Five days, 595 exhibitors, 145,000 square meters of exhibition space, sixteen fully occupied pavilions, and over 92,000 visitors. The figures from the 43rd edition of Cersaie, held at BolognaFiere from September 21 to 25, are enough to convey the scale of an event which continues to be one of the leading international events dedicated to ceramics, architecture, and design. This role is further underscored by its ability to look beyond the traditional boundaries of the sector. Of the 595 exhibitors present, 233 came from abroad, accounting for 39% of the total, with 24 countries represented. Even more significant was the composition of the visitors: of the 92,352 visitors recorded, 44,500 were international, accounting for 48.2% of the total. This audience was joined by 684 journalists, 284 of whom were from abroad, while over 800 people attended the keynote lectures by Alejandro Aravena and Annabelle Selldorf.
But the 2026 edition also marked an unprecedented milestone. For the first time in its history, Cersaie opened a window onto the world of boating. And to do so, it called upon Top Yacht Design. This collaboration was anything but coincidental. Because if there is one sector in which experimentation with materials has become an integral part of the design process in recent years, it is yacht design. Hence the talk titled “Ceramics, Design, and Boating. New Materials for a New Way of Life at Sea,” moderated by Matteo Zaccagnino, editor-in-chief of Top Yacht Design , featuring Francesca Burdisso of BurdissoCapponi Yachts&Design and Veronica Yien of SY Design. A discussion centered on one question: To what extent can materials change the way we design and experience a yacht?
To find an answer, however, we need to start from the very beginning.
There was a time when stepping aboard a yacht meant entering a world with rules all its own. Wood as far as the eye could see, furniture built specifically for the boat, shapes and spaces defined by a design language that seemed immutable. Outside, meanwhile, design was moving in an entirely different direction. It experimented, blended design languages, introduced new materials, and changed the very way spaces were interpreted.
Then something happened. Design came on board.
“On average, three materials were used. There was wood as far as the eye could see: large paneled walls, furniture made primarily from the same material, and an almost indiscriminate use of solid wood and curved forms,” says Francesca Burdisso. “And all of this was happening precisely during the years when the world of design was, in fact, moving toward other styles, other design languages, and other aesthetics.”
Two worlds moving along parallel paths. On one hand, the residential design sector, increasingly open to experimentation; on the other, the boating industry, deeply rooted in its traditions and established production processes. For those coming from the world of design, the impact could be surprising. “I ended up in the boating industry somewhat by chance, and it had a huge impact on me,” Burdisso continues. “I immediately felt the desire to try to change that language—with great enthusiasm and determination, perhaps even driven a bit by my age.”
The impetus for change, however, did not come solely from the outside. “I believe there was also a grassroots movement, coming from within the shipyards themselves, that contributed to this process of transformation.” It has been a long process that has gradually broken down seemingly insurmountable barriers, ultimately opening the doors of the yachting industry to the leading figures of contemporary design. Piero Lissoni, Patricia Urquiola, and Antonio Citterio are just a few of the names that demonstrate how much that gap has now narrowed.
But when did the turning point actually occur?
For Veronica Yien, one of the keys is precisely the end of the insularity that had long characterized the industry. “Until a few years ago, those who designed yachts essentially did nothing else, and, as Francesca said, it was a rather closed-off environment. With the changes of recent years, many architects from the residential sector have entered the yachting industry, bringing with them design languages, solutions, and experiences developed in that sector.”
This cross-pollination hasn’t been limited to architects alone. It has made its way into construction sites, companies, and even woodworking shops. “In the past, those who made boat furnishings worked exclusively for the boating industry. Today, that world has also opened up, and the two fields have begun to influence each other,” Yien points out. And perhaps this is precisely where the key to understanding the scope of this change lies. It wasn’t simply a matter of replacing one material with another or bringing a few prestigious names on board. The very concept of a yacht has changed. For decades, the layout of spaces had remained tied to specific patterns: each room served a specific function, and every element was designed specifically for that context. The shift toward residential design has shaken things up, introducing a different way of thinking not only about interiors but, above all, about how we experience them.
“Little by little, the boat has become a true home on the water,” explains Burdisso. And the boat owners were also the ones who really spurred the process on. “They wanted to find the same brands, the same level of comfort, and, more generally, the same kind of atmosphere on board that they had in their own homes.” A seemingly simple request, but one capable of sparking a small design revolution. Because bringing residential design to the sea meant challenging many of the rules that had governed nautical interior design up to that point. Burdisso recalls a project that exemplified this transition well. “The decision was to create a sort of box: an interior space with a completely clean-lined design. Something that, up until then, had never been done that way.”
