Home is where the heart is

摘要

It's a rare occurrence to catch an offshore presentation that references Lamborghinis, iPods and modernist sculptor Barbara Hepworth - though all three were mentioned in a lively paper delivered by Dr Sean McCartan, of Coventry University's department for industrial design, at the inaugural RINA Design & Construction of Wind Farm Vessels conference, hosted in London in January 2014. Demand for these accommodation structures is growing, as the renewable energy sector heads into deeper waters to establish workable offshore wind turbine arrays. This demand, McCartan argues, should also serve as a springboard for a rethink in how the industry actually designs these structures; simply viewing these platforms as a series of berths for rest, and ignoring a finer aesthetic approach, could have an indirect negative impact on worker morale.