The Visual Pleasantness in Yacht Design: Natural Lighting, View and Interior Colors

The quality of the environment is closely related to the control and the availability of natural lighting and possible views. In the field of yachting, however, the design solution of the hulls and the environments often makes this relations especially critical the availability of natural light and views inside the boat. Anyway, the demands of representation and sociality required, needs the introduction of new systems of windows, terraces and new layouts, to relate the interior of the boats with the deck, attributing new meanings within the social idea of “going into the sea". This is how the small portholes, with the original function of air environments, aspire to become large openings for dialogue with the sky and sea. However, the unstable horizon of the boat, and the dynamic changing nature of views and natural lighting, generate very difficult conditions about the control of the factors which can help to determine the good size of the domestic interiors and their relationship with the environment. The paper presents the results of a research on the topic of visual pleasantness in yachting, conducted at the Department of Architecture, University "G. D'Annunzio "of Chieti-Pescara (Italy). The research has developed a system of guidelines for the aware-design of the openings to the outside in the nautical living spaces, taking into account the constraints imposed by the marine environment, activities and postures of users, as well as natural lighting and views, according with the knowledge that the control of these factors contribute to the overall quality of the project.