43 products, from a total of 133, have been chosen for final judging by the prominent 2011 DAME Design Award METS competition´s jury who will eventually choose a maximum of eight category winners and one overall winner.
The DAME Design Award competition is held every year in conjunction with METS incorporating the SuperYacht Pavilion and this year it received entries from 21 countries, with the nominees coming from 10 nations. The overall and category winners will be announced at a special Breakfast Briefing on Tuesday November 15th at 8 a.m. prior to the start of the METS show that same day. During METS, all of the short listed products will be put on display in a special DAME presentation located in the RAI Elicium.
Chairman of the DAME Award’s Jury, Bill Dixon, says he is delighted with the quality of this year’s entries. “The 2011 DAME Design Award entry list is one of the best we’ve seen in years and it has been a real challenge trying to decide which products should be nominated for final judging. Each category has had its fair share of diverse and well-executed ideas, and the judges’ favourites have ranged from simple gadgets to highly engineered machinery. Although manufacturers are clearly very price conscious during these difficult economic times, it’s great to see that the marine industry is just as inspired and creative as ever. Choosing the eventual overall winner is certainly going to be tough.”
The Overall Winner
The overall winner of the DAME Awards will be announced at the ICOMIA-METS Breakfast Briefing held in the Forum of Amsterdam RAI before the official opening of the show. The Award presented to the overall winner has been designed by Naval Architect Tony Castro, former chairman of the DAME Jury, and is intended to reflect the international nature of the competition.
DAME categories
Each entry is carefully assessed by the DAME Jury who consider several important criteria, including overall design, build quality, functionality, and use of materials. Other factors taken into account are originality, ergonomics and price/quality ratio. The short listed products are divided into eight categories:
1. Marine electronics
2. Interior equipment, furnishings, materials, and electrical fittings used in cabins
3. Marina equipment, boatyard equipment, and boat construction tools and materials
4. Deck equipment, sails, and rigging
5. Clothing and crew accessories
6. Lifesaving and safety equipment
7. Machinery, propulsion, mechanical, and electrical systems and fittings
8. Marine related software
The Jury can also — at its discretion — present special certificates for ‘Most ECO-Friendly Product’ and ‘Most Innovative Product’. Other products that are exceptional, but which do not win the award in their category, may be given a Special Mention.
DAME JURY 2011
This year’s DAME Jury is made up of ten leading industry experts:
• Mr. B. Dixon, Dixon Yacht Design, United Kingdom – Chairman of the DAME Jury
• Mr. G. den Boef, The Netherlands – Secretary of the DAME Jury
• Ms. M. Bos-De Vaal, Art-Line Interiors B.V., The Netherlands
• Mr. T. Conradi, judel/vrolijk & co engineering GmbH, President DBSV, Germany
• Ing. A. Frabetti, Ferretti Group / AYT-Advanced Yacht Technology, Italy
• Prof. ir. J.J. Jacobs, TU Delft (University of Technology), The Netherlands
• Mr. J. Jakopin, J&J Design/Seaway, Slovenia
• Mr U. Kleinitz, ICOMIA, UK
• Mr. R. Marshall, yacht designer and author, USA
• Mr D. O’Neill, editor European Boatbuilder and Superyacht Business, UK
Below is an image gallery of Dixon Yacht Design.
