QUART ERLY - P.I. 21/07 /2017 Intern ationa l € 10, Spedizione in Abbon Chf 10,50 , UK £ 7,50 Poste Italian e S.p.a. amento Postale - 70% - LO/MI
J A D E I S S U E
JADE ISSUE - n° 11 - 2017 - € 10
• n ° 1 1 • 2 0 1 7
The Art of Sailing
[ CREATIVE MINDS: LUXURY PROJECTS ]
by Samuela Urbini
“SPACE MEANS LUXURY AND LUXURY THE POSSIBILITY TO ENJOY SPACES” 88
here has been a significant change in interior design in recent years – a turn away from cluttered spaces,” explains Italian interior designer Laura Pomponi who has vast experience in the yacht industry where she is also very much in vogue because of her engineering background. “You can create a purer, more welcoming space just by introducing a few exclusive pieces. So, for me, space still means luxury and luxury is having the possibility to enjoy large spaces.” Pomponi’s interiors are elegant and timeless, rich in the refined detailing to which she admits she is addicted. In fact, she works with details as if they were accessories to add class to an outfit. In founding Luxury Projects in 2008, Pomponi succeeded in combining her two great loves: fashion and yachts. The combination of her own aesthetic sensibility and an entourage of top class fashion-related suppliers (many from her home region of the Marche) have allowed her to create a unique style that has won her huge acclaim. As recently as the 2017 International Yacht & Aviation Awards, Pomponi snapped up three awards: Best Lighting Design and Deck Design for MY Destiny and Best Master Cabin for MY Nero. In creating an interior concept for Amels’s shipyard, Pomponi penciled certain innovative principle elements, such as the ceilings, lights and walls, all used to imbue the living space with elegant character. The spaces themselves are easy to personalise with freestanding and custom furnishings that reflect the tastes of different owners. So versatility is the byword with lighting design a strong factor in enhancing the effect through arty, textured backlit walls which can also be combined with different materials. “To develop attractive interiors, the overall plan demands a lot of work,” says Pomponi. “Unfortunately, sometimes you are called in too late in the creative process and the layout has already been decided, so to speak. Fortunately, we have a very talented pen on our team in the form of Aldo Viani, who created the exterior lines for the full custom Amels 74mt Daga concept, based on an Amels platform. Simply by doing a good job on those, we knew we’d be able to bring out our full potential in creating superb interiors.” Viani, an architect with a 30-year career in yacht design, created a clean, sleek profile for Daga very much in line with Amels’s own
2017 is already proving a hugely successful year for Laura Pomponi and her Luxury Projects studio (founded in 2008) as she won Best Lighting Design and Deck Design for M/Y Destiny and Best Master Cabin for M/Y Nero at the recent International Yacht & Aviation Awards
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[ CREATIVE MINDS ]
DNA. Large windows slash it along its entire length and sharpen
innovative beach club embracing a very comprehensive spa area
the dynamic look of the yacht, yielding generous aft volumes and
with gym, sauna, steam room, whirlpool tub, plunge pool and a
balconies on all decks.
massage room (which can readily be converted to an infirmary),
“Our concept targets a serious kind of owner who uses his boat
beauty centre and two chill-out zones.
as both an office and a home. That’s why we have given over the
Luxury Projects recently started taking its first steps into the
entire upper deck to him. His office, complete with 180-degree
world of private aviation, which, according to its founder, is
windows, is forward in an area entirely separate from the rest of
not a million miles from yacht design both conceptually and
the boat,” Pomponi explains. The master suite is aft and access
technically. “Both are governed by a lot of rules and regulations.
to it can be restricted using code pads. It can also be swapped
There is not a huge gap between private jets and yachts and
around with the office. This layout is also suitable for charters
technical specifications are my bread and butter, so to speak.
with a dedicated main deck: there are five cabins, a cinema area,
I’m moving very carefully because this is a new world and I’ve
indoor and outdoor sofas, imbuing a real sense of continuity, right
started off refitting jets, just as I did with yachts, before moving
down to the selection of fabrics. The highlight of our design is an
on to more comprehensive designs.”
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Sophisticated ceilings, lights and walls imbue the Amels yachts with inimitable personality. Luxury Projects also designed the exterior lines (see green sketches) for Daga, a 74-metre by the same yard, to draw out the interior
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[ CREATIVE MINDS ]
Renderings and sketches for two proposals for the office area in the master suite aboard the Amels yachts. The tactile, arty backlit walls are particularly striking
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