University of New Orleans picked to design largest accessible tall ship in the world : New Orleans, La.

The University of New Orleans announced that its School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering has partnered with the nonprofit organization America's Freedom Sailor to help design the largest accessible tall ship in the world, and the only one in the United States.

Five UNO students, assisted by three faculty members, will perform the design work as part of their senior project during the spring 2014 semester. The preliminary ship design will be completed in May.

The mission of America's Freedom Sailor, a New Orleans-based nonprofit, is to build a universal design tall ship that is accessible to people of every physical disability. Universal design refers to a philosophy of designing and building environments that are usable to everyone, regardless of age or ability.


The organization is also partnering with the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, which will provide expertise on the accessibility of the vessel.


"To my knowledge, there are many accessible vessels in the world but there has never been a vessel built on the principle of universal design," said Jan Olijve, co-founder and executive director of America's Freedom Sailor. "With the design team of UNO's School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering and the IDEA Center at SUNY Buffalo, this is an adventure of a lifetime for all of us. When we fulfill our mission, the group will set a new worldwide standard for shipbuilding.


Source : bayoubuzz , 5th Nov 2013