michele de lucchi + AMDL circle's floating walkway for azimut cocoons 2 million bottle corks

Azimut focuses on green philosophy with ‘the sea deck’ 

Michele De Lucchi + AMDL Circle and Azimut Yachts brew an understated artistic and eco-friendly synergy. The latter has recently unveiled its Seadeck series, the company’s first hybrid series of motor yachts for families which can reduce carbon emissions by 40% as part of Azimut’s goal to cut down its environmental impact on the sea. The former draws upon this green ethos, conceives a suspended promenade that shelters two million recycled bottle corks, and names the interactive installation ‘The Sea Deck’ as a homage to Azimut’s recent hybrid motor yachts.

The floating promenade drifted on the reservoir at Darsena in Navigli District during Milan Design Week 2023, a limelight stealer with its zesty yellow shade cornered in light blue hue. The appearance of recycled bottle corks circled back to Azimut’s move to trade teak, a typical material used in yachts, for a more environmentally friendly cork. Along with it, PET,  a recycled material derived from plastic bottles, constructs the yachts’ bulkheads, and around 15,000 plastic bottles are expected to be reused for each Seadeck.

images courtesy of AMDL Circle and Azimut

michele de lucchi + AMDL circle gives ‘the sea deck’ a new life

The recycled and ground bottle corks nestled inside the Sea Deck interactive installation by Michele De Lucchi + AMDL Circle and Azimut were collected by volunteers on behalf of the Arts & Crafts Cooperative of Cuneo. These corks were all gathered in Italy and treated by Amorim Cork, which has long been involved in raising awareness about cork’s important role in ecology. After Milan Design Week 2023, the design team could and would further recycle and transform the 2 million bottle corks into insulating materials for various works of architecture. 

Before giving it a new life, the interactive installation on Darsena reservoir allowed visitors to pad through the cushiony promenade so long as they walked on it barefoot. As they stepped on the walkway, their feet followed the dips and slopes of the bottle corks, mimicking the waves of the sea. On the promenade, five balcony-like stations referenced the openable ‘wings’ of the Seadeck motor yachts, and the entire installation reinterprets the aft terrace of the Seadeck series whose open lounge design enables riders to enjoy the sea from a hovering platform.

photo by Luca Rotondo

Journeying through the five stations

Michele De Lucchi + AMDL Circle and Azimut stationed five pop-up terraces around the floating walkway, each space showcasing the objects and processes that are dear to the design studio and yacht company.

The first station uncovered a scale model of Seadeck 7 with a green light pulsating to signal the company’s renewable-energy scheme, from its use of solar panels and recycled materials in the Seadeck series to the adoption of carbon fiber as the motor yachts’ frame. In fact, the second station was covered in carbon fiber, which recalls Azimut’s use of the material that covers 40 percent of its new boats’ surface.

Two yacht models with solar panels mounted on the deckhouse greeted the visitors in the third stage, a terrace dedicated to renewable energy. It was time for a break when they reached the fourth station where a couple of cork stools designed by Michele De Lucchi + AMDL Circle could accommodate them. Concluding the journey, three painted propellers with integrated lights reflected the Volvo hybrid engines installed on board the new yachts. 

the floating promenade drifted on the reservoir at Darsena in Navigli District during Milan Design Week 2023

visitors had to walk around the walkway barefoot due to the corks

photo by Luca Rotondo

the appearance of recycled bottle corks circled back to Azimut’s move to trade teak for this more sustainable material

cork stool designed by Michele De Lucchi + AMDL Circle

the design team would further recycle the 2 million bottle corks into insulating materials for architecture

propellers reflecting the Volvo hybrid engines installed on board the new yachts

project info:

name: The Sea Deck

studio: Michele De Lucchi + AMDL Circle

yacht company: Azimut