SPARKS OF CREATIVITY
13th May marks day one for the second edition of the Blue Design Summit, three days dedicated to the fascinating relationship between water and design during which the Miglio Blue Awards and Miglio Blue Design Awards will also be presented
by Paola Bertelli - ph. courtesy by Giulio Bardelli
Water as inspiration, a fundamental element, a design language: “From water to design” is the title of the upcoming second edition of the Blue Design Summit, scheduled to take place in La Spezia from 13th to 15th May. Three days of talks and conferences exploring the profound bond that connects design and water. Italy’s top superyacht yards, the luxury cruise sector, the world’s leading designers and architects will join academics and representatives of institutions to open a dialogue and define a common, innovative vision of the relationship that binds design and water. This year’s venue will be the Teatro Civico in La Spezia. “Our aim this year was to bring the Blue Design Summit to the heart of the city. As this is meant to an event open to ‘everyone’, we wanted to make sure ‘everyone’ could take part. And first in line among ‘everyone’ will be the younger generations, students from technical schools, from universities,’ explains Antonella Cotta Ramusino, Art Director of the Blue Design Summit. The theme is particularly broad, one capable of exploring concepts of life on, in, near and, why not, under water and how design can shape it.
left, the
La
venue of the 2025
the title of which is “From water to design”. Designers, architects, academics and representatives from leading yards and institutions will take to the stage. In the other pictures, award ceremonies and talks from the first edition held last year
Key talking points will include superyachts, cruise ships, luxury ships, but also waterfronts, artificial islands, floating solutions, maritime stations, and bathing beaches. “The stage will provide audiences with ‘stories’ in which water is the core element. Of course, the focus will remain on the world of yachts and cruise ships but,” underlines Cotta Ramusino, “We intend to go further, to explore how the relationships that exist between land and water, between sea and city, are being redefined.” Let’s take a closer look at what the event will have to offer. Hallmark names of the Italian boating industry will be joined at the Blue Design Summit by Joost Moolhuijzen of Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the studio behind the new artificial peninsula Mareterra in Montecarlo; Luca Dini, designer of the ultra-luxury island Sindalah in Dubai, also artificial; Giancarlo Manfredi of Meyer Floating Solutions, a Finnish studio that has developed a series of floating villas, floating hotels, and more. From the world of luxury cruises, visitors will experience names such as Leonardo Massa of MSC with their Explora Journeys programme and
Francesca Muzio (FM Architettura) with Ulyssia, a 320-metre-long yacht that transforms into a luxury residential community.
Renowned designers will take the floor, including such names as Gianni Zuccon, Mario Pedol, Fulvio De Simoni, who have lived through the transformation of the nautical industry from the 1970s to this day, and the younger generation of Stefano Vafiadis, Martino Majno, blazing the trail for the future of nautical design. Fascinating interventions will also come from Phil Klaus (Professor of Customer Experience Strategy and Management at the International University of Monaco), who will focus on the concept of luxury and how the yachting world has developed, and Chiara Massarani of ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, Brunello Acampora, Giorgio Cassetta and many others. The highlight of the event, on Wednesday 14th, will be the award ceremony, presented by a jury of industry journalists and experts, of the Miglio Blue Awards and the Miglio Blue Design Awards, followed by a gala. www.bluedesignsummit.it
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Teatro Civico in
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Blue Design Summit,