Should you require outside-the-box thinking, it would be hard to engage a more al fresco intellect than Chris Bangle. The internationally renowned designer now turns his hand to everything from Cognac to wearable electronics at his own studio, but he’s best known as the car designer who revolutionised the aesthetic of Fiat and BMW, as well as reinventing the Mini for the 21st century.
“Our design philosophy is to treat different things differently – because they are different,” Bangle says. “But also to use the power of conflicting goals as the catalyst for innovation.” So when Sanlorenzo’s CEO, Massimo Perotti, had conflicting goals, who better than Bangle to look at his problem from a fresh perspective?
“Sanlorenzo was thinking about realising a full-beam yacht but there were a lot of doubts about it,” Perotti says. Using the full beam would increase guest space but removing side passages would hamper crew movement through the boat, affecting service, mooring operations and generally making their lives more difficult (no trivial matter when retention of good crew is a major concern for owners). The routing problem is amplified on a yacht of just over 31 metres, with a relatively small crew – if they have to be everywhere at once, you can’t put hurdles in their way.
Bangle had been engaged with Sanlorenzo in an exchange of ideas since 2015 and Perotti felt he was enough of an outsider to tackle this particular problem. While Bangle has expressed respect for Sanlorenzo in particular, he has also described most yacht designs on the market as a “mess that look like six cars have been smashed together”. He certainly does not stick to any pre-conceived notions in this sphere.
The designer’s solution? Make the yacht asymmetrical: a wide body design on one side, a side passageway on the other. Asymmetry has been seen in larger custom designs, but it has not been done on a yacht of this size or to this degree. “The idea lends itself to other sizes of course and in particular can be used as the springboard for a completely innovative design – as we proposed – or be retrofitted into a conventional design,” Bangle says.
But there’s more to yacht design than sparks of genius. “The intuition of Chris was good but the difficulty was to translate it into a real project – Zuccon International Project, together with Sanlorenzo’s technical office, worked hard to create the SL102,” Perotti says.
Bernardo Zuccon and his sister Martina penned the design, as well as the interior decor that can be seen on the first SL102, Le Gypsy, which debuted at the Cannes Yachting Festival last year.
“Preserving the stylistic hallmarks of this storied brand is law,” Bernardo Zuccon says. “It is essential for a Sanlorenzo yacht not to lose the image that has permeated the boats throughout its history – since the very outset, the lines of Sanlorenzo yachts have always remained unmistakably the same. The big challenge was to build a new type of boat, inside a container that had to faithfully reflect the shipyard’s 60-year history.”
Or as Bangle puts it, “While an innovative design can be the most striking – and get the most out of the idea – for very traditional brands new ideas need to be introduced in smaller doses.” This meant that the exterior design could not flaunt the boat’s asymmetry (and this is a very asymmetrical boat).
“One way is to visually ‘mask’ the asymmetry, by using the dark areas of gangways to complete the graphic image,” Bangle says. The designers maintained balance in profile by backing the one side passage with the same dark glass that clads the wide-body on the other side. From the aft or forward perspective, the difference is obfuscated by the matching shapes of the structural supports on both sides – it’s not uncomfortably obvious that one side’s supports cover an outdoor passage and the other is filled out with interior space.
Inside, the value of this unusual design really shows itself, and not only in the extra 25 square metres of space gained over a yacht with two side passages. “So far as the interiors are concerned, the asymmetrical concept has overturned all the classic tenets of design and layout,” Zuccon says.
The design makes a feature of a staircase leading to the flybridge deck. It cuts through the main saloon on the port side, where space is plentiful thanks to the full-beam design, and is sided in dark glass, like the sliding doors leading to the aft deck beside it. From the saloon, you can watch pedicured feet padding upstairs. It feels modern and, with the gloss of the dark glass, glamorous. Further inside, the saloon opens up in the most spectacular way.
“When we go on board a boat and stand on the line of symmetry, we have a visual relationship with the sea that is almost always the same, whether we look right or left,” Zuccon says. “With an asymmetrical design, we have two visual and lifestyle experiences. On the right, a sliding door provides access from the saloon to the classic walkaround outside; while on the left, through a section of the gunwale that can be lowered, we can have this huge full-height glazed surface: you can ‘touch’ the sea, while remaining inside.”
Laying aside the omnipresent seascape, the asymmetrical design lends a residential feel – as if the aim was just to create interesting spaces, rather than to make the most of pre-set spaces within a fixed container.
