Sliding Doors by Paola Bertelli
From service utility to wow factor. Bertazzoni Lift Marine & ICM Lift Marin has lifted the on-board elevator to an aesthetically pleasing architectural element through a skilful mix of technology and design
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n 1992 the anthropologist Marc Auge included elevators in his list
to create a more practical connection with the other decks. “There’s a
of “non-places”, a description that now seems almost laughable,
lot of demand these days for automatic doors on the decks and in the
given the kind of installations we now see on board superyachts.
cabins for greater accessibility”, Bezzi goes on to say. “Another impor-
Far more than just bland boxes with no identity, they are now
tant factor to bear in mind is that the megayacht market now aims for
distillations of design and technology. One of the leading companies
larger dimensional standards, but there’s an increasing demand for
that have driven this evolution from anonymous means of vertical
elevators on medium-size yachts up 35 metres in length”.
displacement to a refined, exclusive space is Bertazzoni Lift Marine &
In the words of Gianluca Bertazzoni, CEO of Bertazzoni, “Designing
ICM Lift Marine.
dynamically alongside design studios and yacht-building yards has
The shape of elevators and the solutions they embody have changed
enabled us to develop solutions with more comfortable spaces that take
over the years, reflecting developments in the yachts themselves. “Pop-
full advantage of available space. Then there are the surface materials.
up elevators that materialise on the sun deck are increasingly popular,
Requirements have evolved – steel, for example, used to be mostly
and our last five commissions have been for installations like this”,
mirror-finish or satinised, but now our clients want special finishes
says Massimo Bezzi, chairman of ICM. The sun deck has experienced
and in-fill glass because technical progress has opened up an almost
a stunning metamorphosis, morphing from an almost peripheral ele-
endless range of opportunities”.
ment into one of the most well-used on-board spaces, on a par with the
Flexibility is one of Bertazzoni Lift Marine & ICM Lift Marin’s great
swimming pool, bar and lounge, so it has inevitably become necessary
strengths, with customisation of both technical and design solutions.
Panoramic elevator with full-length windows for Cloud 9 (above), a 62-metre Sanlorenzo. It has a steel and glass shaft (left) with strips concealing guides, pistons and various mechanisms. On the EIV (top right), a 49-metre Rossinavi, the finish is in champagnecolour steel with backlit marble floor, while on the Zazou (below), a 65-metre Benetti, the stainless steel is electro-coloured bronze
“A year ago we became involved in a very demanding project”, says Massimo Bezzi. “Twenty-five project revisions, over 500 hours of work on the technical side alone. Fulfilling the owner’s wishes within the constraints of build standards and technical requirements was a constant challenge”. “In June”, says Gianluca Bertazzoni, “We also completed installation on board a 175-foot yacht by Gulf Craft in the UAE of an all-glass elevator with automatic doors. It’s the world’s longest composite yacht, and the challenge we faced was to integrate a rigid steel product like ours into a relatively more flexible material like composite”. Another source of pride is the company’s work in progress on the yacht Ice, a 75-metre craft by Lurssen built in 2005 without a lift. The yacht’s stairwell has an unusual shape and “Many could not solve the problem, but our team has now almost completed installation of a product that includes some unique aesthetic and technical solutions”. Engineering, production, installation and worldwide post-sales assistance have driven the company’s growth, and despite the pandemic it has expanded from fifteen installations a year to over twenty. “We’ve seen a small boom in the past two years that’s taken us well beyond a build total of 200 elevators”. www.bertazzoniascensori.com, www.icmlift.com
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