Aspects of boat production,
whether for recreation or passenger transport, are at the center
of an initiative at the Venice Boat Show.
The initiative began on the day that the show was inaugurated
with the conference 'L'Avanguardia del Design, i Percorsi del
Nuovo nello Yachting' ('The Avantgarde in Design: New Directions
in Yachting').
Several speeches were held at Torre di Porta Nuova in the
Arsenale, starting from one by Luca Bassani of Wally Yachts, who
gave an analysis of design in the boat industry.
"The innovative process," he said, "starts from an attempt to
improve but is also based on new materials. Innovation derives
from the feeling of a need to be meet as well as knowledge of
the product, of how it is used, of all the materials both old
and new that can be used, between tradition and innovation, in a
different way to get what you dream of. New elements, in today's
world, are never so in absolute terms; they are a taking up
again of already existing systems applied in a different way."
He added that "a worksite that expects to engage in
innovation without research and development - for which the best
possible organisation is needed to organise every part of the
boat system deeply - does not engage in innovation but simply
copies. Every innovation changes the entire boat system."
Yacht designer Luca Dini noted that "we will continue to make
yachts because we survive on this trade. However, I would like
there to always be at least a plan - which may never come into
being - that gives backing to the reasoning of old and young
entrepreneurs so that boats become once again what they have
always been: an object on which to spend carefree, beautiful and
happy moments."
In his speech on mega-yachts, designer and conference
organiser Carlo Nuvolari said that "proportions are everything.
Beauty is linked to the proportions."
Between luxury and aesthetics, shipbuilders' tastes and
trends towards gigantic ships, Nuvolari spoke on "the strange
mix between civil architecture and yachts".
"Ships," he said, "for me have to have a design linked to
their function. I am not saying this is right or wrong. I am
only saying that the latest cruise ships are semi-moving real
estate operations and that they are a problem not only in
Venice. They are too big. The two markets - that of cruise ships
mega-yachts - cannot no longer be together. Ports can no longer
be multifunctional."
A speech was also made by Mario De Biase, from Italy's Naval
Chiefs of Staff - who said that "in deigns for the Navy, the
focus is on innovation within tradition" - and Carlo Fei from
the Luiss University, who spoke on the subject of luxury.
"In the Western world," he aid, "water is often seen as a
theme that suggests luxury, wealth and living well."
Musei Civici director Gabriella Belli meanwhile noted that
"this experience was wonderful for us, in such a different
world, but with so many connections with the world of art. I
believe that Italian design has better luck in the world and
this helps us a great deal to have open doors before us."
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