Underwater lounge concept wins top Dutch award

One of the top national maritime awards in the Netherlands has been won by a student working on his thesis project with us at Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects. Big congratulations are due to Victor Verhulst for his design for the exciting Ocean View underwater lounge concept.

Victor is a student at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and – as part of our investment in the future of marine education – we were delighted to welcome him to the Feadship De Voogt offices in Haarlem to work on his thesis.

The Ocean Viewlounge he designed can be extended from the bottom of a yacht and, as the name suggest, gives people the chance to admire underwater life in a considerable degree of comfort and style. Victor soon recognised the value of taking an integrated design approach and managed to include a wide range of aspects in his design, ranging from owner experience to the technical feasibility of the solution.

The Maritime Designer Award – given to designers who have realised and applied an innovation in the design process – was presented to Victor during the Maritime Awards Gala in Rotterdam. It was one of the five national awards for shipping companies, shipyards, students, designers and suppliers presented in the presence of over 850 guests.

According to the jury, Victor deserved the award for his multidisciplinary approach to a complex design issue. He showed a strong focus on involving non-technical disciplines in the design, and was able to utilise all available expertise through a clear definition of the sub-issues. As a result the risks related to the design were controlled and Victor was able to provide a well-balanced and creative solution in line with the approach of the client.

The Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen, gave the keynote speech at the gala presentation and was full of praise for the winners. “They are inspirational examples of the innovative strength and added value of the maritime cluster in the Netherlands,” she said. “The Dutch maritime sector is not only setting the standard in Europe: it is a global leader.”