The idea was radical precisely because of its simplicity: to stop thinking of the yacht’s interior as a space that had to be “nautical” and to approach it with the same freedom one would use when designing a home. “We approached the nautical interior exactly as we would a residential interior, creating a space in which to incorporate pieces drawn directly from the world of design.” This is perhaps the image that best captures this transformation. The shift from furniture built exclusively for boats to design pieces chosen for their quality, form, and signature style. “It was the shift from furniture built specifically for the interior of a yacht to purchased furniture, which finally made it possible to bring even the most high-end design brands on board.”
From that moment on, the boundary began to blur for good. The house looked toward the yacht, and the yacht looked toward the house. Architecture, interior design, and marine design began to share designers, companies, products, and design languages. But above all, they began sharing materials.
Ceramics Come On Board
For a long time, talking about ceramics inside a yacht essentially meant thinking of two spaces: the bathroom and the kitchen. This was an almost automatic association, stemming as much from the material’s characteristics as from a design culture that assigned it specific functions. In the meantime, however, ceramics have changed. Ultra-thin thicknesses, large formats, new surfaces, and new processing possibilities have gradually expanded its scope of application. And the yachting industry, constantly on the lookout for materials capable of balancing aesthetics, lightness, and durability, has begun to view it in a new light. “It’s one of the materials that has amazed me the most and that I consider truly revolutionary,” says Francesca Burdisso. “As early as 2011, products like Laminam began to appear, featuring extremely thin thicknesses—around three millimeters—and large formats. We decided to experiment, accepting a proposal from the design department, and it was indeed a revolutionary choice.”
The reason lies in the very nature of the yacht. On board, every kilogram counts, and every material must meet requirements that carry a completely different weight on land. “These surfaces made it possible to keep the weight down while at the same time covering very large areas with a lightweight material.”
But introducing a new material on board doesn’t simply mean adding it to the specifications. It means changing manufacturing processes, installation techniques, and, often, long-established practices. “It required a great deal of flexibility on the part of the shipyard and the workers,” Burdisso emphasizes. “There is a crucial interface between the product—no matter how technologically advanced—and the final result. In between are the people who must transform it, work with it, and assemble it.” This is one of the central challenges of innovation in the boating industry. A material may be extraordinary on paper, but it must then enter an extremely complex production chain, where timelines and sequences are scheduled and where any change can affect subsequent stages. Innovation therefore means convincing designers and boat owners, but also—and perhaps above all—those who must make that solution a reality.
Once you get past this hurdle, however, the field opens up.
Ceramic can move beyond the bathroom and kitchen to take over the rest of the boat. “I’m thinking, for example, of the countertops on salon cabinets,” notes Burdisso. “It’s an interesting solution because it has an attractive appearance and is extremely durable—a fundamental characteristic on a boat. If you use wood on a cabinet top, it can get damaged; the lacquer finish can be damaged in the same way. Marble is a solution we’re familiar with, but it’s heavy. Ceramic can be a viable alternative.” Veronica Yien explains how experimentation is already taking this material into areas that would have been hard to imagine until recently. “In some projects, we’ve been proposing it for flooring. For example, under the dining table area, where it creates a surface that’s easier to clean and maintain.”
Then there’s the exterior, an even more interesting area because it forces the material to interact with one of the quintessential symbols of a yacht: teak. “In some projects, we’ve enjoyed extending this concept to the exterior decks as well,” Yien continues. “We’ve tried incorporating ceramic flooring, perhaps at the edge of a pool, partly to break away from the traditional use of teak and add more dynamism to the space.” It’s not just a matter of function. Bringing the same material from the interior to the exterior means creating visual continuity, establishing connections, and gradually erasing that separation between “in” and “out”—a major theme in contemporary yacht design. “It’s interesting to incorporate a material that, even visually, can then be found inside,” adds Yien. From the bathroom to the salon, from the top of a piece of furniture to the floor, all the way to the outer deck. Ceramics thus seem to have begun to break free, even on board, from the function for which they were traditionally chosen. And perhaps we’re only at the beginning. Because the point is no longer to ask oneself whether there’s room for ceramics on a yacht. The question today is whether how much more space it can still claim.
Matteo Zaccagnino
