As yacht owners spend more and more time aboard their yachts, yacht designers want to offer their clients experiences that are unique to their particular lifestyle, reflecting how they live and what is important to them. We have asked a few designers to choose a design element from a recent project and share their thoughts with us, in their own words.
Beach-clubbing it
“As a designer or an architect, it is vitally important to pay homage to various cultures and lifestyles. As a yacht designer, you have to be open-minded and attuned to social clues when spending time with your clients. Sometimes it is necessary to dive into art and music. Whatever their pastimes or passions, it is important for a designer to appreciate their clients’ way of life—to understand how they entertain or relax. The one commonality all yacht owners share is an affinity with the water and the love of being on the sea. But one style does not fit all. During the last many years, there have been a lot of new yacht designs and new concepts.
I have noticed that today, with hectic work schedules and stressful demands of modern life, yacht owners cherish family time and privacy aboard their boats. I have seen that they really like to use their yachts. Many like to spend time on board out at anchor. With yachts being so large, many 180 feet in length, they are often relegated to bays or outer harbors. Therefore, the deck areas and outside spaces are increasingly more important. More and more yachts have gotten beyond Jacuzzis and they have real swimming pools and beach clubs and spa–style environments. Staying fit and healthy has become increasingly important to all people. Everyone enjoys being outside. In really warm weather, overhead fans or water vapor systems can easily modify the heat. Well-thought-out sunbathing areas are appreciated, plus the fun of feeling like you are at a club adds to the enjoyment.” — Frank E.H. Neubelt
A versatile dining area aboard the 164-foot Heesen Satori
“Faultless perspective, pure lines and uncompromised functionality give Satori’s stunning salon superb refinement. The area has been split into three distinct sections, with emphasis on interaction and flexible living. At the center, four sliding panels encircle the dining area, offering infinite possibilities to transform the ambiance. There is no dead space, as the round ebony dining table can be lowered to transform the space from a formal dining retreat into a more intimate cocktail area.
In keeping with the interactive and flexible theme, a polished, stainless-steel lazy Susan spins quietly at the center of the table, and I added swiveling “Shell” leather armchairs from my exclusive Private Collection. Integrated peripheral lighting falls gently on the hand-chiseled glass and silver, brushed spruce panels and hand-woven linen curtains, complementing the sheen of the palladium-leaf ceiling.
This blend of dynamism and practicality plays a vital role in Satori’s forward-thinking design. Superb craftsmanship belies the complexity behind deceivingly simple objects.” — Rémi Tessier
“As a designer or an architect, it is vitally important to pay homage to various cultures and lifestyles. As a yacht designer, you have to be open-minded and attuned to social clues when spending time with your clients. Sometimes it is necessary to dive into art and music. Whatever their pastimes or passions, it is important for a designer to appreciate their clients’ way of life—to understand how they entertain or relax. The one commonality all yacht owners share is an affinity with the water and the love of being on the sea. But one style does not fit all. During the last many years, there have been a lot of new yacht designs and new concepts.
I have noticed that today, with hectic work schedules and stressful demands of modern life, yacht owners cherish family time and privacy aboard their boats. I have seen that they really like to use their yachts. Many like to spend time on board out at anchor. With yachts being so large, many 180 feet in length, they are often relegated to bays or outer harbors. Therefore, the deck areas and outside spaces are increasingly more important. More and more yachts have gotten beyond Jacuzzis and they have real swimming pools and beach clubs and spa–style environments. Staying fit and healthy has become increasingly important to all people. Everyone enjoys being outside. In really warm weather, overhead fans or water vapor systems can easily modify the heat. Well-thought-out sunbathing areas are appreciated, plus the fun of feeling like you are at a club adds to the enjoyment.” — Frank E.H. Neubelt
Wine cellar aboard Mi Sueño, 190-foot Trinity
“When it came to the request made by the owner of Mi Sueño regarding creating a special place for his wine collection, it immediately became apparent that the most dynamic spot for such a unique space would be the vessel’s aft entry, a location that creates a highly unusual experience for those who board the yacht. In my design, the space was created to expand the owner’s onboard experience, especially while enjoying his wine with friends and family. The design is intended to transport the owner and guests to a place where the experience is both private and secluded, enhanced by elements of nature in a rusticated and organic way. The space embraces elements such as distressed wormwood for the wine cellars, tumbled marble flooring and petrified tree trunks as end tables. The privacy of the space is achieved by the use of power-operated sheer curtains creating a silhouette divide between the wine area and the dining salon, offering the crew the perfect opportunity to add the finishing touches on the dinner table while the owner and guests enjoy their wine experience. As the designer, there was much satisfaction in being presented the opportunity to think beyond the norm in creating an elevated experience that enhances the owner’s time on board…hopefully a feature that beckons his return to the yacht!”
—Patrick Knowles
