Improving sea-rescue services for refugee seekers

ANKORÉ

Aalto University CoID & Meyer Turku
Product Architecture Design course
Helsinki, Finland | 2017

Objective: to improve humanitarian aid experiences at sea, focusing on basic and psychological needs of displaced people.

Contribution: user journey analysis, rescue area concept, vessel 3D CAD (Solidworks), and scale 3D print model.

Exhibitions: Dubai Design Week 2018.
Awards: Core77 student notable & community choice award winner 2018.

In 2017, over 100,000 internationally displaced people crossed the sea route between Libya and Italy. More than 22,500 persons have reportedly died or disappeared globally since 2014 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

Sea routes represent an increasing risk for displaced populations, estimates by the World Economic Forum predict that by 2030 as many as 1 billion people will have been displaced due to climate change, natural disasters, war, and violence. As displacement problems increase around the globe, so will the need for services that provide humanitarian relief.

Study case

In collaboration with Meyer Turku, this project explored the product architecture of complex product–service systems through the passenger cruising experience. While vessels are built from modular sections, their architecture becomes highly integral during final assembly, making later modifications difficult due to embedded systems and regulatory constraints.

Challenging this rigidity, the team reimagined an offshore support vessel to address the refugee crossing experience in the Mediterranean. By transforming the cargo space into a flexible service environment, the project demonstrated how architectural decisions can enable more humane, user-centred services within highly constrained systems.

The rescue vessel

Ankoré reimagines humanitarian rescue at sea by placing human experience at the centre of mission design. Grounded in an in-depth analysis of refugee journeys and rescue operations along the Libya–Italy route, the project transforms a vessel’s cargo space into a humane rescue environment, integrating services and products that address both basic needs and psychological relief. By redesigning every stage of the rescue journey, Ankoré fosters a sense of safety, dignity, and belonging at sea.