Waterworld

Written by Stephen Holmes

Published Wed 5 Nov 2008

The slick rendering of the Tortuga passing through the icy arctic waters is a speedy, eye-catching form, which contrasts with the slow deterioration of this environment that has inspired its design.

A concept that has emerged as part of a project studying future mobility, it grimly predicts that rising sea levels will not recede and we will be forced to live a life at sea. Flotillas of cities will form our homes, with transport provided by boats running on sustainable means. This is where the Tortuga comes into its own, using conceptual and renewable power to propel it through the water on its ‘wings’.

The product of David Gonzalez, a 33 year-old postgraduate design student from the Royal College of Art, London, he was adamant that he’d produce a vehicle of the future. Yet the time spent researching his dissertation changed his perspective, and moved him away from the chance to design a flashy sports car and brought him to the conclusion that road-going vehicles might not be of much use in the future.

“I wrote my dissertation on sustainable mobility and that was the basis for the project,” says Gonzalez “I always thought I was going to do something with a vehicle – a car or something – but doing the research I came across global warming and that the situation we’re in now is going to get worse. Going through the sources I found, the books I read about global warming suggested that water levels would go up.

“It made me think that the future of mobility would not necessarily be a car. If water levels continue to rise then maybe we won’t have any roads worth travelling on for traditional vehicles. I took this to an extreme level where I created global flooding, and I pictured humanity and how we would go about solving that problem. We’d probably have floating cities, so future transport would be something with a keel and not four wheels,” he explains.

“I wanted to do something that was sustainable, like sailboats use the wind to power them. A motorboat or powerboat is very powerful, very agile and responsive to whatever you want to do. So I took parts of both of those boats and came up with something in between, a concept that would have the abilities of these types of boats.

The Tortuga’s propulsion system optimises its surroundings, taking its electricity from solar power taken from the fins above water, and driven forward by a reaction involving seawater. An electric current passing from one side of the hydro conductor in each ‘wing’ to the other through the conductive seawater, creates a magnetic force that pushes against the hydro conductor’s magnet.Seawater is driven backwards, forcing the ship forward. As the ship moves ahead, a continuous current flows through a constantly repelling field to drive it onward, enabling the concept to have a system that has no moving parts.

Although not unique, it is still quite conceptual, adding to the futuristic feel of such a traditional mode of transport. “The sailboat, the motorboat, the propulsion system, all come together in this shape and the design eliminates the need for a rudder. If you want to turn right then you would have to apply more power to the corresponding motor.

“I wanted everything below the surface of the water to reflect life in the water and aesthetics. I wanted people to see it as a boat. The shape is quite unusual as it is, so I didn’t want people to confuse it with a spaceship or anything else.”

Gonzalez’s creation was achieved through collaboration with Majenta Academy and Autodesk, who supplied him with Alias to create the form of the Tortuga.“There was a lot of sketching at first trying different things,” he explains, displaying an impressive array of drawings, “then I took it into Alias and built it up from the sketches, side-view drawings, and more precise drawings.”

From this, he was able to use the information in a number of different ways, using the technology to hand in order to put together an impressive display. “The 3D data was sent over to the mill for a physical model to be produced. I could also build a movie around the 3D design in Showcase, which was easy to use. Once you have a good model and good surfaces and details I could add materials to the model, and I created snapshots by steering the camera around the model, and by putting them together I created the movie.”

The end product is visually striking, employing the software to make the most of the angled views of the vessel. So what projects are next for Gonzalez? As a recent graduate he is now looking for employment, having already been courted by Mercedes-Benz at their advanced design studios in Como, Italy, where Alias is part of their design tools.With his predictions on climate change it might be an ideal place to make a change to the environment before there is a real need for the Tortuga to set sail. n