Sustainability is an ever-expanding theme in cruise interiors, with several new products launched
Sustainability is and will continue to be a huge topic in cruise interior spaces.
This was the consensus of the first session to kick off Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe’s (CSIE) conference,
tha took place at ExCel in London in December last year.
Design Leadership: trends forecasting panel included SMC Design managing director Andy Yuill, YSA Design chief executive and senior architect Anne Mari Gullikstad, dSign Vertti Kivi & Co interiors architect and partner Juha Rista, with Independent Maritime Advisors senior director, newbuilding owner supply and logistics David McCarthy moderating.
The conference is part of CSIE, taking place at ExCel in London.
Ms Gullikstad said, “A huge topic is sustainability and interior spaces, it’s all the elements from production, to where they get products, how they are produced and used, it affects everything.
“We talk about it and have an awareness, but cruise industry owners need to be picking up the ball harder than they have in the past.”
Highlighting the importance of sustainability to the younger generation, she says, “…there needs to be proof or certainty they understand, if I choose this location, it is kind to the planet.”
While Mr Yuill said, “The reality is governments have to change the rules and produce new guidelines, to even talk about interior design in the big picture of sustainability, we need to look at how they are producing it, it is about much more than the materials and fabrics being used, it is huge, a second industrial revolution, that will come about.”
Mr Rista commented there was no real standard for sustainability within cruise design, and a common standard under a wider umbrella was needed. Looking to the future, he said there will be more choices. “Let’s travel green or traditional. The next generations will pick green and that will force the industry to change.”
Other future trend forecasts included a move away from mass tourism. Ms Gullikstad said, “Many destinations do not want bigger ships in their harbours; there needs to be a different focus on holidays, maybe an option for tender boats in a harbour to rent out to bigger cruise ships.”
Mr Rista singled out a growing future trend for wellness. “What is wellness? It is not just about a gym. Food is just one part, are we able to recharge fully in a vessel if not in the spa? There must be a bigger variety to choose from.”
Mr Yuill pointed out the positive impact of better trend forecasting. “For designers in the future, trend forecasting will only get better as there is more opportunity and diversity to see where we came from to where we are now… trend forecasting from a design point of view will get better.”
Mr Rista pointed out other positives. “People appreciate brands much more, they understand them and expect brands. They are willing to accept new and experimental things for experience and are a bit more open than they used to be.” Speaking about “pushing the envelope,” he said the risk is smaller as the audience is willing to expect more unusual ideas.
Technology award for TAPP
Over at the Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe Awards, Trimline scooped the Technology Award for its new award-winning business application TAPP (Trimline App) in recognition of how it has improved the way Trimline works and has improved its product offering to clients.
TAPP enables complete transparency across its interior outfitting projects and was developed by one of its owners during the Covid-19 lockdown.
New co-owner Nick Farrell joined the business just as the global pandemic took hold and used that hiatus to develop the solution, harnessing his technology background, which includes software engineering and owning IT and satellite tracking device companies.
Trimline explains that TAPP runs the entire business, from the initial inquiries and estimates to procurement, booking resource, drawing control, furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) photos and full project management.
Explaining the thought process behind the development of TAPP, Mr Farrell tells PST, “In terms of project management, the first thing we wanted to do was to try and reduce the time our project managers spend on data entry and spread sheets, allowing them more time to focus their skills on the job in hand.”
He explains that TAPP breaks projects down into all the spaces Trimline is working on and each space is broken down into different tasks, including all materials used. The system also deals with progress reports, drawings, approval processes, purchases and invoices.
Each client has a login and has access to all project data in one place where they can approve drawings and FF&E and log any snags. TAPP shows the live project progress, so clients can see across the ship what has been signed off and the baseline progress. Because it is all live, any issues are highlighted much sooner and can be dealt with quickly, reducing the impact on the project schedule.
“Within TAPP, clients also have access to documentation for every product we use - data, cleaning sheets, imagery and so forth, which they can access at any time.”
As well as benefits for Trimline and its clients, the portal helps Trimline’s contractors and tradespeople on the site. It allows them to see onsite progress and streamlines processes for them, for example, cutting the need to sign multiple risk assessment documents at the start of a project, as these can be done online.
Mr Farrell sums up, “TAPP gives our clients a totally transparent view of where we are on their project at any time, without any misinterpretation. They see what we see through their portal.”
He says TAPP will constantly evolve.
Sika Marine launches Sikafloor Marine-590 FX
Elsewhere in the interiors industry, the drive for sustainability can be seen across several new products, including Sika Marine’s new IMO-approved, sustainable decorative resin floor (polyurethane based) which was especially designed to mimic a marble look.
A major draw is its unique pigmentation which allows designers to create “fantastic and unique designs”. The Sikafloor Marine-590 FX has been patented and is part of the company’s Marine Comfort System.
Sika corporate market field manager marine Michiel Bos tells PST, “It is a sustainable, state-of-the-art innovation which looks amazing, contributes to sound dampening and is very comfortable to walk on.” It is suited to areas such as buffets and restaurants, shops, boutiques, accommodations and sanitary spaces.
The technology enables designers to create a unique marble-effect floor with different colours, patterns and designs. “It gives a fantastic new design opportunity for cruise ship designers and architects,” says Mr Bos.
Highlighting other benefits for cruise ships, he says, “It weighs much less than real marble, it is flexible, crack bridging and water-tight. Silence and comfort on board cruise vessels are key topics we have in mind when developing our new range flooring products in marine. The Sikafloor Marine-590 FX is part of our comfort range, so is much softer than real marble or wood.”
Another advantage, especially targeting the cruise refurbishment market, is that the product is easy and quick to apply and is part of Sika Marine’s flooring-in-one-day principle.
Mr Bos explains, “With the flooring-in-one-day principle, we enable the contractor to apply multiple layers of our system on a single day, not compromising the workability of the products. The system will have a considerable effect on the productivity of the contractors per day, less worker traffic to the jobsite and areas can be opened to public or other workers much faster.” He says the application of the flooring saves two to three days, saving time and money in the process.
Mr Bos says Sikafloor Marine-590 FX is already exempt from a new EU regulation because of its special Purform formulation. “This is part of our focus for a sustainable future,” he says.
“Sika, as a leading producer of polyurethane resin-based sealants, adhesives and flooring products, takes the health and safety of users of Sikaflex, SikaTack and Sikafloor Marine products very seriously. This has led to our development of a new range of polyurethane prepolymers with an ultra-low monomer content, to allow continued unrestricted use of our products by professionals.
“When handling chemicals, it is important to keep the exposure to them as low as possible. The European Union has announced a new law to further restrict the use of polyurethane products. The new Sika Purform technology comprehensively fulfils this new REACH legislation already and contains not more than 0.1% of monomeric diisocyanates. By using the Purform technology for higher-performance polyurethane products with ultra-low diisocyanate monomer content, we can meet the challenges of tomorrow, today.
Mr Bos sums up, “This is part of our focus for a sustainable future”.
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