UV II by Platinum Media Lab

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[ COVER STORY ]

A trideck with the looks and appeal of a gran coupé of the sea, a complex yet perfectly achieved challenge. ISA Yachts, with Enrico Gobbi and Luca Dini, has created a sporty yacht with a contemporary design and generous, versatile spaces by Paola Bertelli - ph. by Leonardo Andreoni

oung, dynamic, practical and decisive, the owner of the UV II

Soft, dynamic, elegant shapes

is passionate about the sea. This is his third yacht and he has no

for the UV II, the 45-metre

intention of stopping there”, says Eugenio Cannarsa of Fraser Yachts,

build by ISA Yachts with a

who introduced the owner to the ISA Yachts yard. “The owner was

steel hull and aluminium

immediately impressed by the yacht’s dynamic lines, the exterior layout

superstructure. A grand tourer

with large covered lounges and the interiors which, right from the first drawings I’ve

of the sea on three decks with

seen, closely resemble all his homes. The opportunity to make a custom yacht – he didn’t

striking exterior spaces. The

want any kind of standardisation – was one of the initial factors in selecting the yard.

layout of the forward lounge

The UV II is the first GT 45 and the first in ISA Yacht’s new GT line, a trideck gran

over several decks is clear in

turismo of the sea based on the work of Palumbo Superyachts, which handled the naval

the photo, right.

engineering, Enrico Gobbi - Team for Design, which designed the external lines, and

Opening, the scenic steel and

Luca Dini Design & Architecture, which developed the interior design.

silvered mosaic pool makes

Enrico Gobbi has created a dynamic profile with volumes set towards the rear and

a strong impact on the main

long, soft horizontal lines intersecting with the arcs, a stylistic hallmark of ISA Yachts,

deck cockpit

that tie together the three decks. Recesses, facets and curves generate a pleasing effect that never descends into banality and demanded significant woodworking skills. Gobbi has inserted spacious areas in a dynamic shell, providing good headroom with natural light flooding in through floor-to-ceiling windows on the main and upper decks. The connection between interiors and exteriors is one of this yacht’s distinguishing strengths. Luca Dini has created a contemporary design where white, gold and sand colours evoke a beach landscape. The natural oak floors are laid in an irregular pattern, while on the walls and ceilings sections of light oak slats are complemented by black-lacquered wood. Daring touches with backlit panels decorated with black/white geometric motifs and gold-colour metal inserts give the spaces a unique, original character. The cockpit is dominated by the glass and gilded mosaic swimming pool that defines the relaxation area along with the longitudinal sofas. A step separates this space from the flush deck. Deep B&B sofas and iconic Platner armchairs from Knoll furnish the main saloon. Here, two backlit panels with graphics made to a Luca Dini design embrace and enchant guests with plays of light and reflections. The full-beam owner’s suite forward has a staircase linking it to an outdoor lounge in the bows on a level between the main and upper decks. It then ascends to the upper deck. The suite has a sofa and TV, sleeping area, office area with Poltrona Frau leather and ash desk, heads and walk-in wardrobe. There is also a fixed balcony to starboard. Set in a circular veranda the upper deck dining area with round glass table has dual window and sunblind system that can close, screen or open the space, linking it seamlessly with the exterior lounge. There is a second dining area on the flydeck in a more informal setting with bar counter, table for ten and sunpad area. The night area on the lower deck hosts four VIP cabins, two with twin beds that can be joined and two cabins with double beds. An elegant, dynamic yacht, the UV II can reach a top speed of 15.4 knots, with a cruising speed of 14 knots. The garage behind the beach club with access to the sea houses a 5-metre tender and a second space forward for the service tender and two jetskis.

www.isayachts.com

A coherent colour palette connects the spaces. The walls and ceilings in the various sections of the owner’s suite (top and right), with light oak slats and black lacquered wood. Opposite page, below, the circular veranda with windows and louvres. In the main deck saloon (top), an extensive conversation area with B&B sofas and Platner by Knoll chairs

A distinctive characteristic in yachts designed by Enrico Gobbi is the continuous window on the main deck that makes the craft appear longer. The beach club (opposite page, bottom) has good headroom thanks to a careful distribution of volumes between the main and lower decks. Opposite, top, the lounge forward with direct access to the master suite

he main input came from Giuseppe Palumbo, who said to me, “I want to relaunch the GT line. I want to reinterpret it in a contemporary style”. It wasn’t easy. It’s often easier to start from a blank sheet than revamp a successful design that was created in different times. Once, anyone who wanted this kind of yacht knew that compromises would have to be made in terms of interior spaces, but nowadays this is no longer acceptable – we need large windows and generous spaces while maintaining the taut, dynamic lines that owners want to admire when approaching their yacht in the tender. Stylistically we’ve created a sporty, thrusting profile – the curved lines recall a performance car, the rollbar wings evoke a private jet. The wings are all glass, and were very complex to produce, but they are crucial in providing openings to the sea rather than obstacles.

