Frank Tjepkema, who at the very first edition of What Design Can Do presented a revolutionary vision for urban farming, has been shortlisted for The International Yacht & Aviation Awards 2018 with his concept for a luxury yacht with 100 per cent electric propulsion.
Frank Tjepkema’s agency Tjep. won an International Yacht & Aviation Award before in the category retail and leisure with the design of House of Tulips. This innovative flower retail concept is located at Schiphol Airport. Now Tjep. is nominated in the category Yacht Concept Over 40 Metres with his EAU concept. The design for the 63 metres luxury yacht aims to push the technological and aesthetic qualities towards ultimate cleanness.
As clean as water
The idea behind the concept is that developments in the car industry will make large volume on-board electric storage available for the yacht industry. In the vision of Tjepkema the new technology requires radically new aesthetics. The EAU is a ship that captures the reminiscent qualities of the water itself. The horizontal lines in the aluminium hull refer to the horizontal lining of wooden planks on a traditional wooden yacht. The wheelhouse takes the form of a water droplet, which in a contrasting colour seems to float above the deck.
The yacht, which rises 18 metres above the waterline, will have 12 cabins on board and is thought to attain a speed of 25 knots. The International Yacht & Aviation Awards show is scheduled for 18 May 2018 in Venice, Italy.
WDCD Climate Action Challange
Electric propulsion might be one solution for the shipping industry in answering the challenges of climate change. The use of near crude oil as ship fuel is highly polluting. Other solutions for adapting the shipping industry to climate change are welcome as entries to the WDCD Climate Action Challenge, the open call for which is open until 24 September 2017.