In this final major project, there were many ideas that I could base my project on. I wanted to design something new and unique that revolutionise a specific service or event that is currently operating.
Eventually I decided to redesign something related to transport around London. It’s a very huge part of our country and still very busy and frustrating to get around.
After some research into different types of transportation around the city I realised that one of the least used services is boats. They are mainly tour boats instead of commuting boats. And the only commuting boat ran every half hour/hour.
The Thames is a key landmark in our capital and isn’t used to its full potential, it’s part of nature and is something we can develop and use to our advantage of transporting round London.
I looked into economic boats that are currently available and in production around the word and came across the hydro dolphin boat which was electric powered and shaped on the aero dynamics of a dolphin.
Next I looked at what sea creatures are dominant in the sea and looked into types of sharks. The structure of my boat is all based on various parts of sharks and how they look and are used. The glass windows that sits around the boats skeleton are solar powered which power the electric motor to make the air fan spin at the back of the boat creating kinetic energy to move the boat forward.
The shape is very similar to a shark and has a unique design that stands out in London and looks cool to any tourists. Choosing the colours I kept exactly the same as the normal services and tfl colourways to keep the originality of the city in tact.
I liked how my boat looked and operating from an engineering point of view and am very happy with the outcome of the boat.
If I had to change anything I would have done more with my final advert, I would of tried to get more real footage of London to include in the advert so that it was relevant to the typical tfl adverts we see around London and in media. I also would have of liked to have different boats all with similar features and designs so that boat transport round London would be as used as trains and buses etc.
Overall though, I am very please with the quality of the boat and how it turned out, I learnt a lot in terms of design and engineering, and also my skills and what I am now able to do and create on the programs I used. It’s been a big step for me in terms of the design and organisation of my work, as well as an achievement I am proud of accomplishing.
ben martin 