Exterior Design Enrico Gobbi, Founder Team for Design

We’ve rethought the distinctive ISA arcs that connect all three decks without distorting them, and we’ve redesigned the external stairs which are now much less bulky. The long, uninterrupted main deck windows make the yacht look longer. We wanted to create dynamic shapes that communicate the idea of movement even when the craft is at anchor. These days you have to rethink the interior spaces and their relationship. When mapping out the yacht’s general layout, for example, we eliminated what I call the “canyon”, the narrow, often dark passageway guests walk through to access the interiors. The owners wanted a villa that is open to the sea. Modern technological glass helps us a lot – we’ll eventually end up with an all-glass yacht! With UV II we’ve succeeded in designing a gran coupé of the sea - combining the sporty lines with generous spaces was an enjoyable challenge.

Interior Design Luca Dini, Luca Dini Design & Architecture

he owner gave us a free hand, with almost total confidence in our highly personal taste. We began to select the most elegant, modern furnishings, and also looked around at what the market had to offer at the time. We knew the spaces had to be simple but rich in stylistic details like the slatted panelling with alternating black and wood, often a recurring theme in the interiors. Our overriding objective was to develop a very bright, elegant, classic interior in light colours that would evoke a seaside villa. Contemporary style and simplicity have always been our starting points. Usually, in other projects where the client has very clear ideas in mind, he or she selects a number of reference images and we begin to make suggestions on the basis of these. It’s the client’s yacht, and the important thing is that he or she is happy. In this case the client didn’t make any specific requests and I must say it was a great challenge for me and the team. Having a free hand doesn’t always make things easier – designing and constructing can be more complicated without guidelines. We were, though, able to try out new ideas like the bright decoration in the saloon. We weren’t looking for a simple geometric pattern on fabric or a particular wood or marble veining, but rather something innovative linked to the great “availability” of this space that already benefits from plenty of natural light. After studying the light and various geometric elements we threw out some ideas and as often happens, by chance or by choice the best ideas come into being. The curved, sliding metal screen in the dining room, a lovely innovative element, means that the sun can be screened out when it is at its hottest, or turn the dining room into an entirely open-air space. These two curved elements, the screen and the table, create a welcoming, harmonious space that encourages social interaction.

The owner personally oversaw the fly deck layout (above) and specified the transverse bar counter with stools facing forward, towards the sea, like an observatory deck. Below, the main deck cockpit. Opposite page, the large squared saloon windows (above) frame the sea. Below, the entry to the owner’s suite includes a TV corner

The Shipyard

UV II is the first in ISA Yacht’s new

Francesco Carbone, General Manager ISA Yachts

V II is a modern reinterpretation of the GT (Gran Turismo) line. We’ve succeeded in creating a genuine trideck within a 45-metre hull, retaining the sleek, sporty lines that are a hallmark of ISA yachts. It wasn’t a straightforward task, generally speaking three decks on a yacht of this side are complex to achieve in terms of balance and stylistic equilibrium. The final result is surprising, with taut lines and generous volumes for a yacht that’s unmistakeably an ISA creation. All the brand’s classic stylistic hallmarks are there, but it’s a new ISA. At first we focused on the exterior design while bearing in mind all the features that owners of such a prestige product are reluctant to do without. The exterior area on the aft main deck and the beach area below presented intriguing challenges. The yacht’s sporty concept involved restricted heights for the hull and superstructure and we worked hard to create large, airy spaces. Creating a garage forward for two jetskis and the service tender, all launched by a hydraulic crane, was no easy undertaking. My favourite space is probably the upper deck with the round veranda dedicated to the dining area and the terrace linked to it. It’s a lovely space, versatile and with total privacy. Generally speaking, I see this type of yacht appealing to a young owner seeking refined, dynamic lines, someone who wants three decks to provide enough space for guests. I imagine an owner whose car isn’t a giant SUV but some sort of coupé like a Bentley. For us the GT look is iconic, this new 45-metre model is the first in this updated series. We have an 80-metre model under construction with five times the gross tonnage, and two 66-metre yachts with a 50-metre currently under negotiation. The Gran Turismo line was launched in 2014 with Okto has been a great success for the yard.

GT line. It has a top speed of 15.4 knots and a cruising speed of 14 knots. An 80-metre and two 66-metre models are currently under construction, with a 50-metre model under negotiation

The UV II’s lighting units are designed to furnish as well as illuminate. The aerial photo shows the large open-air spaces on this striking seagoing coupé, 43.7 metres long with a 9.1 metre beam. Also available for charter, the yacht has five guest cabins and four crew cabins