CASTLE project: the human centred cabin interior design

The CASTLE project (“CAbin Systems design Toward passenger welLbEing”) exemplifies improvements in passenger comfort and ergonomics, addressing the specific needs of people with reduced mobility during flight. It also introduces passive technologies that reduce noise and vibrations for passengers, as well as eco-friendly composites derived from recyclable and bio-based materials.

Geven, the project coordinator, has developed passenger seats, galleys, lavatories, lining panels, stowage bins, and T/A insulation blankets. This innovative cabin was installed in a full-scale demonstrator of a regional aircraft fuselage at Leonardo’s Large Structures Laboratory in Pomigliano D’Arco, Italy, and later at the Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik IBP in Germany. Here, it serves as a technological demonstrator to test the comfort of trial subjects as part of the Clean Sky 2 "Regional" program: Additionally, a set of unique cabin interior modules was integrated into a business jet cabin demonstrator.

The CASTLE project showcases Geven's hashtag#commitment to hashtag#sustainability. To mitigate environmental impacts, bio-based materials were used in the full-scale regional aircraft demonstrator instead of fossil-based materials. This approach quantified through Life Cycle Assessment, resulted in at least a 22% reduction in the carbon footprint over the aircraft's entire lifespan.

Technologies developed under the Clean Sky program aim to achieve a net reduction of at least 30% in greenhouse gases (GHGs) compared to the state of the art in 2020. This goal supports the entry of a new generation of aircraft by 2035 and promotes the replacement of 75% of the world’s civil aviation fleet by 2050.