Trend setters
The superyacht industry is beginning to influence markets beyond our own. Hotels, homes and restaurants are beginning to borrow the best of superyacht technology and the lifestyles ethos.…
BMT: SeaScape
The superyacht industry has not traditionally been known for its pioneering ways, with a few exceptions. The sheer size of superyachts does not create an easy canvas for innovation. The natural stages of technical progression tend to find intermediaries between labs and seafaring giants. It took a great number of years before people even entertained the thought of sailing a superyacht that was not painted in the traditional white, blue or both. The advent of clean and hybrid technologies has seen superyachting fall behind once again. Superyachts account for a minuscule proportion of the world’s carbon emissions - but being less to blame does not make you blameless.
However, superyachts are slowly beginning to catch up, genuine hybrid technology, alternative fuels and clean energy feel as though they are just around the corner — the reality is that they are further away. But now the design, technology and ethos of the superyacht market are beginning to get noticed and adopted by other industries. Restaurants, hotels and homes are beginning to replicate the best of modern superyachts.
BMT: SeaSuite
BMT Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of the BMT Group and a sister company to BMT Nigel Gee has released a number of concepts to this effect. The Sea-Suite and SeaScape projects between them cover floating, homes, offices and hotel suites. While the companies are admittedly joined at the hip, what is important is that there has been interest from investors beyond the industry.
BMT: SeaScape close up
“We have been in prior discussion with resort developers and are actively looking to manufacture and deliver the [SeaScape] units,” explains Dr Richard Colwill of BMT Asia Pacific. Although no external commitment has been made, the very possibility of such investment signals progress.
“The self-sufficiency of the SeaScape variant is a direct result of the technology on superyachts in general,” continues Colwill. Beyond the technology the look of the project screams superyacht. “The underwater bedroom provides that superyacht ‘wow factor!’ Additionally our thoughts on final finishing are very focused on superyacht quality.”
Salt&Water: Floating hotel with catamaran apartments
Salt & Water, the architecture and yacht design company, has also created a floating hotel and apartments concept. Each individual catamaran apartment borrows much from the superyacht world, from desalination to propulsion to stabilisers. Designed to encourage the exploration of untouched areas the catamaran apartment concept allows customers to choose their own holiday destinations. Each unit would include accommodation for two to four people and all the amenities one would expect of a luxury abode. More than design and technology, these catamarans borrow the very essence of superyachting; freedom, luxury, privacy and untouched nature.
Gosling cinema basement
In 2014 Gosling Marine was commissioned to design a basement cinema for a listed building in St James’s, Westminster (read the full story in SuperyachtDesign Q19). The brief was to echo the aura produced by superyacht interiors. A distinctly contemporary approach was required and when a viewing is on the cards the main sofa-unit slides forward allowing stadium-style seating to raise out of the floor, providing the owners and a number of guests the optimal viewing experience.
As technology and its availability continue to evolve conspicuous consumption is beginning to pervade the realms of the inconspicuous — and many of the ideas beginning to break out of conspicuity were born in the superyacht industry.
Related Links:
BMT Group Ltd
Gosling
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