The second day of Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Europe (CSI Europe) started with a burst of positive energy that set the tone for the day.
In a first for CSI Europe, cruise line designers, architects and creatives across many brands gathered in the VIP lounge for peer to peer networking. The mood was warm and welcoming as the industry peers swapped stories and discussed challenges and solutions. One attendee later dubbed the first-time event as ‘brilliant’.
Across the show floor, buzz was starting to build on the stands. Several exhibiting suppliers offered breakfast to the early arrivals. Mapei and Marine Interiors, among others, displayed small pastries and juices for the visiting cruise line and design studio buyers to sample. Following the well-attended Happy Hour and After Hours drinks events the previous evening, the hall soon filled with visitors for another day of networking and learning.
Speed Networking
CSIE are incredibly proud of their Speed Networking programme, which suppliers and buyers alike often say is the highlight of their show. This year’s completely sold-out series of speed networking truly reflected how valuable this speed networking programme has become within the cruise ship interiors design industry. Over 1000 face-to-face meetings took place over the two days of CSIE, all individually matched by the hard working team.
This number is in addition to the meetings taking place at the bustling stands of CSIE’s exhibiting suppliers. As part of a creative and welcoming industry, there was more than one way to enjoy meeting current and future clients at CSIE. Tramo Contract offered popcorn to the guests at their stand. The brand had outfitted their stand with fabric covered yoga balls in place of chairs. LEDFlex had created a stunning lightbox, lit by their own products and covered by a screen, inviting visitors to step inside a glowing world. Elsewhere at CSIE, there were plenty of new products and launches on display…
Get ready for 2025, and beyond
Exhibitors Akula greeted visitors at the entrance with a colourful display of their new outdoor furnishings. The six new collections were aptly named for famous areas in London and included the Chelsea, Wimbledon, Fulham, Richmond and Soho collections.
Over at the Sustainable Design Product Showcase Manifattura Testori collaborated with Studio BERG+ to create their Palazzo collection. Designer Petra Ryberg explained how she was inspired by 18th century Italian palaces. She commented, ‘I analysed different elements of the building and was inspired by the doors, windows, floors, ceilings, walls and the garden.’. The yarns featured recycled FR polyester, originating from plastic bottles at the end of their life, collected in the north of Italy. The full collection will be available to preview in Miami at CSI Americas.
In addition to Bolidt’s poured art bears, a much-loved fixture of the CSI events, Bolidt was celebrating 60 years of being in business. The industry-favourite flooring company invited visitors to their stand to pour their liquid decking on a sign reading ‘60 years’.
Working together to reuse aluminium
The in-person Sustainable Design Summit Working Group took place on the second day of CSIE. Led by David Peck, Associate Professor, Critical Materials and Product Design, TU Delft, My Nguyen, Director of Interior Design, Holland America Line & Seabourn, Siu Lie Tan, Partner, Exsulting srl and moderated by Federico Fioretto, Founder & CEO, Exsulting srl, the session took aim at the realities of the recently enacted Critical Raw Materials act.
David Peck lit a fire under the attendees from the start, announcing that it was only 1300 working days until 2030. At that point, The European Commission Joint Research Centre, had determined, demand for certain materials will have jumped by up to 30 times. Other information which caused ripples came from My Nguyen, who revealed the complexities of Holland America’s aluminium reclaim pilot programme. The brand had sourced thousands of units of aluminium outdoor furniture destined to be replaced. However, My revealed that the sum total fell well short of the volume required from the smelters.
The team leading the Working Group Lunch aimed to do much more than reveal the challenges facing any hospitality and travel designer. They guided the audience through a series of exercises aimed at helping the audience unlock the knowledge required to navigate the rapidly approaching new world of critical raw materials. The audience divided into small groups. Designers and suppliers from across the cruise ship, aircraft and hotel interiors industries shared ideas and conceived strategies together.
The key takeaways
Over at the interiors track of the conference, the hottest topic in the European cruise ship interiors industry was the trends surrounding river cruise and luxury. People flocked to attend the conference session ‘New experiences in river cruise & the delivery of luxury.’ Speaker Hans Rood, Managing Director, Transcend, called for river cruise interior designers to ‘catch up’ with ocean cruise ships, by thinking five years ahead. It was time to stop, he said, using ‘cookie cutter designs’. The speakers also put the demographic of river cruise guests under the spotlight. In addition to the younger couples and families now drawn to river cruises, Lauren West, Naval Architect, AmaWaterways River Cruises, also highlighted that special interest groups also like to connect using river cruises.
Over at the CSI+ Lounge, Collin Hildebrandt, Fleet Director, Holland America Group, Seabourn Cruise Line, was interviewed by Victoria Lewis. He highlighted the work Seabourn were already doing on sustainability, and how they hoped to proceed. Seabourn have already eliminated food waste from their vessels, utilising artificial stomachs and dehydrators on board. Collin appeared to confirm rumours that Seabourn were looking to add a newbuild to their roster in the coming years.
Crowds gathered for the other sessions, including those on the hospitality track. ‘Bright ideas! Inspire with theatrical lighting and LEDs dug into the technical side of creating beautiful spaces. Meanwhile, ‘People flow & activating spaces’ discussed how to utilise technology to optimise the ways guests access the spaces on board cruise vessels.
Your CSI Award Winners
The Cruise Ship Interiors Awards made the second day of CSIE one to remember for many companies. Elite Exhibitions CEO Toby Walters led the awards. He welcomed the winners from across the cruise ship interiors supply chain to the stage. SMC Design were this year’s big winners, bagging best stateroom and best dining space. And unbeknownst to the crowd, and the recipient, the CSI Awards had a surprise award waiting in the wings. Celebrating decades of excellence in cruise ship design and leadership, the Legends of Design award was presented to George Scammell. Your complete list of winners can be found below:
Best Dining Space
Irth, Cruise Saudi, Aroya Cruises, SMC Design
Best Suite, sponsored by Bath Fitter
Studio DADO and Fincantieri for Regent Suite, Regent Seven Seas
Best Stateroom, sponsored by Ball & Young
SMC Design and Meyer Werft, Balcony Cabin, NYK Cruises Asuka III
Best Public Space, sponsored by Varuna Cruise Engineering Powered by STIM Tech Group
Tillberg Design, for Sanctuary onboard Sun Princess, Princess Cruises
Best Onboard Experience, sponsored by JSN United
Royal Caribbean, Wilson Butler Architects and Breakfast, NY, for The Pearl, Icon of the Seas, Royal Caribbean
Best Dining Space, sponsored by Lavagnoli
SMC Design and MJM Marine for Irth, Aroya Cruises
Best Refurbished Space, sponsored by Somec Group
Windstar Cruises, Design Studio Berg+ and Civil Marine Contract for Wind Star Lounge, Wind Star
Guest Experience Tech of the Year, sponsored by Cocon Decor
MRD Lighting, Lighting Design
Interior Innovation of the Year, sponsored by Fantoni
Meyer Turku, Sustainable Stateroom
Galley Innovation of the Year, sponsored by Workhouse
MKN – SteelPlus
Brand Partnership of the Year, sponsored by Ocean Shade Canopies and Awnings
Princess Cruises & Akula
Legend of Design
George Scammell