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ISSUE 27 SUMMER 2016

CASE STUDY Sounding groups help influence Cor D Rover’s yacht designs by allowing him to anticipate changing attitudes.

SPACEDesigners Greg Marshall and Dimitris Hadjidimos present new solutions in a bid to enhance crew privacy.

TECH TALK Why monohulls remain the dominant choice for motoryacht owners when there are so many alternatives.

ARTISANDelving into the architecture behind the works created by Czech glass artist Jan Frydrych.

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LUXURYTRANSFORMED.

A CLASS OF ITS OWN

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KORMARAN.COM

EDITION

Lighting on yachts has generally lagged behind land-based architecture, but new and evolving technologies offer the potential for solutions that make conventional spotlights and wall sconces look positively dreary.

PERSPECTIVES

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For Claudio Giampaoli, CEO of lighting consultancy Promotech, based in Camaiore

near Viareggio, lighting integration is more than a methodology: it is an interaction between pleasure and functionality that combines technology, design and materials.

“The idea is to add emotional value to an ambience by incorporating light sources into the actual construction materials or finishes,” he explains. “In future, lighting on yachts will be shaped around our moods and feelings.”

Influenced by budget and technical platforms, yacht designers and shipyards have been slow to engage specialist lighting consultants, even on full-custom projects. This means that despite the rapid and ongoing development of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), optical fibres and other technologies, lighting aboard large yachts can appear generic or even dull. In this context, Promotech sees itself as a group of high-tech artisans with a mission to provide its clients with ‘outside-the-box’ lighting solutions.

An early example of their innovative approach was Perini Navi’s 56m Panthalassa, with interior design by Lord Norman Foster. For the main salon, they supplied slim LED Panels (SLPs)—thin ‘windows’ of circular plastic that diffused light uniformly over their entire surface and allowed natural daylight

NOTHING BUT YOUR WISHESWE MOVE FROM THERE

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NOTHING BUT YOUR WISHESWE MOVE FROM THERE

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to filter through from the flybridge above. There are no visible frames, lenses or reflectors, so the technical components remain invisible to the naked eye. In fact, form and dimension can be left up to the designer rather than the manufacturer, as in the case of the majority of light fixtures.

Since then, the company has devised lighting for multiple yacht projects (most recently for the new 90m Lionheart launched by Benetti) and has continued to research innovative solutions that venture beyond backlit glass and onyx. A collaboration with Swarovski, for example, has led to a prototype touch-sensitive switch for controlling lights, blinds and other domotic systems. Unlike a standard utility switch, the clip-on fascia, with on/off positions indicated by colour-coded LEDs imbedded in the Swarovski Crystal Rock, can be mounted on walls to blend seamlessly with the interior decor.

Glass crystals are powerful conductors of light, but Promotech is also working with materials that have no light-giving properties of their own. Translucent concrete is a relatively new product created by embedding a matrix of optical fibres into the material. The glowing fibres transform seemingly solid concrete walls, floors and horizontal surfaces into sources of subtle ambient lighting.

Leather can be micro-perforated using lasers to allow backlighting to shine through. The process leaves the surface finish untouched, but the perforated patterns and light colours can be customised to suit individual tastes and styles.

Promotech sees itself as a group of high-tech artisans with a mission to provide its clients with ‘outside-the-box’ lighting solutions.

“A market is never saturated with a good product, but it is very quickly saturated with a bad one” – Henry Ford

custom designed to owner’s requirements with new patented hull designs for vastly improved comfort

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Formerly with Arup, followed by working with Philips, and currently chief

design officer for Zumtobel Group, a global supplier of architectural lighting solutions, Rogier van der Heide is well known for his award-winning and life-enhancing design solutions.

He is widely recognised as a driving force in his field with more than 20 years’ experience in creating three-dimensional works that fuse lighting, image projection, architecture and product design.

For Van der Heide, adaptive lighting is only a small part of the equation. He believes design in general can be harnessed to help brands grow their business, a notion that the conservative yacht-building industry is still coming to terms with.

“Rather than designing and building boats the way we have in the past, we need to learn new skills,” he says. “Data-modelling, algorithm design, voice and gesture control—these all have to become common practice in the industry.”

He was recently given the opportunity to apply his holistic philosophy to yacht design when he was engaged by Dynamiq to develop lighting solutions for its new range of aluminium displacement models. In his opinion, Dynamiq’s online configurator is the first step in a more democratic approach through which the end user will emerge as the chief designer.

