SUPERYACHT #12
Spring 2007
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
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Article by
Franca Urbani
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BENETTI M37 ANDIAMO
A question of style: this is a contradiction of the idea that a
boat's interior is feminine, but it's also the classic exception
that confirms the rule. The style of the master Francois Zuretti,
which on "Andiamo" could be defined as new classic, is extremely
masculine. With a flavour, so to speak, of "leather and tobacco",
it seems to be modelled on the gentleman's club of a true
yachtsman. The architect's sure hand is both essential and
refined, signing his interiors, so to speak, in a perfect way and
with absolute conviction. Zuretti is a master because those
skilful details of his make all the difference, and to such an
extent that on going aboard you immediately think "this is a
Benetti done by Zuretti", just as we exclaim before famous works
of art "this is a Picasso!" The distinguishing feature of the
master's interior design is undoubtedly his skilful use of wood,
of which he knows all the secrets and which he uses above all as
facings and in the creation of furniture, including complex items,
built rigorously to his design.
NIGHT ZONE
In the night zone on the lower deck there are two cabins with
double beds and two twin cabins with a Pullman bed. The VIP bed is
rounded and flanked by two bedside cabinets with the novelty of a
retractable leaf. The bathrooms are typical of this designer who
has furnished them with small units for built-in washbasins,
designed with rounded curves of miraculous proportions and
finished with tops in onyx, matching the floors. Certain details,
such as the Zucchetti taps and fittings and the shower equipped
with a simple seat, are more contemporary. On the landing there's
a stair cupboard for suitcases because on yachts, as in houses,
increasing importance is given to small storage spaces. The
lacquered wooden ceiling is cream and Alcantara coloured. The
curtains in the twin cabins are pale gold. The wood, which is an
element of continuity throughout the boat, is matched with light
colours like off-white and honey onyx.
SALOON & DINING AREA
In accordance with the classic Benetti scheme the stairway is in
the middle of the saloon and the club-type bar is on the port
side. The low items of furniture beneath the large windows are
used as containers for various sorts of things. Sofas, armchairs,
gold curtains and sober mirror inserts complete the deeply
relaxing decor. Simple and intimate, the dining area has a rounded
carved wooden table seating 10, completed by wooden chairs
upholstered in light coloured leather.
GALLEY
The galley includes a new solution: the cooking area is separated
from the crew mess area by a sliding door with, of course, a
service hatch for passing the dishes. Typical of Zuretti is his
habit of using wood also in the galley and crew area, thus
creating continuity with the rest of the boat. The floor is also
in wood. Entering from the dining area you come to a landing with
an item of furniture on the port side which contains, among other
things, two freezers, while on the starboard side there's a dumb
waiter, the galley door and a EuroCave for 70 bottles. The landing
leads to the dinette and the stairway down to the crew's night
zone. The galley proper is C-shaped with two sinks on the left as
you go in, a Miele cooker opposite and, on the right, a large
Frigit refrigerator. The work surface is in Corian and the walls
in steel. In the galley too, technology is tempered by style.
OWNER'S SUITE
As you go in there's a small study with a cabinet and a walk-in
wardrobe on the port side. On the starboard side, beneath a large
window, the writing desk doubles as a dressing table. Beside it
there's a bookcase with drawers. The walk-in wardrobe,
increasingly requested by yacht owners, is a winning solution, and
Andiamo's is beautiful: glass-fronted drawers alternated with
plain shelves equipped with fiddles, and a great mirror which
serves not only for admiring yourself but also for virtual
expansion of the space. Plain steel rails for hanging clothes. All
elegant, simple and easy, as well as very handy indeed for keeping
everything in order.
The big full-beam room is splendid, with a panoramic view and the
owner's bathroom behind it. The décor is masterfully
resolved with a piece set opposite the bed, conceived in the
spirit of the great sideboards of the past, which is connected to
the lower wall-pieces typical of this yacht. Inside there's also a
plasma screen, extractable, because in these spaces TV is an
optional, not a must. The finishes such as the dark leather of the
headboard, the chaise-longue type sofa in velvet, the squaring of
the lines, though with the gracefulness of smoothed corners, all
express a strong and highly essential character: certainly the
interior here is an expression of the owner's decisive choices
which the architect has interpreted with great synthesis,
effectiveness and, I would say, with a certain severity. There are
many precious but not showy details in the classic honey onyx
bathroom with corner shower, such as the two little corner
cupboards with rounded edges, set at the sides of the mirror,
which "disappear" completely into the wood finish of the wall.
UPPER DECK SKY LOUNGE
A lounge for conversation, with a refined ceiling and indirect
optic fibre lighting, club style. The onyx-top bar, which ends in
a harmonious curve, is a typical feature. The base is finished in
squares of brown leather. The eye falls pleasingly on other
details: the games table with a carved wood chessboard, the small
cream coloured leather armchairs with wood finish, the plasma TV
that retracts into a low wall cupboard beneath the window. The
ceiling - in squares of white lacquered wood formed by pilaster
strips in natural wood that intersect orthogonally - is
embellished by a moulding with indirect optic fibre lighting that
runs around the perimeter. The sofas and armchairs are by Frau and
the whole is completed by a bookcase equipped with fiddles.
Venetian blinds in natural wood, very pleasing and fashionable,
filter the light from the windows. The wooden floor has an
intarsia design with squares of two sizes linked by double pairs
of rectangular pilaster strips. There's also a bathroom on this
deck and the sky lounge can sleep one person if required. In the
corners of the stern bulkhead there are two full-height wall
cupboards with rounded edges, designed to stow the tableware for
the upper deck. If these interiors strike you as somewhat severe,
you need only consider what the master told us: The architect
handles the design, but what will warm and brighten the wood,
create the right pleasant atmosphere, are the yacht's works of
art, stained glass, statues, paintings, fabrics and carpets. In a
word, precious objects: the choice depends on the sensitivity and
taste of the owners, some of whom cases commission leading art consultants.
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