With 55-metre Reliance already on the water and Project Serena, Project Apollo, Project Venus and Project Oslo24 under construction, Luca Dini Design & Architecture and Heesen are building a strong partnership. Blending different cultures and creative processes, it might seem like an unusual collaboration but in this interview, Heesen’s CCO Mark Cavendish and Luca Dini discuss why it has been a “match made in heaven”.
Dini’s firm, which is headquartered in Florence, first began working with Heesen in 2019. “You came to the shipyard and you were very creative,” recalls Cavendish. “You took the layout of our standard boat and sprinkled magic dust all over it. It came out as something much better.”
Dini says that he was apprehensive when they first started working together on Reliance, which was known as Project Gemini during construction. “At the beginning I was scared, a Dutch shipyard and an Italian crazy guy all together could be very strange mix,” he jokes. “But, I think we can bring to the shipyard our creativity, and the shipyard gives us a professional way to put in all these types of things into place. From the beginning it has been very proactive and it is still growing. I love it.”
The latest project in the collaboration is Project Venus and new details about her interior were revealed during an exclusive press event in June. Dini says that the interior of the yacht, which is being built on spec, has been an “important lesson".
Luca Dini’s lead designer, Silvia Margutti, was determined that Project Venus should have a “strong and daring identity”. To achieve this, the yacht has a light art deco theme, as well as additional features including an 82-square-metre owner's apartment incorporating a French balcony.
“We started with the deco style and then we moved to something more contemporary,” explains Dini. “I am proud that practically everywhere there is this touch of the deco style in a contemporary way. It is absolutely not simple, it could be risky because you have two completely different worlds together. You have to try it and it seems that everything works very well.”
Project Venus is scheduled for delivery in 2025 and it is hoped that she will be a shining example of what the partnership can achieve. “You combine the Italian flare and style with good northern European Dutch engineering and build practices, what more do you want?” asks Cavendish.
To find out more about Project Venus, currently for sale, and any other of Heesen’s on-spec projects, contact the yard directly here.
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