“Dynamiq represents a more collaborative way of looking at yachts and the yachting experience,” he maintains. “In future, I believe the designer or shipyard will set the DNA, but the owner will add the body and the organs, if you like.”

A CHANGING WORLD

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LIGHT FIDELITY

Claudio Zimarino, founder of PiSquared in Viareggio, describes himself as an ‘architect of light’.

With an engineering background and an MA in light design, he works with private clients and consults on residential and yacht projects for John Cullen Lighting in London.

“The increasing sophistication of LED technology in terms of lumen power, colour temperature and light quality has improved dramatically in the past few years, which has had a huge impact on lighting design,” says Zimarino.

In particular, he points to the development of COB (chip-on-board) technology, through which multiple LEDs are packaged together as one lighting module. Thanks to the small size of the LED chips, COBs can be packed very closely together, resulting in higher intensity and uniformity, so the final effect is more like a lighting panel than a collection of individual LEDs.

Another improvement has been in the quality of

emitted light. The colour rendering index (CRI), designated by the value Ra, denotes the effect of light on coloured objects. As a general rule, the higher the index, the better, with CRI/Ra 100 representing the optimum value. Sunlight has a value of up to 100 and a white LED has between 70 and 95. Therefore, today’s high-quality LED sources render colours that are almost true to nature—an important consideration for interior designers. Unlike the harsh blue glare of early LEDs, they are also easier on the human eye.

The next step, says Zimarino, is Light Fidelity, or Li-Fi for short, a term coined by Professor Harald Haas of Edinburgh University during a TED talk in 2011. The technology uses LEDs as a medium to deliver networked, high-speed communication in a similar way to Wi-Fi. Both transmit data over the electromagnetic spectrum, but whereas Wi-Fi utilises radio waves, Li-Fi uses visible light for much higher transmission speeds of up to 224 gigabits per second. The first Li-Fi systems are already commercially available, and recent reports suggest that Apple may produce iPhones with Li-Fi capability in the near future.

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BRIDGING THE GAP

Lighting Design International (LDI) is a London-based consultancy that aims to bridge the gap between

the architect or interior designer and the electrical engineer by combining a creative and intelligent approach to lighting design with an understanding of the technical requirements.

Established in 1986, LDI has worked on a wide variety of international projects, including superyacht new builds and refits.

“The majority of yacht designs go ahead without the involvement of a lighting designer, but our clients realise the added value we can bring to the table,” says principal designer Chris Lewis. “The main thing is that we need to be brought in as early as possible; if not at the concept stage then certainly by the time the contract process gets underway.”

Contracts stipulate the number of light points, so in order to avoid adjustments, additional costs and add-on solutions, it pays to have a clear idea of the lighting design early on. This is especially important for the exterior lighting, as in the case of the superstructure lighting devised by LDI for the 91m Lürssen Lady Lara, since its integration requires pre-planning the various slots and gullies for the cabling and light fixtures.

By the same token, LDI prefers to be involved in both the interior and exterior lighting to ensure consistency of product and colour temperatures, especially in areas where the outdoor spaces communicate directly with indoor areas, such as the aft decks.

“There is a dialogue and we advise, but we certainly don’t look to impose specific styles or solutions on designers,” says Lewis. “Instead, we propose lighting schemes to enhance their interior and exterior designs.”

The aim behind all these innovations is to provide ambient illumination that is fully integrated into the design and accentuates the natural properties of materials.

The company has also developed a technique for backlighting wood veneers, whereby the diffused light takes on the hue and textures of the material, highlighting the tones and grain structures unique to different types of wood. The aim behind all these innovations is to provide ambient illumination that is fully integrated into the design and which accentuates the natural properties of materials.

Giampaoli is now evolving the concept of lighting integration in tandem with audio-visual technologies to create surfaces composed of image-projecting LED panels that can be applied to walls, ceilings and furniture. By eliminating architectural barriers, occupants of the room become participants in an interactive panorama. Also known as ‘techorating’—the fusion of technology and decorating—the aim is to create functional spaces without sacrificing aesthetic appeal or creating clutter. Promotech has received a request from one client to integrate video of the landscape surrounding his home into the interior of his yacht. A 53m yacht in build at Rossinavi, in Viareggio, is also expected to feature the same immersive technology.

“As human beings, we evaluate the space, volume and context around us through our senses,” says Giampaoli. “The idea is to play with these senses using technologies that melt into the ambience. Today, more than ever, lighting solutions should provide a perfect synergy between systems, technologies and materials.”

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