From the aft deck, the layout creates a path through the saloon and forward to the bridge, where another set of stairs switchbacks up to the forward end of the flybridge deck. At the aft end of the same deck, those glamorous stairs lead back down to the aft deck.
The owner’s suite, located on the main deck forward, has its own asymmetrical design. The space extends on the port side all the way to broad windows flush with the hull side, providing an ongoing relationship with the sea. On the starboard side, meanwhile, doors connect the owner’s cabin to the side passage that leads to a spacious bow lounge. The builder offers the option of a side passage gate, deployed at the touch of a button, to keep the entire forward area of the yacht a private space for the owners. To access the bow lounge the owner will not have to pass through a communal guest space.
Zuccon’s studio designed interior decor for Le Gypsy to enhance the feeling of continuity that runs through the boat. “We decided to reuse the colour schemes found in the exteriors for the interiors too,” Zuccon says.
“Outside, we see the colour of the teak, the white fibreglass and the black glazed surfaces. We have transferred this combination of three colours to the interiors too.” This includes teak that continues from the aft deck into the saloon, and black and white carried in from outside in the overheads.
In the main saloon the tones are low-key, muted and cool, with taupe sofas by Antonio Citterio for B&B Italia that are designed for sinking-in, a low dark grey marble coffee table and at the forward end, two sliding panels in bronze by Giorgio Paolini, an artist from Rome who created them for the boat. As well as adding a burnished opulence, they hide the television.
This design may feel bespoke but it can be replicated. Le Gypsy features twin 16V MTU M96 engines – plus a bank of lithium batteries to supplement the two generators – which can push the yacht to a top speed of 28 knots, but an M86 package is also available for (slightly) lower-key cruising, reaching a top speed of 26 knots. There are a couple of different layout options too.
“The luck of the naval designer has always been to draw half a boat and then mirror it,” Perotti says. “With this boat the design path was more enterprising. It took longer but at the end we achieved a magnificent result, a creative idea that compared to a traditional layout, allows for more space, brightness, relaxation and better flexibility of use.” Who says you can’t have everything?
SanLorenzo
( www..sanlorenzoyacht.com )
The exact origins of the phrase “cloud nine” have been lost to the mists of time, but it has become synonymous with a state of supreme elation and happiness — the perfect name, in other words, for a new superyacht with an emphasis on family relaxation.
Cloud 9 represents a considerable achievement considering its builder, CRN, wasn’t exactly in a place of supreme elation and relaxation when it learned its original client for the 74 metre hull would not be able to finish the boat he had on order. Enter a new owner, with his design and build teams, who was able to find the silver lining and turn CRN’s second largest yacht into a stylish and comfortable cruiser — and one eminently worthy of her moniker.
The adventure began with a phone call in January 2014. Captain Colin Boyle was in Singapore where his yacht, the 60 metre CMN Cloud 9 was based. “One night at about 10pm the owner called and asked: ‘Can you get on a flight to Rome at 1am?’” Boyle recalls.
“He said, ‘There is a boat I want you to look at to see if it’s worthwhile’.” Burgess, who had represented Boyle’s owner on the previous build at CMN, knew he was looking to build a larger yacht. Here might be an opportunity to get one that was already well under way, but Burgess and Boyle knew it had to be the right fit.
From Rome, Boyle travelled to Ancona, Italy, where CRN project 131 was in stasis. The metalwork of the 74 metre hull and most of the superstructure were substantially completed, and the majority of major machinery installed. Underwater, it shared lines with award-winning predecessor Azteca and, higher up, styling similarities with the yard’s 80 metre flagship Chopi Chopi.
Structurally and mechanically it had great potential but the layout required substantial rethinking. As Bernardo Zuccon of exterior design firm Zuccon International Project puts it, this “forced the shipyard and the designers to rewrite the story with a new owner”. As it turns out, it is a story with a very happy ending.
“We had three months to replan and redraw it: staircases out, staircases in, top deck off, raise it up, rework the naval architecture,” the captain says. Then, once the layout and exterior details met the owners’ expectations, he gave his team and the yard 30 days to get to a mutually agreeable contract. “We signed in June 2014,” notes Boyle, and the new Cloud 9 was under way.
“The project was born with a well defined will to meet the concept of timelessness that we always value,” says Zuccon. He also uses descriptions such as “maturity” and “substance together with a great attention to the human being” about the styling. Inside and out, and in spite of her size, Cloud 9 feels utterly approachable, even from the stern platform, where the massive fold-down door forms part of a sprawling superyacht beach club.
