M A L A C H I T E
I S S U E
•
n° 2 2 •
2 0 2 0
[ CREATIVE MINDS: ALBERTO SIMEONE ]
HARMONY
BETWEEN THE DIFFERENT
– FUNCTIONAL, VOLUMETRIC AND STYLISTIC – ELEMENTS
DETERMINES THE
PROJECT’S SUCCESS 58
Alberto Simeone, yacht designer, one of the founders of the Mylius yard but most of all a passionate cruise and race yachtsman. Mylius yachts feature cuttingedge technological research and minimal, ultra-modern design
59
[ CREATIVE MINDS ]
A
by Samuela Urbini
Cippa Lippa X is an 18.63
n intense passion for sail yachts and the sea drives the entire team from Mylius, a yard based
metre fast cruiser racer. Its
near Piacenza and founded in 2003 that specialises in sail yachts providing cruising comfort
performance yacht DNA is
and high performance when racing. Alberto Simeone, one of the founders, coordinates the
obvious at first glance (above).
entire technical staff, and he sums up the Mylius design philosophy by saying “We want to make
The photos to the side clearly
sail yachts, not just yachts with sails. What’s more, I’ve always believed that exterior spaces are
show it has a canting keel
extremely important, because a yacht is like a house on the sea – you give up a room if you have
and clean, ergonomic cockpit
a lovely outdoor space. These are crucial, constant elements in all our yachts”.
design to facilitate handling
All this occurs with the backing of Luciano Gandini, a passionate sail yachtsman and packaging
during a race. The entirely
entrepreneur. He became president of Mylius in 2011, and through his TwinPack industrial group
custom-designed interiors
he provides the yard with crucial logistic and technological support. Mylius has grown, and so
(next page) make extensive
have the yachts it builds, which are now up to 92 feet long. “All Mylius models are designed by
use of carbon fibre and can be
me and my staff, all entirely in house”, says Simeone. “The interior and exterior spaces, naval
partially dismantled to lighten
architecture, structures, systems and finishings. It’s an integrated project that gives the yacht a
the yacht when competition
unique feel and that can only be obtained through significant investment in growing the staff of
sailing
engineers, designers and architects”. Gandini liaises personally with owners, adapting existing models to their requirements. As a result every yacht follows its own developmental path, they are all different and restore the task of personalisation, which Mylius designers and the owner carry out together from the very start of the construction phase. Sometimes, as in the case of the Mylius 60 CK, if the designers feel that an owner’s desires might meet with success in the wider market then new models may result. “Given the features the owner specified, like the canting keel, the more aggressive deck plan and an even more sophisticated construction I realised we couldn’t meet his requirements simply by adapting the Mylius 60, a performance cruiser that was already in production, but would have to design a new yacht”. Cippa Lippa X was designed as racing craft with the finish of a cruising yacht. The technology and fittings are state of the art, while the interiors are clean and essential. “All Mylius yachts
60
The 78m Slipstream is clothed in clean lines that are raked in certain areas to lower her proportions and bring occupants closer to the sea. Her beach area is a circular indooroutdoor affair, thanks to open-out platforms. A large six-metre pool on the swim platform is another new addition. Below left, the interior of the beach area with the Nemo Lounge and its underwater views, right
61
[ CREATIVE MINDS ]
are designed to reflect an extremely essential mood so we can use
or the extendable ottoman that is both a table seat and cover for
the weight saved in favour of comfort, safety and performance –
the wet box, the inspection hatch for the canting keel system, all
air conditioning, desalinators and generators are standard in all
of which lies below the dinette floor, a location that eliminates
our performance cruisers, enabling us to offer the highest levels
any interference between the hydraulic actuation mechanism and
of comfort”. On Cippa Lippa X the teak often featured by Mylius
the interior spaces, a common problem in yachts of this type.
yachts has been replaced by carbon fibre. Many of the interior
“This solution is a crucial design result and it gives me a lot of
components are made of this material, and all have been specially
satisfaction”, says Simeone. “Really though, what I focus on isn’t
designed for this project. The ability for the fixtures to switch
so much individual details as the balance of the whole, between
between cruising and racing use is one of the design’s basic features,
exteriors and interiors. Harmony between the different elements,
and it is embodied in a number of details like the leather and
functional, volumetric and stylistic, determines the success of a
carbon fibre cupboards that can be carried away like suitcases,
project, and it’s one of the hallmarks of the Mylius style”.
62