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[ CREATIVE MINDS: CENTROSTILEDESIGN ]

DESIGN IS A WAVE THAT CARRIES THE VISION

TO AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE PRODUCT. DEFINING AND STUDYING EVERY

STAGE IN DETAIL SEEMED NATURAL TO US.

THAT’S HOW OUR STUDIO CAME INTO BEING by Désirée Sormani

Davide Cipriani, born in 1980, is CEO and chief designer of Centrostiledesign, a yacht design and nautical and industrial design company, a centre of excellence founded in 2000 and based in Imola (North of Italy)

[ CREATIVE MINDS ]

passion for design and development, a dynamic team

engineering to designing maxi RIBS. There were three of us at

of professionals, all bringing different skills to the table

first, but now there are 25 people involved in design. Four years

and all following the design concept up to the creation of

ago Studio T and Centrostiledesign merged and we’re soon going

prototypes, using the most advanced technological systems. This

to create a new unit where we can put engineering and design in

is a thumbnail sketch of Centrostiledesign, a yacht and industrial

the same place to create the conditions that will encourage synergy.

design and development company and a centre of excellence since it

We take a holistic approach to design – engineering and design

was founded by Davide Cipriani in 2000 in Imola, in the industrious

progress in parallel. We can describe ourselves as hull, design

heart of the Emilia-Romagna region. “We’re the company that

and engineering specialists, three ways of thinking we develop

didn’t exist before, the missing piece that combines a number of

in harmony”, continues Cipriani, now CEO and chief designer at

technical services in a single organisation for a 360-degree vision

Centrostiledesign.

of the project”. The key to all this in integration of design and

This synergy is present at every stage of the project, creating a

engineering, the basis of Centrostiledesign’s philosophy. “It’s the

single centre of excellence that also provides owners with all-round

winning formula that offers clients speed, precision and control

support. The company specialises in series production of yachts

of the product”.

from 30 feet to 40 metres in length, “Where there’s a healthy

Centrostiledesign began as an offshoot of Studio T, a family

budget and design counts”, working for the big names in the Italian

business specialising in the construction of earth moving

yacht-building industry like Azimut, Sessa Marine, Sunseeker,

machinery like tractors, after receiving an important commission

Sanlorenzo and even in the automotive industry with Fiat. “We’ve

from Ferretti. “We were contacted to handle the engineering of

also won a Yacht Aviation Award for the interior design of the

the Pershing 115 because as we come from the industrial sector we

SX 76 Sanlorenzo, offering a strikingly individual, very colourful

possessed this type of expertise. At the time I was still a student

version of the interior”. The brand interprets owners’ wishes in

with a passion for the sea, ships and unconventional design and I

a style that’s never banal and always refined. “There’s so much

began to develop a burning enthusiasm for the sector as I worked

competition these days and you have to keep on offering new

in the company. At first I wrote technical manuals for yachts.

content”. But design isn’t all that Centrostiledesign does – it

Then, the passion gradually increased as the company broadened

also makes moulds, scale models, “… and finally we also write

the scope of its various nautical collaborations and we went from

the manuals for the finished objects, ensuring quality control”.

Futur-E is equipped with foils. Its body is made entirely from recycled carbon fibre with recycled foam structural supports. The foils and rudders are also carbon fibre. All the elements in its build are recyclable. Futur-E produces zero CO2 emissions, zero noise and zero waves. Below, a classic runabout

[ CREATIVE MINDS ]

Explorer 62: debuted at the 60th Genoa Boat Show, it is designed by Centrosiledesign and promoted by nautical entrepreneur Riccardo Radice

All in all, then, a latest-generation example of industry 3.0 where the

will be constructed directly by us. It’s a start-up that began partly

design is followed through in its entirety. The most typical example of

almost as a joke and partly in response to market demand. It confirms

Centrostile’s approach is the Explorer 62 LOY. The company carried out

the studio’s eclectic approach, an ecologically-aware craft with foils

the entire naval design, engineering, styling, interior layout and even the

that enable it to fly above the waves. It’s a future-proof product that

lighting design and decor. The result is a yacht with a strong aesthetic

combines nautical technology and automobile and aircraft design with

presence. “We tried to make a 60-foot craft with huge volumes, a whale

an integrated kinematic system inspired by the car industry, similar to

with the body of a shark. When we introduced it four years ago it seemed

the suspension on Formula 1 cars.

strange, but now everyone’s using these shapes”.

“It can carry three people. We imagine them elegantly dressed in jacket

The company’s long list of current projects includes the full restyling

and tie, the women in long dresses, with a captain. An electric craft that

of a classic runabout, “A lovely exercise in style for us because it’s a

will take you wherever you want to go. A tender, a car...a James Bond

classic, elegant yacht with a high technical content. Futur-E, though,

type of thing, with a captivating, exciting design. Just how we like it”.

is our pride and joy – the sailing prototype will appear in June, and

And the owners too, of course.

Bottom, left, the Centrostiledesign base in Imola where 1:1 scale models are created using a special milling machine; perfectly finished consoles equipped with every navigation system and ready to be mounted on board; moulds for making hulls

ph. Désirée Sormani