Dickie Bannenberg interview: 6 interior design features of Heesen's Project Alida

Project Alida is a 55 metre fast displacement yacht being built on speculation by Heesen for delivery in June 2017. Construction is progressing nicely with the hull and superstructure joined in September 2015.

Her naval architecture is by Van Oossanen Naval Architects with exterior design by Omega Architects. Bannenberg and Rowell is responsible for the interior design of Project Alida. Here, renowned interior designer Dickie Bannenberg gives us his view on some of the key design elements.

"Project Alida started life as 'Project Coast' in our studio," said Bannenberg. "A relaxed vibe, with an emphasis on casual, slightly informal finishes – the sawn and bleached oak for example giving a feeling of driftwood-meets-weatherboarding."

"Teamed with textured weaves and tactile architectural finishes, grasscloths and white and grey Arabascatta marble, the interior is calm and anti-bling."

Update: In March 2017, Project Alida was sold and a new interior designer, Radyca Inc, was appointed.

Project Alida will accommodate 12 guests in six staterooms. There are five staterooms on the lower deck, including a full beam aft VIP, two twin cabins and two double cabins.

On the main deck Project Alida has "the kind of master suite where you positively want to be barefoot," explained Bannenberg. It is "all about textures, with a de-saturated palette of soft furnishings which avoids any tendency towards 'greige'."

Project Alida features a large main saloon which is split into zones, which include a seating area and a dining area.

"The zoning gives a sense of arrival through the aft doors, entering through a bookcase-lined space and moving forward towards the convivial seating area grouped around a custom-designed Bannenberg & Rowell coffee table," explained Bannenberg.

"Another custom design is the dining table with its freeform pebble motifs flowing across the table top. Both the seating zones and dining zones sit on 'boardwalks' of sawn and bleached oak planking."

The 102 square metre sky lounge on Project Alida has large windows that provide 180 degree views.

"The key feature is the freestanding bar on the port side with its front of thousands of pieces of wavy wood, as if gathered by a beachcomber," said Bannenberg. "The bartop, a slab of pale timber, is punctured by slanted holes, inspired by beach and sand forms.

"The boardwalk floor continues in the form of a central island, anchoring a comfortable, but smart, seating arrangement."

The tenders on Project Alida will be launched from the foredeck, which leaves plenty of space aft for the beach club.

"We created a ground-breaking beach club for Galactica Star in 2013," explained Bannenberg, but "an entirely different configuration here on Project Alida required an alternative approach concentrating on clean, fresh finishes with an interplay between the deckhead and flooring geometry."

The designers have considered every little detail, even down to the type of marble to be used in the guest cabin bathrooms.

Bannenberg described the lower deck bathroom design as "a study in calm and natural juxtaposition between the hewn appearance of timber, and the smooth honed finish of the Arrabescato marble."