Paradigm 40 Sport Utility Vessel – the boat designed for modern living on the water. With a balance of performance, efficiency, and practicality, Paradigm is perfect for families or couples who want to embrace boating with comfort and style. The boat’s raised foredeck and nearly plumb bow bring to mind the classic design, yet with a business-like design in pilothouse superstructure, the concerto of elements make for a clean modern aesthetic. The SUV platform with wide-open cockpit and stern deck invite us aboard in a way our fathers’ boats never did. Inside, an open format brings the family together, while […]
The Need for Speed
Last week, on the hot dry sands of Australia’s remote Lake Gairdner, something incredible happened. On a 46.2-foot-long, 4-wheeled, carbon-fiber land-yacht called Horonuku, Glenn Ashby and Team New Zealand set a breathtaking speed record of 222.4 kmh (or 138.2 mph) in a wind-powered vehicle. And just a few weeks earlier in Luderitz, Namibia, a windsurfer named Heidi Ulrich completed a 500-meter run at 47.16 knots setting a new women’s windsurfing speed world record. That’s pretty fast especially when considering she was navigating a channel only 500 meters long and just 14 meters wide. These feats of speed are part of […]
Pushing the Edge of Accommodations Design
Two years ago, renowned climber and adventure guide company owner, Harry Kent, reached out from his Via Ferrata Works office in Estes Park, Colorado with an interesting request. Could the Stephens Waring studio help his company reimagine the experience of sleeping on a rock climber’s portaledge by designing a structure that was accessible and comfortable for ordinary people to spend the night (or a weekend) hundreds of feet in the air? He wanted a design solution that would build upon the heritage of rock climbing while also integrating the latest in sustainable technologies, green materials, and geotechnical engineering that would […]
The Rising Tide for Floating Communities
By Reed Rowley The concept of the floating metropolis has lived as a science fiction concept ever since French author Jules Verne described them in his novel The Floating City in 1871. Since then, the idea of the large modern floating municipality has been parked on the scientific and engineering backburner. Today there are more people living in Antarctica than in modern floating communities around the world. However, with the twin pressures of population density and climate change causing sea levels to rise, serious attention is being refocused on reimagining and reinventing floating communities as a solution to the challenges […]
Light at the End of the Tunnel For Zemphira
We’re thrilled to share an update on the progress of Zemphira as work continues at full tilt for her to hit the water again this spring. Here’s the latest on her work at the Lyman Morse Boatyard. The Latest: The internal carbon reinforcement frame has been installed around the new molded bottom replacement and keel socket, taped in place, and smoothed and painted. The systems are starting to go in: lithium-ion batteries nested into bays in the carbon grid, each side of and aft of the socket, and collapsible fuel-cell-style diesel tanks in specially-designed compartments within the structure. The new […]
5 Principles Building Boats Can Teach Us About Building on Land
As a design firm rooted in the marine industry, we often reference the great naval architects and boat builders of the past to draw inspiration. Looking back through the annals of marine history provides not only fascinating insight into the past, it also sparks the imagination to find the next great design innovation. While boatbuilding and marine design may constitute only a small percentage of the larger architecture and design world, it’s increasingly clear that there are many best practices and principles of boatbuilding (both old and new), which can help inspire, innovate, and guide the future of architecture, construction, […]
The Rise of Glamping
Getting off the beaten path Whether it’s newcomers looking for comfortable entry into the outdoor adventure world, or seasoned outdoors people looking to get away from the crowds, a new form of adventure travel and hospitality has emerged to support the burgeoning demand. One of the hottest new trends is glamping. Defined loosely as glamorous camping, glamping combines camping with many of the luxuries and amenities of a premium resort. This can include gourmet meals, king-size beds, egyptian cotton sheets, and unlimited hot water for showers in the morning. This once obscure segment is expected to reach $5.41 billion by […]
A Call to the Wild
The Call of the Wild It’s no surprise that the global pandemic has changed our habits and behaviors. International travel restrictions and the slow return to large gatherings in public spaces, compounded with a need to escape after months of confinement, have inevitably led people to pursue alternative forms of leisure and recreation. For many, that outlet has been a call back to the wild. The 2021 Outdoor Participation Trends Report reveals that last year, 53% of Americans ages 6 and over participated in outdoor recreation at least once, the highest participation rate on record. Remarkably, that’s more than 7.1 […]