Spirit Design is the design partner of ÖSWAG Werft Linz AG, which was commissioned with the creation of a boat to be used by the authority supervising traffic on Austria’s waterways. The authority forms part of the country’s Ministry of Transport, Innovation and Technology (acronym in German: “BMVIT”). This new boat will be used by the stations on the Danube to supervise the highly important freight transport on it. The concept for the design of this watercraft stemmed from Spirit Design.
The authority policing river-borne transport has been trained in nautical matters. It ensures the end-to-end administration of transport on this international waterway. The authority’s responsibilities include the supervision of adherence to regulations, the issuing of ordinances, the controlling of river-borne traffic and the provision of assistance in cases of emergencies.
Spirit Design’s excellent and intensive working relationship with BMVIT enabled the optimal taking into account from the very beginning of the project of the users’ needs. This ensured that the contents formulated in the phase of conception were also ultimately implemented.
The authority’s boat serves as a mobile office and center of information provision. It handles responsibilities stemming from the controlling of traffic and the management of emergencies involving rescuing and the provision of assistance. The boat’s standard version (which can be upgraded) is employed by authorities to supervise river-borne traffic and to conduct other waterways-based operations.
Authority’s boat
A new class of boat with a great variety of uses
The new official-use boat fulfills the entirely new requirements placed on it. They demand it to be a high-speed, transport-capable watercraft handling marine operations and work. These demands are analogous to the ones placed upon SUVs in the automotive area. The meeting of these demands has yielded an entirely new class of boat. This watercraft is capable of being used by a wide range of official bodies. This range results from the large number of functions integrated into the boat. These features include a platform of rescuing and maintenance, a variety of towing equipment, flexible gangways and a new fire extinguishing system.
Online systems of diagnosis, navigation and information guarantee the optimal fulfillment of all responsibilities entrusted to authorities. This new-look type of official-use boat is now going into serial production. The boats will improve the on-site supervision of activities on the Danube waterway. This comfortable and ongoing mobile supervision facilitates the securing of this transport thoroughfare and the preclusion of interruptions in the traffic along it.
Functional design yielding a majestic appearance
In line with its role of being ÖSWAG’s partner in development, Spirit Design created the interior and exterior of this new official-use boat. Spirit Design was also responsible for the ensuring of the highest degree of design quality during the conception. Entailed in this were the boat’s features, aesthetics and symbols. The employment of innovative light-gauge materials and of advanced and energy-conserving shapes for its propulsion system and its hull joined the achievement of optimal ergonomics in the areas of operation and recreation and of the utmost in maintenance-friendliness in constituting the main thrusts of this process. The focus was on achieving a high degree of functionality. Despite this, its language of forms imparts an aesthetic of majesty and comfort to this official-use boat. This language gives the watercraft a look revealing its dynamism and security of operation.
The principle used in formulating this language precludes the incorporation of excessive elements and enables the employment of prefabricated construction. The design has thus been attuned to accord to the requirements issuing from product technologies. It thus constitutes an optimal basis for an ease of processing and production. The official-use boat’s appearance depicts its innovativeness and futuristic capabilities, its high value and its authority of operations. The character of the boat also facilitates its acceptance by the various target groups found on the Danube and on other rivers, generating and imparting respect, trust and security in the process. The businesslike language of forms was deliberately derived from that found in stealth technologies. The straightforward color scheme of the exteriors exemplifies a clear and powerful typography.
The design concept is completely new to this segment of the market. The ensuing differentiation from conventional models thus constitutes a powerful edge over competitors. The holistic approach to design imparts an unmistakable VPL (“visual product language”) to this official-use watercraft. This gives rise to a high degree of recognition. It also facilitates the marketing of the administrative boat in other countries.
The digital development of the product employed the most advanced CAD-CAM-CAE technologies and material components. These enabled the interruption-free processing along the digital chain of information. This resulted in the creation of the prototype. The production itself makes use of state-of-technology laser-based cutting.
Comfortable operative ergonomics
The ergonomic, complex operator’s platform has been equipped with the most innovative of technologies. It offers the boat’s captain a generously-apportioned, operator-optimized cockpit, and thus an optimal environment of use. Large-sized expanses of glass ensure high and secure lines of sight. The boat’s powerful propulsion system joins its great maneuverability in guaranteeing its ability to fulfill its responsibilities.
The formulation of the concept for the boat’s interior was informed by the fact that its users would spend quite a bit of time on board. The comfortable and ergonomic environment of use offers the crew stationed on its upper and low decks built-in berths and a kitchen. This provides them with adequate space for relaxing. The dark gray and white color scheme and the deployment of wooden tables also make for a pleasant working environment.
ÖSWAG Brochure
Brochure design in simple, elegant design
The well thought-out design is also continued in ÖSWAG’s print products. Spirit Design also took on the graphic design of a product brochure. The two ÖSWAG divisions, the Linz shipyard and mechanical engineering, were divided by color. By assigning the two corporate design colors (orange and blue), a quick and clear visual separation of ÖSWAG’s two areas of activity was created and ÖSWAG’s versatile services were presented with appealing visuals.