Description:

The North Face has designed products for many environments, sponsoring a number of expeditions in remote areas. For this project, we wanted to take the brand in a new direction: into the challenging waters of the Arctic ocean.

Inspired by the adventuring spirit of The North Face, Thalarctos is a workboat for Arctic exploration and conservation research. Designed to work in tandem with a larger mothership, Thalarctos is self-contained and can deploy for periods of up to 3 days.

Functionally suited to colder conditions, Thalarctos has a fully enclosed cabin space, and a sheltered outdoor work area to ensure passengers will stay warm and dry on expeditions. The cabin space includes a shower and toilet cubicle, a small workspace, Galley, and beds to sleep four. The canopy at the rear provides additional storage space for extra equipment whilst offering the crew protection from the elements. The crew has full access to the water from the rear deck, with grips on both sides of the stern to support divers climbing aboard. Observation can be done from the rear or bow deck, or from inside the Wheelhouse.

The forward-leaning windshield decreases glare and increases space in the Wheelhouse, providing better visibility. Bowboarding steps facilitate the loading of equipment and supplies as well as easier access to the shore. High grip flooring and surfaces throughout the boat help to keep the crew safe in poor weather conditions.

Whilst designing this boat, the main focus was to incorporate the image and feel of The North Face brand into a functional and practical vessel. We drew significant aesthetic inspiration from the robust and bold attitude of The North Face products; and combined these with the practical features of an Arctic boat to produce the final design. The boat was named Thalarctos, taken from the Latin name for the Polar bear.