[dropcap]A[/dropcap]ntonio Luxardo is one of the architects who has significantly contributed to the history of yacht design. His career started with the design firm Proship, an Italian company which in 20 years has worked to a fleet of over 300 yachts. His architectural approach is now on the market, integrated in a team of experts specialized in different fields, and available to satisfy every owner’s need, from the first idea to the design development, engineering and construction.
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Published in EXCLUSIVE by Superyacht Digest | The April Issue 2019: A new approach to yacht building
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Last February, the team guided by Arch. Luxardo started the construction of a first 42-meter, outcome of an effective and innovative working scheme. The model testing was followed by the setting of the keel and now they are working on the interior design development stage as regards the style. Soon, the construction of a second hull will be started, while a third one is at the executive design stage and is being sifted by our customer. By 2020, the team will put in the water three new boats, all sold and realized along with our customer. The ship owners have Asian origins and are expert ship owners with different boats held for private use. The projects are designed by arch. Antonio Luxardo with Daniele Perotto as project manager and owner’s representative. The design is of the Optima Design team, with which Luxardo widely operates on the market for the design stage in support of various work sites.
The construction site lies between La Spezia and Pisa and the first and/or the second boat should take part in the fall trade shows in 2020. Indeed, the boat shall sail in the first year in the Mediterranean Sea and then will be definitively transferred to the Pacific Ocean for the pleasure of its owner who will hold it for his exclusive private use.
The boats will be certified Rina comfort class: these new models are thought as Explorer, but they maintain clean and smart lines typical of a mega yacht. The hull is in steel, its superstructure in aluminium. They have a gross tonnage of 490 GT, length over all 42 metres and beam of 9,2 m.
Its layout stands out because of different distinctive traits: the beach area is the biggest one in its category, the outdoor space is mainly developed on the prow and the whole sundeck has been designed without any hard top but, at the express request of the ship owner, the roofing necessary to create zones in shadow is movable thanks to the use of a canopy. The wide glass walls designed to make the interiors lighter are clearly visible from the outside too, contributing to outline the external profile of the boat.
AN IMPRESSIVE MAIN SALON: 20M IN LENGHT
As regards the interiors, another record characterizes this project: the access to the boat is on the same level as the main deck, after an external lounge there is the entrance to the main salon passing through a very comfortable bar area in line with all the interior fittings. The bar area is located at the entrance to be used at convenience from both the external lounge and during the time spent in the main salon.
The salon boasts a very noteworthy depth, an almost unique feature for boats of this length: it develops itself along 20 metres and in terms of layout it is divided into two symmetrical sofa areas facing each other, to create a wide conversation area for the guests and for relaxing times thanks to the wide full height glass walls that offer a breath-taking view on the sea and horizon.
Next to the dining room, on the main deck, there is one of the two cinema lounges, followed by the VIP cabin. The yacht owner is a cinema lover and has expressly requested a cinema lounge for his private and exclusive use on the upper floor.
The guests are welcomed in 4 cabins for a total of 12 guests. As concerns equipment, the boat is equipped with an innovative air-conditioning system and a high-performance thermal / acoustic insulation.
Both boats that will be delivered more or less within the same timeframe, have two totally different purposes: the first one, the hull number one, will be a family boat, while the second one is for a ship owner who loves parties and considers yachting as pure amusement.
That is why, the interior layouts of the salon are very different one another, the first one has various conversation areas, sofas and armchairs positioned as to form many convivial but intimate points. Conversely, the second one is almost an open space, the space is freer and designed to be transformed at will.
The boat has a space for two big tenders, 4,5m and 6,5m, both realized on project. The max estimated speed is 15 knots, the cruising speed is 12 knots.
5 QUESTIONS TO THE TEAM
Q: How did the dialogue with the owner start and how did you achieve these projects, from one to two and in line immediately a third one?
A: These projects are the result of the constant work performed by Daniele Perotto over these latest years invested in the Asian market, a region which is known to require a long time to build trust.
Q: Three boats built represent already a range, what are your future plans? I think you have put together many skills to achieve a more specific development.
A: Now we are studying projects for bigger boats, our workteam is composed of different figures ranging from architecture with Antonio Luxardo to marketing with Daniele Perotto and a structure as Optima Design allowing us to follow at best both projects and customers.
Q: Which brand will be the constructions launched with?
A: There is an Italian iconic brand that will be disclosed in the future.
Q: Are there more important constructions among your projects?
A: In advanced design stage there are 45, 65, 70 and 80-meter boats also for customers of other geographical areas.
Q: Which is your strength to be leveraged with?
A: The secret ingredient that will be discovered over the time…
