Emirates Team New Zealand was recognised alongside the best of New Zealand design industry at The Designers Institute Best Design Awards 2022 on Friday evening at Auckland’s Aotea Centre where the team received the prestigious “Value of Design Black Pin”. An award to “a company that champions the power of good design, over many years, to create massive impact.”
Throughout its 30-year history Emirates Team New Zealand has become renowned for pushing the envelope of design and innovation across all of its campaigns in the America’s Cup and into the international marine sector.

The award citation read by legendary yachting commentator Peter Lester and presented with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Kaumatua Alec Hawke said, “From designing the first America’s Cup boats to foil, supercats, cyclors and most recently spearheading the foiling monohull’s rise - design innovation has always been at the heart of everything Emirates Team New Zealand does.

They have redefined sailing standards around what’s possible in modern racing and reshaped spectators’ expectations around sailing speed and excitement.

Emirates Team New Zealand’s design culture encourages taking risks. They are constantly questioning what design will look like in 15 years’ time, then trying to create that now. Made possible by a powerful inhouse philosophy of always building talent from within.

Winning the 36th America’s Cup on the water at home in the Hauraki Gulf created huge value for both sailing and Aotearoa New Zealand, brilliantly showcasing people and place in the living rooms of the world. And as the dominant team of the past 20 years, chasing down a three-peat in 2024 would be a fitting and unique achievement in the modern era.
New ideas, new technologies and new partnerships for new performance are always at the forefront of this teams thinking - they never stop - they are always searching for more.

As Taiaha Hawke from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei beautifully put it in explaining the story of the name Te Rehutai:
“Where the essence of the ocean invigorates and energises our strength and determination."

Emirates Team New Zealand your essence, your determination, your energy, your contribution inspires and invigorates all of us as a nation.”

A contingent of the Emirates Team New Zealand design team were honoured to accept the award on stage led by Emirates Team New Zealand Head of Design Dan Bernasconi, who in 2017 was recognised with the “John Britten Black Pin” off the back of the team’s famous 35th America’s Cup victory in Bermuda.

“We are incredibly proud to receive this Value of Design award from the Design Institute,” said Bernasconi, “The culture of design and innovation is truly at the core of the entire team, and every team member contributes to that, which is the real strength of the team and what we do. If you sit still, or do not push the boundary of design in the America’s Cup you lose, and that is not what we come to work each day for.

Although to many it seems like this next America’s Cup has not yet started, we have already designed and built our hydrogen powered foiling chase boat, the AC40 which will be used for the Women’s and Youth America’s Cup as well as ‘Horonuku’, our land yacht that we have in Australia right now attempting to break the World Record for Wind Powered Land Speed. All of which are making waves globally for New Zealand.”