Trans RINA, Vol 154, Part C1, Intl J Marine Design, Jan - Jun 2012
WHY IS IT HARDER TO DESIGN A BEAUTIFUL CRUISE LINER THAN IT IS TO DESIGN A BEAUTIFUL WORK BOAT?
J.A. Sheridan, R.A. Shenoi, D.A. Hudson Fluid Structure Interactions Group, University of Southampton, UK A Neill, School of Humanities, University of Southampton, UK (DOI No: 10.3940/rina.ijmd.2012.c1.12)
SUMMARY
Ship design needs to respond to and attract an ever more design conscious society. However, little research has been conducted into perceptions of beauty and pleasure and how such perceptions can be usefully absorbed into ship design. Aesthetic consideration, is seen as a distraction from the bespoke nature of the ship design process and is often avoided, second guessed or left for external consultancy. The ship design discipline requires the nurturing of its own aesthetic methods, for future development, and to adapt some of the aesthetic ideals found in architecture, art and design.
This paper argues that philosophy can be effective in interpreting what the passenger finds attractive and pleasurable. To illustrate the philosophical approach proposed, the `Elbe SWATH’ and the `Oasis of the Seas’ are investigated and compared using theoretical resources from the culturally focused philosophy of `Functional Beauty’. Conclusions suggest that the interpretation of the end users most valued appreciations can lead to design directives that deliver subjective qualities of beauty - beauty similar to those seen in the pure aims of the Elbe SWATH’s purposeful work craft, or comparable to nature’s beauty and purity in aim.
1. INTRODUCTION
The question of whether a beautiful cruise liner is harder to design than a beautiful work boat seems to have an obvious answer; a cruise liner built around a quality of finish, aiming to elicit pleasure, enjoyment and well- being is to
satisfy a certain quality of passenger
experience and is a design that is specifically aimed towards beauty - a work vessel honed towards practical performance, to an agenda constrained by workload and organisation however, is a design solely for the delivery of pilots in rough tidal waters, and is not planned to be aesthetically pleasing or beautiful in any way.
Initial thoughts then would tend towards finding beauty in a design that uses pleasure and luxury as its goal, rather than in the design that is orientated around work. Recent work in philosophical aesthetics however has produced a theory of beauty that points to a quite different conclusion: ‘functional beauty’
is a robust,
culturally focused theory on beauty, from G. Parsons and A. Carlson [1], which purports to the case in hand thus: the work boat’s singularity of purpose and fundamentally prevalent function, is much more likely to derive a beautiful result, and achieving the mixed objectives in the design for higher pleasure, recreation and relaxation may not be as simple as it first seems.
‘Functional beauty’ is a comprehensive philosophical approach to
appreciating aesthetics that galvanises
thoughts around a definition of beauty. It can be used centrally in debate on aesthetic appreciation. Holding that function is a common notion that can be reasoned and that the significance of the said ‘function’ is the principal axis to scale and grade beauty around. The grading of an objects ability to be attractive and
2. METHODOLOGY
Identifying beauty in the forms that are best suited to function, or perceiving the value of function through an accentuated geometry such as bow flare for example, is a fitting method for aesthetic appreciation in ship design. The approach appeals to the mechanisms and practical properties of utility and compliments the goals and aims of the Naval Architect. Basing design drivers on the perceived intrinsic value of function, and prioritising around the most significant, can make this an attractive approach for engineering and optimising aesthetics.
The categorisation of our sensory perception e.g. in terms of form, shape, colour, smell, temperature environment
can be considered the first part considering beauty, such as the use of lighting to elicit ©2012: The Royal Institution of Naval Architects C-37
or of
appealing can then be made through an analysis of its ‘fitness for purpose’ [1].
Interpreting perceptions around common and cultural rationales, gives valuable insight into the way the end user thinks about the value of an object or experience and that can decipher whether it is functionally beautiful or not – (1) Firstly by carefully considering how the function of an object or experience is valued and (2) Secondly envisaging how that function could be filled with elegance and grace in its work, [1], in short:
Identify the valued function Grade the efficiency of it doing its work
The aim of this paper, therefore, is to introduce and qualify an appealing and persuasive definition of beauty, which can work within the complex process of ship design.
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