12 KEYNOTE That growth came quicky for IMA as it continued to provide new and innovative designs for NCLH’s vessels. “We grew from two or three people in the early days to 30 by the time we moved to London, and continued growing to almost 100 people this year,” says Pastorino. “I started in this business when I was 26 and I’m now 50. My role has evolved during this time so that latterly I was mostly engaged in managing the team and working through the contractual phase of a project, including the pricing, general arrangement plan and technical specifications. I was committed to making sure that our projects worked economically for the owner.” The company was able to work well with its partners because they always made themselves available, explains Pastorino, whether it was for an early meeting with the shipyard in Europe or a late call with NCLH in the USA. “We also had the freedom to speak candidly about what we felt would or would not work in the project,” he says. “Trusting and believing in the people or companies that you employ is a great strength in any industry.” Alongside its newbuild projects, IMA was also involved in a number of refurbishment projects with NCLH, which Pastorino suggests ended up benefitting the company’s overall strategy. “Taking responsibility for newbuildings forced us to think ahead – to make good decisions that would also pay off in the future,” he says. “We had to be making good decisions for the future operation of the vessel and for refurbishments later down the line. You want to take as much time as you can to make newbuilding decisions that work operationally to save on modification costs.” This level of consideration is necessary even when designing ships in the same class, says Pastorino, cautioning against a copy and paste approach to such projects. “Technical improvements, innovations, new legislation, changes in yard personnel, new contractors and different suppliers can lead to massive differences between even sister ships,” he says. “NCLH has always wanted to make big and bold advancements from one ship to the next – it was never satisfied with a simpler, template approach.” One example of this commitment to advancement came in the design of The Haven on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva. Pastorino was keen to recruit a landbased designer so that it would have a fresh style, something completely different to other ships. “There were lots of reasons why we shouldn’t use a company that had no maritime experience, but Frank and Robin trusted us to deliver what was best for the company,” he says. “We employed Lissoni & Partners and the result and feedback has been amazing.” Bettering traditional approaches has been a feature of IMA’s projects, and Pastorino has been prepared to make bold choices throughout his time at the head of the company. “I’m happy to break from tradition if necessary,” he says. “Just because this is the way that it’s always been done does not mean that there isn’t a better way to do it. You sometimes have to challenge the plan. It’s easy for us to help a new designer with material choices and other maritime design constraints – it’s not so easy for us to think with the freedom of a land-based designer.” While it could be understandable if maritime designers were resistant to land-based designers moving into the space, Pastorino has seen an openness to innovation throughout the industry. “I’ve always had a really nice relationship with Greg Walton and the Studio DADO team and they’ve always delivered great work,” says Pastorino. “Greg was happy working with new companies because he understood that my motive to bring someone new into “ I’m happy to break from tradition if necessary. Just because this is the way that it’s always been done does not mean that there isn’t a better way to do it” Pastorino chose to employ a previously land-based design firm, Lissoni & Partners, in the design of Norwegian Prima’s The Haven
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