Designs on the Future
The boats we love are the result of factors coming together: the way the water flows over the surface of a hull, the power transfer of a spinning propeller, the way the layout works for those on board. But as with anything man-made, all of these elements pass through the lens of a designer’s eye. In directing the vectors of boat development, these men are providing the incremental course changes that result in an altogether different destination.
Shoulders of Giants
Mauro Micheli and Sergio Beretta ♦ Officina Italiana Design
Yacht design can be plagued by its history, as much as it relies upon it. The idea of creating additional models for the Riva Yacht brand, with the icons of its past looming, would seem a daunting task. Mauro Micheli and his business partner Sergio Beretta at Officina Italiana Design have taken the sensibility of the Riva brand and elevated it seemingly into the stratosphere, introducing such creations as the 44 Rivarama, the 88 Florida, the 122 Mythos, and some near-300-footers for the Riva Superyacht Division. What does a superyacht have to do with a mahogany runabout, you may ask? It’s a state of mind, and the result is, as Beretta puts it, “clean and classic lines, which are modern but not futuristic.” The team also creates designs for Sanlorenzo, by the way.
Shoulders of Giants
Mauro Micheli and Sergio Beretta ♦ Officina Italiana Design
A great example of the Riva mystique captured and continued is the Riva 88 Florida.
