2016
SHOWBOATS DESIGN AWARDS 2016 WINNERS - HOLISTIC DESIGN
Holistic Design Award - Motor Yacht winner
Exterior Styling: CG Design
Builder: Feadship, De Vries
Based on the number and strength of candidates for this ShowBoats Design Award category, the judges chose to split motor and sailing yachts.
Savannah is a yacht that presents herself differently from various angles and if seen bow-on only, the judges remarked that the straight lines of her exterior seemed completely at odds with her curvaceous interior architecture.
Yet yachts are truly 3D things and soon the cascading curves of her aft decks became apparent, as did the smoothness of the metallic seafoam-green profile — which bears no lumps, bumps or glass seams — and matches the sleek contemporary nature of her interior architecture. Just as the dark, tempered glass appears as an unbroken line on the exterior, the interior hides window frames within sleek architectural features.
There is no sense that any area of the yacht inside or out has less stature than any other and stainless steel is used inside and out. The custom treatment for deck furniture and exterior lighting was also part of the detailed design approach. The fact that one hand guided both interior and exterior made for an uninterrupted aesthetic vocabulary and harmony unequaled by any other contenders.
This award is sponsored by MTN.
SHOWBOATS DESIGN AWARDS 2016 WINNERS - INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior Layout & Design Award - Motor Yacht Above 500GT winner
Exterior Styling: CG Design
Builder: Feadship, De Vries
The rarefied air of exclusivity pervades the category for interiors of the largest motor yachts. It is the world where knowledgeable and sophisticated owners challenge their design teams to produce beautiful and personalised statements. Such is the case with Savannah, and although it is only this architectural team’s second yacht, the owner was well known to them and made clear his interest in continuity of indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces, visual contact with the sea and having a variety of living spaces for different activities.
Turning convention on its head, Paris-based CG Design responded with a layout where walls, ceilings, furniture and surface patterns are developed on curved lines to accentuate fluidity via natural and organic forms – there are no boxes. The window architecture is fresh and inspiring and from the interior, draws less attention to window shape and structure than to the views outside. This, plus a semi-underwater lounge and cinema, a secret observation room in the bow, stunning lighting design, a floating catwalk, and a main deck living area that is one continuous space from salon to swim platform left the judges applauding.
This award is sponsored by Tai Ping.
SHOWBOATS DESIGN AWARDS 2016 WINNERS - EXTERIOR DESIGN
Exterior Design & Styling - Motor Yacht Above 500GT winner
Exterior Styling: CG Design
Builder: Feadship, De Vries
The nine finalists in the exterior design styling category for yachts over 500GT ranged from 55 meters in length to nearly double that, which gave considerable real estate for exterior stylists to exploit.
This is the first exterior design for CG Design, a Paris-based architectural firm, although principal Cristina Gherardi designed the interior of the owner’s previous semi-custom yacht. This relationship and a thorough grounding in contemporary architecture established a design envelope for Savannah that deviated little from the first sketches brought to Feadship and De Voogt Naval Architects.
The key design exercise is to allow guests to maintain a functional relationship with the sea. In fact, there is an unbroken cascade of main deck living areas from the dining room, through the open salon, across the pool deck and down to the sea. In other places, huge expanses of glass link the interior with the world beyond, from her partially submerged “Nemo” room at the stern to the bow’s hidden observation room.
The slim, smooth silhouette and plumb bow convey a sense of speed while the metallic silver-green exterior finish extending even to the exterior deck overheads magically reflects the changing colours of sea and sky.
This award is sponsored by Blohm+Voss.