by Antonio Vettese
"The abundance that is in the motor sector, if it is taken out, a yacht becomes very light and very beautiful. It is almost poetic. One must have the arrogance to take away and not to add." - Lucio Micheletti
THE DESIGN OF LARGE YACHTS IS EVOLVING, WE ARE HERE IN MONTECARLO AND WE CAN SPOT FROM ALL-GLASS CATAMARAN TO AMAZING SAILING YACHTS. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
I think that sailing yacht market is decreasing in a very alarming way. But I have to say that it will raise again, I’m certainly sure this will happen. To me, sailing yachts will also be back in different shapes: catamarans, foiling, and with new ideas that to me are very important. Why do I say new idea? Because the balance you can find on a sailing yacht, won’t be found on a motor yacht. Everything that enters a sailing yacht is weighted, sized and squared while on a motor yacht you can find home sofas in the living area… and they also brag about it. This said, you can realize the big difference there is.
The balance that a sailing yacht has, could be the future DNA of motor yachts. In my opinion, there will be a major evolution in the next years.
SO, IN THIS CONTAMINATION YOU SEE AN ACTUAL RELOCATION OF THE ABC OF SAILING TO MOTOR YACHT, RIGHT?
Yes, exactly. Because it’s the right one, where everything is balanced and organized. The abundance that is in the motor sector, if it is taken out, a yacht becomes very light and very beautiful. It is almost poetic. One must have the arrogance to take away and not to add.
BUT THIS IS ALMOST THE CONTRARY OF WHAT IS HAPPENING. MAYBE THIS IS A LONG WAY, ISN’T IT?
It sure is, and it will be a long evolution, but refined design will take this path.
YOU ALSO WORK IN THE AUTOMOTIVE WHERE THE FUNCTION OF THE MEANS OF TRANSPORT IS CRUCIAL, THERE IS AN AESTHETIC APPROACH, BUT IT ALL HAS TO WORK. DO YOU THERE IS THE SAME NEED IN BOATING, OR BETTER, DO YOU THINK THIS NEED IS MET BY THOSE WHO BUILT BOATS?
This is exactly what I was telling you before, I think there is a lot of contamination from the automotive to the sailing yachts. Because when in navigation, a sailing yacht has its own attitude towards the sea. There is perfect tilting that is not present in the motor yacht… so it is more balanced. Let’s say that a man to sail doesn’t have to be tied but he has to be ready and capable to move. While on a car, so in the automotive sector, men have to be fastened, and so he has a more limited attitude. On a motor yacht, it is like you were at home, you don’t have any problem. On sailing yachts, you are forced to have limitation, and they make you evolve.
A FELLOW DESIGNER OF YOURS SAID THAT HE STARTED FROM AVIATION BUT THEN I REALIZED THAT AN AIRPLANE IS A TUBE WITH WINGS AND THERE WAS NO CREATIVITY. HAVE YOU EVER HAPPENED TO DRAW PLANES?
Well, I’ve designed some airplane seating and the interiors of helicopters. I do not agree with this opinion, you're in that tube waiting to make a flight. I say this: to study an airplane you have to study it on takeoff, the whole airplane is designed to take off, the rest flows. When you took off you made the plane, the design happens at that time.
LUCIO, YOUR WORK IS OUTSIDE, IN FACT IT STARTS FROM THE WORLD OF ARCHITECTURE, I KNOW YOU RECENTLY DID SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN DOHA...
In Doha we created a very particular museum, at the M7 which is a museum, a sort of ideas incubator, we have narrated design. But, as there was too much negative contamination, so we’ve made everything dark, and we have illuminated every single object and with the exact words of designer we have described the work of art. It was amazing, because you could hear the words of Castiglioni, that he pronounced in the Sixties, in which he described the work according to his point of view.
The most important thing in design is trying to see all the nuances, this way you can grasp it in all its fullness. That is exactly what we did in Doha.
Museum architecture erases design, imposes it, and classifies it. Instead, by creating darkness only the object remained and by illuminating it cleanly there was only him and the word of the designer. The nice thing was that on the other side was the Vitra museum, and there was this important juxtaposition.
IT ALSO TAKES STRENGTH TO STEP ASIDE....
Exactly. So, we should do this with the boats, examine each language. It would be nice one day to have an exhibition and hear each designer's explanation.
