Of course it is absolutely right to pay great attention to the owner and guests, they are the ones who will live the yacht … but we also think of those who live the yacht not only on a cruise but also throughout the year. I do not say that designer should make a period as part of the crew, but that at least once he can live 2 days on board, I find it essential. At desk, at the computer, on the plan everything turns out to be perfect, efficient, optimized …. But in reality it will be really like that? How many times have I hypothesized a space in the crew area, perhaps under a staircase, which then turned out to be at least inconvenient if not unmanageable? Today with the 3d simulator, programs that allow you to view environments and verify their proportions with the shape of a man, errors are reduced a lot, but there is always the risk of creating claustrophobic environments (from the computer the claustrophobia is not yet possible to perceive fully). Every element on board a yacht needs to be designed and to do this in the best way it is also necessary to know the function it has to perform … every environment is a case in itself, every path or passage from stern to bow must consider the dynamic and static state of navigation, the absence of dangers, sharp edges in fixed furniture or freestandings … The cockpit is perhaps one of the most difficult environments to design, a necessarily technical environment that must maintain its own character and exclusive style. In order to draw a board you have to work side by side with Captain or know the function, the use and the day and night modes very well … .recently I happened to see cockpit of important units without any type of handrail or handle; but they are important if not necessary, and a good designer is still able to draw them and place them in style, re-entering an integrated project.
