Human-scale districts
Investigate groups of cabins and suites in differentiated clusters with identifiable location and improved orientation.
EURAN · PROJECT 226 · SEA · COS™ APPLICATION · 2026
FLOATING NEIGHBOURHOODS
Mediterranean Village at Sea. From Cycladic spatial intelligence to a complete cultural operating environment.
EURAN extends Alexandre Mimoglou's architectural research and cruise-industry experience into a multi-instrument COS™ programme for the next generation of passenger vessels. Architecture, art, design, perception, cultural identity and operations become one coordinated system.
Project 226 · Spatial organisation · Illustrative conceptual reading
RESIDENTIAL CLUSTERS
Conventional accommodation modules in a proposed new relationship
NEIGHBOURHOOD NODE
Shared places · orientation · culture · social life
PASSAGES & THRESHOLDS
Sequence · light · views · connection to the sea
This is an editorial conceptual diagram. Project 226's detailed layouts, vessel arrangements and technical feasibility will be established with cruise operators, shipyards and their engineering teams.
01 · Mediterranean Village at Sea
A new relationship between cabins, passages and the shared life of the vessel.
Project 226 examines how existing accommodation modules and other onboard spaces can be grouped, sequenced, oriented and experienced as recognisable human-scale neighbourhoods. Its principal field is the architecture between spaces : shorter sequences, differentiated routes, thresholds, terraces, framed views and collective places.
Shared civic rooms
Identify social nodes and cultural places that connect residential circulation with public life aboard the vessel.
Interior–exterior continuity
Explore meaningful connections to light, views, open decks, promenades and transitional outdoor environments.
The architectural challenge:
explore new spatial relationships while testing cabin capacity, accessibility, prefabrication,
engineering efficiency, classification, fire safety, passenger circulation, operation and commercial
feasibility.
02 · Architectural foundation · 1979–1982
The six principles, now applied through COS™.
Signification
Places reveal layers of meaning through landmarks, identity, sequences and discovery.
Dynamism
Changes of direction, rhythm and perspective animate movement between spaces.
Expression
Public and communal places support meeting, culture and shared life.
Energy
Linked smaller spatial compositions establish coherence through diversity.
Fusion
Thresholds, terraces, light and nature connect inside and outside.
Sensualism & Brilliancy
Controlled light, shadow, colour, proportion and materials create emotional precision.
The principles originate in Alexandre Mimoglou's documented architectural and town-planning theory. Cycladic settlements provide a central research source; the design response is conceived for a contemporary passenger vessel.
CASM™ is the dedicated COS™ instrument that places this original architectural theory within the present EURAN operating system. Read CASM™ → The source theory itself remains available through the original architectural research page.
03 · The 2026 breakthrough
Project 226 becomes a full COS™ maritime application.
Project 226 began with Alexandre Mimoglou’s architectural research and its proposed application to inhabited cruise vessels. CASM™ now identifies that research as an independent architectural instrument within COS™. Other COS™ instruments — including ADSM™ for artwork-derived spatial design — may be selected individually or combined where justified. COS™ connects original art, cultural identity, prototypes, experience and strategic deployment; EURAN OPS™ supports coordination and execution.
| COS™ instrument | Maritime application | Illustrative output |
|---|---|---|
| MSF™ | Strategic and cultural programme for vessel / ship class. | Authored design doctrine, operational scope and deployment architecture. |
| Prototypes™ — Cruise 226 | Organisation of accommodation districts, passages and social nodes. | Alternative deck-sector prototypes with functional requirements. |
| CASM™ | Architectural organisation informed by the six original Mediterranean and Cycladic spatial principles. | Human-scale neighbourhood layouts, circulation sequences, gathering nodes, thresholds and design alternatives. |
| ADSM™ | Artwork-derived geometry, rhythm and composition shaping spatial environments. | Architectural patterns for thresholds, shared spaces and transitions. |
| ADDM™ | Art-derived design of furnishings, finishes, textiles, signage and material systems. | FF&E and spatial design schedules suitable for further engineering. |
| Signatures™ | Distinctive authored identities for selected public and residential districts. | Spatial Signatures and coherent visual identity packages. |
| SPVI™ | Studies of perceived value, orientation, dwell time and experience. | Evaluation protocol for comparable passenger-experience alternatives. |
| CSI™ | Coherence and cultural stability of complex passenger environments. | System-level diagnosis and consistency review. |
| CCPI™ | Cultural performance, long-term value and potential differentiation. | Proposed cultural and business performance indicators. |
| ADMM™ / ADSP™ | Art-derived cultural media and institutional framework, where relevant. | Onboard communication and cultural programme documentation. |
| CDCA™ / CRRS™ | Selected stability, cultural continuity and rapid-response applications, where operationally useful. | Defined resilience protocols and appropriate cultural-response scenarios. |
04 · Tangible development scenarios
Three progressive demonstrators for ship operators and shipyards.
