Press Release
Hydrospine Freediving Weight by Ludovic Lahccen and Raoul Morel Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Sporting Goods, Fitness and Recreation Equipment Design
Ludovic Lahccen and Raoul Morel acknowledged for sporting goods, fitness and recreation equipment design by the international grand jury of the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 20, 2023 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Silver A' Design Award in the Sporting Goods, Fitness and Recreation Equipment Design category for Hydrospine Freediving Weight by Ludovic Lahccen and Raoul Morel, designed for Apnea Sub. The result belongs to the 2022 - 2023 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
About Hydrospine Freediving Weight
The design is a back weight for freediving, which allows an ultra precise balance and buoyancy. Its assets, its modular and fast load capacity, up to 6 kg, usable in any position, any freediving discipline. It is equipped with a quick release and adjustment buckles to adjust to different sizes, whatever the gender, offering incredible comfort that quickly makes you forget the weight carried. Its design comes from the fusion of marine animals and gear created for speed to give it very hydrodynamic lines and offer optimal glide under water. Its versatility makes it a one-of-a-kind concept.
About Ludovic Lahccen and Raoul Morel
Its primary objective: to impact. Demanding, he takes care of the smallest detail that must be justified. He does not like creations without meaning, without stories or without emotions in order to create a stronger interaction with the target. He knows perfectly well how to adapt and communicate his expectations. This allowed him, in addition to his approach and experience, to explain his vision and lead the design of new equipment for freedivers. He also knows how to listen and surround himself with experts to obtain convincing results.
Award Record
This recognition makes Ludovic Lahccen and Raoul Morel a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Sporting Goods, Fitness and Recreation Equipment Design Award
The A' Sporting Goods Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good sports equipment designs by leading designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to sporting goods designers, fitness equipment designers, recreation equipment designers and industrial designers from all countries. Typical entries include basketballs, tennis rackets, yoga mats, running shoes, dumbbells and bicycles. The awarded sports equipment designs are published at https://desingers.org/design-category/sporting-goods
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://desingers.org/148412
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/148412
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!148412
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/337902
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://apnea-sub.fr
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Hydrospine Freediving Weight
- Function
- Freediving Weight
- Category
- Sporting Goods, Fitness and Recreation Equipment Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Sports
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Dark Gray, Gainsboro and Silver
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Apnea Sub
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Ludovic Lahccen and Raoul Morel
- Country
- France
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2022 - 2023
- Design ID
- #148412
Credits
- Team
- Ludovic Lahccen, Raoul Morel, Steven Pingon, Charles Pionchon, Alan Philippart, Olivier Paul and Christiane Lefebvre
- Image Credits
- Main image is Image #1 Raoul Morel Optional Image #1 Raoul Morel Optional Image #2 Raoul Morel Optional Image #3 Raoul Morel Optional Image #4 Raoul Morel
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- It is the only dorsal ballast of this type that can support up to six kilos, the leads distribution in the container which can be quickly and easily modulated. Its assets are, its modularity, its comfort which you forget the weight transported, its hydrodynamic look for an optimal glide. Its safety with its quick release buckle. It can be used in all freediving activities and in all positions. It is undoubtedly the most advanced system to date allowing for ultra-precise buoyancy and neutrality.
- Inspiration
- The concept was born out of not having enough practical and comfortable weight. As we would like a different approach, we did not have an established reference. We let our imagination free by relying on other areas. For the design of the shapes, we were inspired by sea animals as well as machines created for speed. Hydrodynamics also influenced the structure. Forcing us to review the structure to keep the modular aspect, and that it can remain flexible to follow the different body movements.
- Research
- Before launching, we inventoried all the solutions available on the market and surveyed a panel of a hundred freedivers. Next, we listed all the desired requirements for the product, assigning them a degree of importance. As well as the impacts that will occur on the different use cases. We quickly agree to test each hypothesis by prototyping it summarily. It was a principle rich in lessons allowing us to see the gap between the idea and reality while showing what needs to be corrected.
- Challenge
- Many factors need to be taken into account and it has not always been easy for some team members to understand them. A freediving session was necessary to measure the problem. The biggest difficulty was the development of the harness, because it was difficult to hold 6 kg on the back and at the same time not prevent the rib cage from inflating, to be safe with a quick release and to be homologated in competition, to adapt to different morphologies. This required extensive structural and material testing.
- Realization and Technology
- The materials used are all waterproof, easy to source and inexpensive (elastic and polypropylene straps, plastic buckles, textiles and lead). The shell is made of thermoformed textile with a zipped side opening. The internal structure has slots to fix the leads like a spine and accordion ribs to follow all movements. The leads were designed from a single template, to limit the molds and keep a hydrodynamic structure. Thus covering 98% of user needs. The rear nozzle allows air to escape.
- Operation and Interaction
- The equipment is carried like a backpack. The buckle at the front allows the straps to be adjusted according to size and to instantly release the weight with one hand by simple pressure. The envelope containing the leads has reception racks to hold the pellets in place which are sandwiched with the upper part of the cover so that they cannot move. Leads can be placed in any order for extremely precise balancing.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started solo in August 2019 in Lille, France. Then continued with the Transalley incubator in Valenciennes, France, from September 2020 to September 2022. Then solo again, with the collaboration of Raoul Morel as product designer.
- Specifications
- Storage shell 150mm x 45mm x 370mm Lead 105mm x 7,5mm x 40mm
- Keywords
- Freediving, apnea, dive, diving, weight, spine, hydrodynamic, lestage, weighting, sport
