"You need a common denominator," says Bard about the beige and
gold. This requirement for a common denominator holds especially true in the
two-story master stateroom that will feature—if it’s built—princely onyx columns
with carved gold-leaf capitals flanking a bed whose headboard is resplendent
with glass beads. Lie down and you look up at a dome inlaid with iridescent
glass mosaics in gold, pink and platinum gray. In the same vein, Bard named and
themed the VIP staterooms after semi-precious stones: Brown Tiger Eye; Red
Jasper; Malachite; and Pink, White and Green Onyx, with color schemes to match.
"Marble and granite alone don’t cut it anymore," quips Bard.
Top: Minimalist Grande fit this galley with clean, functional and
ergonomic fixtures. Photograph courtesy of Christian Grande & Partners/Sessa Marine. Bottom: Grande’s vertical fixture. (Click images to enlarge)
For Christian Grande, gold faucets don’t cut it either.
"It’s not our style, though we have nothing against the
material itself," says the yacht, auto and product designer based in Parma,
Italy. "We are looking for flexibility: clean shapes and surfaces that allow for
a lot of freedom to change the yacht’s design and let it evolve."
And forget those high, arced faucets, adds Grande: "They are so
un-ergonomic. You are always knocking your face against them!"
Some contemporary
knobs from SA Baxter.
(Click images to enlarge)
An avowed minimalist, Grande’s faucets and other hardware
practically disappear from view, thanks to high technology that’s now possible
with the miniaturization of valves. All that shows is a metal plate or cover.
And with the aid of a special backlit film from 3M, the plate can be glamorized
with all sorts of special effects. Faucet users can find the faucet plate in one
color, and when they pull it out for use it lights up in another color
altogether, or with an image.
That’s what Grande thinks of as a jewel for the head (no pun
intended): "a fulcrum of the entire design because it is the center, or aligned
with the center." Not just a shiny bauble, the faucet plate now has an
architectural raison d’être. Once he’s determined the shape of the cover plate,
Grande carefully calibrates the shape of the flow itself.
"The water’s dynamics and dimensions—those are very important
aspects of the design, and [they] have to be integrated into the initial plan,"
he says.
Currently, Grande is developing a new line of faucets soon to
be launched by an international boat accessories company he says he can’t yet
name.
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