Gerard Ronzatti and Petar Lovric
Seine Design, Paris, France
E-mail: seinedesign@ronzatti.com
Abstract – The strain and pressure on the global city infrastructure can be efficiently relieved by allowing this infrastructure to step “onto” the water and thus break this ever existing barrier. Apart from the fact that by doing so we manage to create new and attractive public space in the environment which is usually scarcely utilized, floating infrastructure also provides extremely high resilience while minimizing the environmental impact. Important thing to keep in mind is that these spaces of water often exist in the very heart of cities where availability of building sites tends to be extremely limited. We have provided practical demonstration on how large public spaces can successfully exist on water and how floating architecture has a potential to deliver new realities by physically mirroring the city on this recently empty water space. Our experience and projects successfully delivered to date remove any doubt that large floating infrastructure projects such as floating hotels, floating hospitals, floating sports activity centre with Olympic size swimming pool, floating museum, floating climbing centre, floating bars and restaurants and many others can successfully exist in the unpopulated environment of bodies of water that meet the city shores. Apart from this fact, floating architecture is able to deliver solutions that provide high resilience while minimising the environmental impact.
Keywords: Floating architecture, Floating infrastructure, Public spaces on Water, Resilient city infrastructure
Gerard Ronzatti, President of SEINE DESIGN
Born in Albertville in 1954, he graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in Paris in 1978. After graduating, he went to teach architecture at the University of Aleppo (Syria), before joining, in 1981, the Atelier de Montrouge where he perfected his training with Jean-Louis Veret.
In parallel with his first terrestrial projects, he directed for Sodexo the “Maurice Chevalier” (1989), a restaurant pier located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. The prestigious operator then entrusts the realization of its entire fleet: scenic restaurant boats of 400 seats, trimarans walk of 600 seats and river shuttles Batobus. This collaboration will lead the architect to dedicate himself fully to the floating architecture.
To develop it in France and internationally, he created the agency SEINE DESIGN (1996), a floating architecture and naval engineering workshop. He trains a multidisciplinary team, multicultural and rigorous, able to carry any floating project around the world. From its inception, the agency exports its know-how to London, New York and Dubai.
For 20 years, Gérard Ronzatti dedicated himself to boats and restaurants. At the beginning of the 2000s, however, he replaced floating architecture at the center of his thinking. Equip and enhance the territory by the river, it is now all the work of the architect. Highly exposed in the heart of the city, it is an architecture that he wants exemplary and able to carry all the projects of society. Its architectural references testify to it. In 2010, he designed the “Adamant”, a psychiatric day hospital moored at the foot of the Charles de Gaulle Bridge. In 2016, he created a 4-star floating hotel, consisting of 58 rooms, a restaurant and a pool, the “OFF Paris Seine” (Paris). This is the first time that a floating building has been awarded an architectural prize.
As part of the “Reinventing the Seine” contest, Gérard Ronzatti conceives three winning projects with a wide variety of programs. A sports and wellness center, a museum dedicated to urban art and a bakery with its own mill will soon be docked on the most beautiful banks of Paris. More than ever, his desire to bring floating architecture back into the field of architecture can be seen on the river.
Peter Lovric, Business and Development Manager of SEINE DESIGN
Born in Senta, Serbia in 1983, studied electrical engineering and economics in Rijeka, Croatia, before graduating in 2012 as Master of Business Administration at MIB Trieste, Italy.
Starting from year 2006 Petar provided project management services and technical support to the diverse fleet of vessels ranging from sea going ships to luxury mega yachts. In 2013, he was invited to join the Adriatic Croatia International Club where he took charge of technical management of the company which at that time owned and operated the largest chain of nautical tourism ports in the Mediterranean.
Following the set of different technical rolls in Croatia and Ireland, in 2015 he joined City Cruises London, the largest passenger boat operator on the river Thames, where he took charge of delivery of company’s strategic projects. The following year he moved into the role of Head of Engineering for City Cruises which now expanded the scope of responsibility onto 40 boats and floating structures in several different locations across the United Kingdom.
In 2018 he received an invitation from Gérard Ronzatti to join Seine Design as the person responsible for general business management and business development.
During the course of his career Petar received multiple recognitions and recommendations from both academic and business related colleagues, clients and partners.