A representative accommodation-deck sector
Develop alternative groupings and sequences using existing cabin modules. Compare with a conventional corridor arrangement through accessible 3D models and operational simulations.
A COS™ neighbourhood prototype
Add a small shared cultural node, art-derived thresholds, wayfinding and interior design. Test comprehension, comfort, perceived quality and social experience using immersive or full-scale mock-ups.
A future vessel-class demonstrator
Following engineering and safety validation, define an executable proposal for a selected ship programme, with options for staged production and commercial deployment.
Voluntary research with passengers and crew
Operating vessels can support repeatable, multilingual and ethically governed studies. The study design favours optional digital participation, quiet observation and scheduled opt-in sessions, with careful protection of passengers' daily experience and crew routines.
Art, media and Creative Hubs Cabins
The architectural proposition may include original art, art-derived FF&E, digital cultural programmes, accessible interpretation and the existing Creative Hubs Cabins concept. These are integrated with the ship's operational and commercial priorities.
05 · Partnership and commercial development
Defined contributions for the cruise operator and the shipyard.
Passenger experience, brand and commercial value
Define the ship sector and experience objectives; grant research access; evaluate residential identity, cultural programming, accessibility, premium positioning and operational practicality.
Technical feasibility and industrial development
Evaluate hull/deck constraints, modular accommodation, circulation, safety and classification, shipbuilding processes, cost implications and demonstrator opportunities.
Concept, COS™ authorship and art-driven design
Originate the spatial proposition; define authored cultural architecture; supply instruments, research concepts, art and design direction, prototypes and selected production networks.
Scientific evaluation and modelling
Support participatory methods, human-factors research, accessibility, passenger-experience studies, digital twins, engineering review and impact assessment.
Two routes for selected counterparts:
a separately contracted commercial Project Definition and design programme, and a
research-and-innovation route developed with a suitable consortium. Each route has its own scope,
budget, agreements and deliverables.
06 · European research architecture
LAND · SEA · SKY. A continuous EURAN research programme.
LAND
EURAN ADP investigates urban, peri-urban and rural neighbourhood settings through COS™ methods, alongside the formal evaluation of possible maritime demonstration eligibility.
SEA
Project 226 and Floating Neighbourhoods propose the cruise vessel as a candidate principal research and demonstration environment, subject to official eligibility interpretation and maritime feasibility.
SKY
A long-term extension exploring culturally intelligent environments and human experience in future extreme habitats.
EURAN is examining whether a cruise vessel, understood as an inhabited floating neighbourhood, can be proposed as one of the main demonstrators in the 1 December 2026 New European Bauhaus call. Formal eligibility remains subject to written clarification by the competent European Commission services. The call’s site-type and geographical requirements must be respected; neither acceptance nor exclusion of the maritime case is presumed here.
07 · Documentation and authorship
Primary sources. Operational continuity.
Alexandre Mimoglou — Architecture & Town Planning · original six principles
Cruise Architecture — Sea Cities · 2021 research
Project 226 — Mediterranean Village at Sea · 2026 detailed proposition
COS™ — Cultural Operating System · master instrument architecture
COS™ Applied to European Neighbourhoods · land programme
CASM™ — Cycladic Architectural Spatial Methodology · dedicated COS™ instrument
EURAN · Maritime research and commercial cooperation
A new vessel can have more than decks and cabins. It can have neighbourhoods.
EURAN is selecting cruise operators, shipyards, architects, cultural institutions, engineering teams and specialist research partners for the next design and feasibility phase of Project 226.