Stairs flank a 10,000 litre superyacht spa pool with a glass bottom, which is at the heart of a recreation area on the main aft deck. Privately, the owners like to call their new superyacht “Cloud 9 Plus” and stepping through the doors that slide open into the main saloon, it’s immediately apparent how her owners came up with the nickname.
Their first Cloud 9, penned inside and out by Winch Design and delivered by French shipyard CMN in 2009, had an attractive blue hull and décor blending sunny sand hues and gradations of blue. That beach house feel helped attract many charter guests. Here Winch Design has again used sand tones, vibrant blues and a treasure trove of decorative shells, corals and agates placed inside multiple niches. Brushed Douglas fir and limed oak — two of some 50 surface materials used on board — also convey the idea of the beach house, but realised on a larger, more luxurious scale.
The new Cloud 9 measures around 2,218 gross tonnes, which is about twice as many as the first one. This extra volume translates into generous dimensions, apportioned in comfortable spaces that flow neatly from one to the next.
Devoid of a conventional dining area at her owners’ request, the main saloon ambiance is open, casual and sunny. A 3D porcelain panel “cloud” by British artist Fenella Elms adds movement and depth to the central bulkhead along with two Vortex sculptures by Tim Royall. “The sofa in the saloon (and the one on the aft deck) is 1.5 metres deep. It’s a lie-down sofa, which is what you want to do when you watch a movie or come up from the swimming pool,” notes Mark Mämpel, the designer in charge of the project for Winch Design.
The studio received carte blanche from Cloud 9’s owners to come up with an interior concept adapted to their family needs and future charter guests. The final result was kept a secret at the request of the husband to surprise his wife, although the 3D renderings produced at the onset are uncannily similar to the final result.
The main saloon encompasses one of two cinemas on board Cloud 9; the other is outdoors, at the aft end of the 400 square metre owners’ deck. Another element courtesy of the new yacht’s extra volume is a hair salon/massage room on the main deck, featuring oak décor with a woven effect and a folding hull door that creates a balcony. This yacht also has a spacious superyacht gym flooded with light, which at the time of my visit was temporarily converted to a schoolroom.
Moving around the guest areas feels easy and natural. Forward of the main saloon is a foyer with an eye catching central glass and steel superyacht elevator — in Winch design language, it is meant to represent a waterfall from sundeck to beach club, connecting the exterior blue stripe to the interior.
A long, wide corridor leads to six cabins (including two staff cabins finished as guest cabins, which could be used for nannies or teachers). Each door has a nameplate engraved with the name of a Star Wars character. They are removable, in case the next guests are not fans of the films, and underneath are elegant numbers in stainless steel.
Captain Boyle leads me through the yacht’s six decks (counting the technical deck dedicated to stores, laundry room and machinery spaces such as the pump room), patiently answering questions about his new charge in soft speech with the hint of a Scottish accent. A concert musician who studied and taught at London’s Royal Academy of Music before embracing a new career at sea, he stepped onto the first Cloud 9 eight years ago and aboard the new one in May 2017.
Within minutes of being aboard, warm lighting and silence have melted away my stresses. Heavy layered doors to the cabins, with soundproofing from specialist Cergol Engineering, shut with a muffled click. The yard achieved a 48dB(A) level in the master suite at cruising speed and 45dB(A) at anchor. Cloud 9’s not quite concert hall quiet, but she’s pretty close.
Subtle curves throughout contribute to the sense of wellbeing. The interior needed to be friendly to children, so there are no sharp corners or angles. Curved support columns are clad in limed oak veneer with thin stainless accents on the windows, doorframes and nearly all of the bespoke furniture. “Easy to draw, very hard to realise,” observes the captain, who was an integral part of the team managing the construction of Cloud 9.
This team included technical consultants from Burgess who ensured compliance with the owners’ wishes (and class rules), blending their modifications with the pre-existing project. Ed Beckett, the naval architect on the Burgess team, scrutinised the technical details and equipment, elevating some of the technical focus and integrating the new interior. Based in Scorze in Venice and part of the Ferretti Group, Zago Interiors worked with outside suppliers to produce all of Cloud 9’s polished steel details, which amount to around 4,500 metres for the guest areas alone.
What sold the new Cloud 9 to his boss, the captain says, is the owners’ deck, which contains a magnificent suite with wraparound windows looking onto a private terrace and helicopter deck below. These owners don’t intend to use the helipad, so they decided to turn the vast open space into a grand entertaining platform instead. Andreas Iseli, responsible for exteriors at Winch Design, came up with the idea of a large tent that can be installed there to shield guests from weather while they dine al fresco. It’s become a favourite spot for karaoke, too.
