Navigating a Greener Tomorrow
A Sustainable Navigation Design Challenge for Inland Waterways
Sustainable Inland Waterways Design Challenge
"Industry 5.0 meets the waters"
Navigating inland waters—such as lakes, rivers, and canals—differs fundamentally from open-sea navigation due to the extreme spatial constraints and complex, multi-user dynamics of enclosed ecosystems.
Unlike the open ocean where vessels contend with vast horizons and deep-sea currents, inland environments are characterized by narrow channels, shallow drafts, tight turning radiuses, and unpredictable river flows or locks, in addition to the occasional storm that affects lakes as much as the sea. The congestion on water bodies like Lake Como is uniquely dense and heterogeneous working vessels, high-speed public transport, and heavy tourist traffic are forced to share the same limited surface area, while also respecting the life of the local residents, the rich cultural heritage of the site and its biodiversity.
We believe that Design through its unique system thinking methodologies, in depth research, and field work, modeling and disciplined trial and error prototyping has the potential to better address interdependent complex eco-socio environment, and to propose innovative interventions addressing the needs of navigation and life on inland waterways.
