The prestigious headquarters of the ADI in Milan hosted the first International Yacht Design Competition promoted by Barche magazine in memory of Paola Galeazzi, architect and co-founder of Zuccon International Project with Giovanni Zuccon in 1972. The competition attracted 21 projects from Italy, Turkey, the UK and Spain and the average age of the participants was 24. The challenge was to design a pleasure boat from 10 to 50 metres in length – a motor yacht, powerboat or sailing yacht – that doesn’t exist but could actually be built.

The panel of judges chaired by architect Giovanni Zuccon included some of the most important and authoritative names in yacht design – Brunello Acampora, Massimo Musio Sale, Sergio Cutolo, Stefano Pagani Isnardi, Christian Grande, Andrea Ratti, Enrico Gollo and Luca Santella – as well as Barche editor Franco Michienzi of course.

The projects submitted were assessed on the basis of criteria of innovation, feasibility, relevance to the competition brief, sustainability and presentation. Guests at the event were also made welcome in the ADI Museum in Milan, where they were able to admire objects that have received the Compasso d’Oro, an award that Zuccon International Project itself won in the 2024 edition with its SP 110 project.

The winners received scholarships worth €10,000, €5,000 and €3,000, as well as a paid internship at an Italian boatyard or a marine architecture and design firm. In addition to the three winning projects, there were two special mentions for particularly merit-worthy entries.

“I’d like first of all to thank Franco Michienzi and Barche – which I consider one of the most respected and effective magazines – because organising this competition was a wonderful gift to us all and above all to my family by dedicating it to Paola,” commented Giovanni Zuccon. “I think the competition has been particularly successful because it created a dialectic between Barche’s idea underpinning the competition, i.e. building a boat that doesn’t exist by producing a design that at the same time respects the basic parameters that determine the design of a boat, and these young designers have perfectly understood the idea and designed boats that could actually be built.”

The event was a powerful celebration of young talent and creativity in yacht design, a fitting tribute to the memory of Paola Galeazzi and an effective promotion of excellence in design.