The brief
AnAmericancouplearetornbetweentwo200ft
expeditionyachtdesigns*withevenlymatchedspecs
butverydifferentstyles.Bothcancarryahelicopter
andlotsofaccessoriesforexploring,butthefirsthas
sweeping,slopingfuturiststyling,thesecondsober,
straight,purposefullines.Whiletheclientsponder,
theowners’repworriesthattimewillrunoutfor 2019
buildslots–sohe’sreachedaradicalsolution.Tobreak
thedeadlock,hewantsyoutodrawafleetoftoys
andtenderstomatchoneofthemothershipdesigns
andinspirethemtocommit–onewayortheother.
The owners
Thisactivecouple,intheirearlyfifties,madetheir
fortuneintech.Theyhavetwocollege-agekids
andlovespoilingthemwithactivitiesfromheli-skiing
tounderwateradventures.Theyareaestheticallydriven
andtheirfleetmustcomplementthemothership.In
termsofstyle,theyarenotintoshabbychic–Hermès,
PradaandBrioniarefavorites.Theyhaveahip
apartmentinNewYorkandachateauinSwitzerland.
The judging panel
SuperyachtownersPaolaTrifirò,ElenaBonelli
andMikeFisher;navalarchitectsJamesRoyand
BrunehildeDerda.
*Bothexploreryachtdesignsareentriesfromthe 2018
YoungDesigneroftheYearAwards,sponsoredby
Oceanco.GuehunLeewasarunner-upwiththefuturistic
EX3andNicolòPireddawonwithclean-linedGalàna.
The 2019
Design
Challenge
Superyachting’s finest
design minds and building
brainsbattledfor
supremacyatthisyear’s
SuperyachtDesign
Symposium,creating
awildandwonderfulfleet
oftendersandtoysfor
afictionalexploreryacht.
Andtheyhadjustone
hourinwhichtodoit...