Other important modifications included adding an interior crew staircase and creating a beautifully finished fire- and soundproof passageway through the engine room’s top level to connect the beach club with the port tender garage for the MasterCraft ski boat and other toys, and the guest arrival lobby to starboard. This highly practical lobby also exemplifies the whole interior design philosophy.
“The biggest challenge mastered by CRN was to combine, in balance, the interior and exterior design with the functionality required by the owner,” says Raffaele Giannetti, the project manager in charge of the Cloud 9 build for CRN.
“We made that entrance lounge into a space of waves,” Andrew Winch says. From the bright sunlight, guests move into a quiet, soothing space that allows the eyes to adjust gradually after bright sun. To achieve this effect, the design team created a bespoke teak and holly design with wave details carved into it and repeated all around the room.
“We wanted it to be an envelope, a cocoon. It’s the same pattern on the ceiling and on the floor,” Winch adds. “That is an ongoing story on Cloud 9, to give you a sense of relaxation.” On the whimsical side, Winch Design interior decorator Rebecca Johnstone added table lamps with a Picasso-inspired painted design and white curtains with blue ombre that recall sky and sea.
Aft is Cloud 9’s beach club, which has an espresso bar complete with a professional machine and a seating area with wonderful views. Light streaming through the pool above bounces wave patterns all around. The owners so enjoy this space that they often like to dine al fresco here. The primary outdoor dining area is on the upper deck, protected from wind by sliding glass panels, adjacent to the main indoor dining area which is semi enclosed by glass doors.
Both areas feature large circular wooden tables that can be expanded to accommodate more guests, or removed completely to make room for a dance floor or corporate event. This may be the space that best exemplifies the goal of both Zuccon and Winch studios to merge indoor and exterior spaces.
“Certainly, the exterior spaces of the boat — in particular the cockpit on the main deck and the bow area — are key elements that testify how important it is, despite the dimensions, not to forget the real reason why boats are designed: to live on the sea in its purest form,” Zuccon says. “The work of Winch Design has been strategically important for he was able to create a perfect dialogue between the experience lived outside and the one felt once entered.”
For his part, Andrew Winch is very pleased with what he calls the “on-water house”. “I think that Zuccon designed a beautiful yacht… his style signature on this boat is pure, and I find it very lovely. I think it is a very chic, elegant exterior and we were happy to work with him to fit into it all that the owner required.” The good partnership between designers made the work easier, says the captain, and has left a lingering feeling of goodwill on board. Yet another reason for guests to feel that they are on cloud nine, when they are on Cloud 9.
CRN
( www.crn-yacht.com )
At 80 metres, Chopi Chopi is by far the biggest yacht the CRN shipyard has built, and she did not come easily. In the golden pre-recession age of yachting, the Italian yard experienced significant growth, signing contracts for several yachts above 70 metres. Zuccon International Project, the long-time design partner of CRN’s parent company Ferretti Group, was chosen to develop a series of superyacht concepts to attract the attention of the yard’s international clientele: among them was the project that would become Chopi Chopi.
The financial hardships experienced post-recession slowed the construction of what was then project 129 before her launch, but persistence, dedication and 660,000 working hours paid off. The yacht, shown in Monaco and Genoa in the autumn of 2013, is a great testament to the yard, the designers and the owners. Without a doubt, she is luxurious, but not in any ostentatious way; harmony is in this yacht and you can feel it. It is clear that the owner, a gentleman from the Middle East, knows how to relate to luxury in a natural way.
‘We met the client, who we knew was looking for a big yacht, and presented him the project of a yacht of around 250 feet (72m) with all the features we thought might meet his wishes both in size and style,’ says Gianni Zuccon, head of Zuccon International Project. ‘The primary criterion of the brief was that he wanted it to be a private yacht on which to spend long holidays with his large family. We found out soon that they needed more space – that meant more volume. So, working on the original concept, we incorporated higher volume and added a few metres to the total length to preserve a well-proportioned balance between hull and superstructure.’ The final exterior design reflects the owner’s call for a timeless elegance. It has also absorbed the overarching style that makes every yacht signed by Zuccon International Project recognisable at first glance.
‘We fine-tuned our project proposals according to the owner’s requests for external lines and interior layout, and it was a rewarding experience from both the professional and personal point of view,’ Zuccon says. ‘Chopi Chopi is a mature project stemming from our long-standing experience in megayacht design and the client’s long-standing experience as a yacht owner.’
