By
Alice Chambers |
Decking and flooring specialist Bolidt has presented Thorben Stubbe, a concept designer at the Meyer Werft shipyard, with its inaugural Design Challenge award.
Stubbe was chosen for his Algae Lifecycle Floor (ALF) decking solution and was presented with the award at the recent Cruise Ship Interiors Expo Europe. Alongside Bolidt, Cruise & Ferry Review was part of the judging panel for the award.
ALF can be used for flooring, partitioning, wind protection and wall decoration, and is comprised of lightweight, hard-wearing and sustainable materials such as bamboo. Stubbe’s design uses kinetic energy harnessed from footsteps to power onboard processes, including raising and retracting built-in furniture and LED lights for an interactive game on its dance floor in the evening. The floor’s cultivated algae also fertilises onboard plants.
“I am honoured to be the first recipient of the Bolidt Design Challenge award and excited about seeing ALF on display at the Innovation Centre,” said Thorben Stubbe. “Hopefully in the near future, we’ll be seeing it in operation onboard cruise ships, where it can be of significant value in efforts to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.”
“I am delighted to present the very first Bolidt Design Challenge award to Thorben Stubbe, whose awe-inspiring concept perfectly captures everything we set out to achieve with this initiative,” said Jacco van Overbeek, director of Bolidt’s maritime division. “Algae Lifecyle Floor is, in the most literal sense, a living, breathing solution. In line with Bolidt’s own values, it has great potential to support the cruise industry in meeting its sustainability targets. As well as meeting the criteria on originality and functionality, the clarity of purpose and interactive core of Thorben’s solution has set the bar extremely high for future Design Challenges.”