S E A FA R I N G
103
Creativity In Motion SYNERGY IS THE KEY FOR OMEGA ARCHITECTS Ever wondered why motoryachts by Heesen look so distinctive and consistent, let alone mesmerising to the eyes? That’s because a particular firm has been at the helm of its design for some time now, a group of designers led by a certain gentleman who values synergy and innovation
T
he f irm in question? Omega A rch itects, a household n a me a mong t he yacht i ng fraternity, famed for its design prowess and conceptualising skills for numerous clients, particularly with Heesen Yachts of the Netherlands. Like most strong br a nd s, it a l l beg a n w it h one m a n. In this case, it was founded by Frank Laupman back in 1995. Ever since then, he has worked on architecture, yachts and interiors. He was able to ‘cross the borders’ of his own backg round and
f inished designs in areas of dif ferent nature. Over the years, he worked r e le n t le s s l y t o e s t a bl i s h g o o d a nd solid contacts with various principals, project developers and shipyards. To be able to meet the requirements for bigger projects, he kept searching for designers with different backgrounds and education in order to f inalise them. During these years, he formed a core of versatile designers who all shared the same philosophy as he does.
Besides this core of designers, there are also specif ic professionals onboard Omega Architects now, who provide a tech n ica l sk i l l set of ex per t ise for t h e f i r m’s d e s i g n wo r k . T h r ou g h the years, the core has grown and its creative members have found a synergy t h r o u g h l i s t e n i n g t o e a c h o t h e r, creating a very f luid work process akin to its ver y designs and this has done much in attracting principals and even individual yacht owners from across the world.
S E A FA R I N G
105
O meg a A rch it ec t s’ appe a l to it s g r ow i n g c l i e n t e l e i s b a s e d o n i t s core m ission: an aim to add value in dif ferent areas of design. The Dutch f ir m has managed to develop sim ilar proce s se s for t he d i f ferent a rea s of y a ch t d e s i g n , i n t e r io r d e s i g n a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l d e s i g n . T h e i r wo r k does not revea l a speci f ic st yle, but it f ine-tunes the st yle to the var ying nature of their specif ic commissions. In all of its commissioned works, Omega A rch itect s fol low s a si m i l a r de sig n process focused on the client’s needs and requirements too. For this reason,
their architects and designers exchange thoughts and specif ic ex per t ise, experiencing and creating synergy and ‘building’ their identity. This lively nature of Omega’s team has brought a strong combination of concept design, modern visualisation tech n ique s a nd t horoug h tech n ica l expertise. This ecosystem of designers and th in kers br ing s people together w ith d if ferent backg rounds and nationalities. The team operates in an international environment, where good communication and strong protocols has become the crucial backbone. The
different angles which require different com m issions, forces (in a good way) the team to be versatile and f lexible. Accord i n g to t he yacht i n g f i r m , it inspires strong principals for clients to engage further with Omega Architects. Another crucial element to Omega A rch itect s’ g row th a nd prom inence h a s been i n how t he e st abl i sh ment combi ne s creat iv it y w it h work i ng knowledge of trends in today’s society, helping the brand understand further the wants and needs of clients. With this combination of ingredients, they then set out to desig n not on ly the
exter ior of buildings and yachts, but also their interiors. Omega Architects believe that a strong unity of exterior a nd i nter ior creates t he d ist i nct ion b et we en mer el y f u nc t ion a l d e s i g n and h igh qua l it y desig n that is both functional and aesthetic. S o m e p r o o f o f t h e b r a n d ’s capabi l ities can be seen in the succe s s f u l del iver ie s of a st r i n g of i c o n i c H e e s e n s ove r t h e l a s t f e w years: Amore Mio (45-metre), Lady L (44-metres), Aurelia (37-metre), Home (50-metre), Galactica Star (65-metre) and the recent Laurentia (55-metre). If
anything, al l these yachts mentioned share a focus on aesthetic designs, with equal measure of importance placed in its inter ior expression. This is down to how O meg a A rch itec t s bel ieve s the simple yet fundamental rule: ‘the beauty of lines and shapes’. You can look-up Omega Architects online to further peruse visually, how consistent their work has been since it s i ncept ion. T here i s a deep a nd t a stef u l l a n g u a g e of de sig n beh i nd their f inished products, products that have many a client happy and fulf illed. Here’s one quote from famous yacht
ow ner, Hu g o Verl i nden , who put s it n icely on Laupm an and h is tea m: “We have worked together with Frank Laupman for over 10 years now. He is extremely creative in his designs and works exactly according to his clients wishes. Frank is able to create a perfect prof ile in just a short meeting. He is a source of lines and shapes. On top of that he’s a ver y nice person.” By all means, head to omega-architects.com to lear n a l l you need to know about Omega Architects.