From the outside, Chopi Chopi’s imposing size has grace, while a sense of tranquility and warmth envelops visitors as soon as they step aboard. Several factors were key to such a successful outcome. First and foremost, perhaps, the owner knew exactly what he wanted and had a very positive, synergistic attitude towards CRN and the exterior and interior designers. Exterior stylist Zuccon has worked a great deal with the Ferretti Group, including the design of 10 large custom and 14 semi-custom yachts since 2006 for CRN. Interior designer Laura Sessa has worked extensively with the owner’s family and was familiar with their taste and habits. Her ability to draw every detail of her interiors freehand is just one way she imbues each project with her personality.
Chopi Chopi looks every centimetre of her 80 metre length and in the exterior designer’s view she is more than a yacht. ‘We aim to provide for each project its own personality and Chopi Chopi is a ship, a beautiful, reliable ship,’ Zuccon offers. ‘Her tiered profile presents a few defining features but no element stands out in sharp relief. Harmonious balance between aesthetics and functionality is pivotal to our vision and Chopi Chopi, with her outstanding simplicity, exemplifies this concept.’
Five decks, plus a tank deck hosting technical and service areas comprise a total surface area of about 1,900 square metres. The yacht will solely be used for private use so has been shaped to provide the owner and his family with all the spaces and the comfort they are used to. The main deck accommodates a large saloon aft and guest accommodations forward, while the owner enjoys a private deck that includes a 200 square metre private apartment connected to a stern terrace, as well as a helipad where a three tonne helicopter can land in privacy.
With such a great amount of space at hand, every room on board Chopi Chopi is sized generously and Sessa used this abundance to create a functional layout. Her cohesive design makes extensive use of maple and limed oak, while a striped pattern of matte and glossy wood and marble.
‘I designed the interior of the client’s former yacht, the Amels 171 Lady Nag Nag, so I had clues about the style he loves,’ Sessa says. ‘I had to translate the owner’s wishes into comfortable, luxurious yet easy interiors. Elegant understatement is indeed the recurrent theme on board. The yacht is one of the family’s favourite places to gather and I designed the interior decoration with the family in mind. The owners’ sons and daughter have their own private places on board and the youngsters have personalised colourful cabins.
‘There are both private and social areas on board, the former being more intimate and small, to provide a snug hideaway when needed,’ she says. ‘We decided to give the interior decoration a chromatic continuity with extensive use of natural coloured textiles enhanced by details of pastel colours, and all bathrooms and dayheads are clad with light cream Perlatino Europa marble.’
Some pieces of custom furniture, built by Hervé van der Straeten to Sessa’s design, echo an Art Deco atmosphere prevalent in the main saloon and the upper deck dining saloon, which are both brightened by light flowing through two full-height doors on either side. Custom built by Galerie van der Straeten, the huge upper deck dining table it seats up to 18 and with its central section removed, transforms into two large round tables.
Enjoyable outdoor living was among the design’s top priorities. The sumptuous beach club, pictured below, with adjoining sauna, hammam and massage room conveniently connects to the main saloon through a central interior staircase, emphasising the close connection between interior spaces and the marine environment.
The lower deck has nearly half of its length devoted to service and technical areas, including the garage and the engine room, while the other half hosts the large and well-appointed crew quarters. More than 30 people are in charge of running the boat and pampering 12 guests.
Chopi Chopi is based on a tried-and-true naval platform and has conventional engine and equipment configuration achieving the very best technical specification. Great attention was devoted to sound and vibration deadening; thick layers of Rockwool and rubber-mounted flooring result in a very low level of noise inside while under way: only 60 decibels in the saloon and 55 in the guest cabins.
A high-tech bridge and well-organised engine room are hallmarks of this new CRN. Located in the yacht’s large and rationally equipped wheelhouse is a technological jewel, a 42 inch (107 centimetre) I-Chart table. Developed by Italian electronics specialist Team Italia, the system has been customised for Chopi Chopi. Dubbed ‘professional infotainment’, the I-Chart allows the captain to manage a range of activities, from route-planning to monitoring primary navigation systems, but also offering guests or crew access to all technical information and entertainment content, video or pictures from the yacht’s archives or the internet.
Chopi Chopi is an oceangoing yacht built by and for people who know what they want and had the foresight and courage to have the project completed in spite of difficulties. The owners found in Zuccon International Project and Laura Sessa the right team to interpret their passion with a great sense of style, while CRN, with this outstanding project, sets its own new standards.
CRN
( www.crn-yacht.com )
