Leaders

Combining modern design, innovative concepts, luxury and sustainability, Antonio Luxardo, Chief Designer of Optima Design, and partner Michele Zignego are helping transform the future of yachting. Luxardo has also recently been appointed Chief Designer for Cantieri di Pisa shipyard.
Interview: Gael Burlot; Images: Optima Design

Optima Design co-founders Michele Zignego (far left) and Antonio Luxardo (second left) with colleagues

Based in La Spezia, a port-city hub of luxury-yacht design and manufacture in northeast Italy, Optima Design was co-founded in 2004 by Luxardo and Zignego. Employing over 30 people, including architects, designers and engineers, the studio focuses on ‘conception to realisation’, working on 360-degree yachting projects, from naval architecture to exterior and interior designs and engineering.

The firm also undertakes architectural and design projects for buildings, as well as a multitude of product design. In nautical design, the founders’ mission from the get-go was to push the boundaries of innovative solutions that combine aesthetics, functionality and sustainability.

Today, Optima Design and its principals represent a reference point for shipyards across Italy, having worked on over 400 design projects, and shipbuilding clients have included Azimut and Benetti; Ferretti Group brands Ferretti Yachts, Pershing and Riva; Sanlorenzo; The Italian Sea Group brands Admiral, Tecnomar and Perini Navi; as well as Fincantieri.

Luxardo gives Yacht Style some deeper insights into his yacht design philosophy and experience.

You were recently appointed Chief Designer at Cantieri di Pisa shipyard – founded in 1945 and acquired in 2021 by Enrico Gennasio – which hopes to launch three new yacht ranges in the coming months. Exciting times! How do you approach these projects?

I agreed to follow the new projects of Cantieri di Pisa because they are part of the Italian and world nautical history, thanks to iconic yachts like the Akhir [line]. I’ve already designed the three basic lines that contain innovation and classicism, as a sign of respect for the shipyard’s history.

On the Cantieri di Pisa Polaris 48, open spaces account for almost half the main and upper decks

The designs are based on the research of their essence, typical of boats like Akhir, Polaris and Saturno, defining what stylistic elements must be followed. The design lines with models from 30-90m matured almost by themselves. Once the fundamentals of the three projects were created, they evolved spontaneously.

Tell us more about your ongoing collaboration with Amer Yachts, involving three impressive steel and aluminium yacht projects, between 41 and 74m and under construction, as well as a new fibreglass line.

We started the collaboration working on the Amer Steel line in 2021, and it has been a very interesting journey. Their ideas on ecological boating and simplification have been very important. What really made a change in their projects’ development comes from the founder Fernando Amerio, with his family inheriting his respect for the sea and the sailing elegance.

The sleek-lined Amer Steel 499

This is evident in the last project, which involves the construction of the first unit with basalt-fibre – an ecological resin – and recycled PET core. This continuous research over time leads to results that will change the prospects of sailing, as well as the use of the Volvo Penta IPS System, with which we are engineering the 41 and 50m, with new hulls and general arrangement solutions. The fibreglass line will be updated: there will be an evolution of style and function that recalls the past.

Are there any other interesting yacht-related projects you’re currently working on or that are in the pipeline?

Yes, there are some projects which are still in progress. I believe a good project needs to mature in a period that can even last a year. This allows you to work in different steps and consolidate what has been done. You can understand better what features are good and need to stay, and what needs to evolve and become more attractive.

It is essential to have as many options as possible for future development. At the moment, we are focused on Amer and Cantieri di Pisa shipyards, with a series of new designs revealed at the Cannes and Monaco shows in September.

Antonio Luxardo, Architect and Chief Designer, Optima Design

How much of Optima Design business today is focused on yacht design, and how did your first such project come about?

Over the years we have worked on many projects in different fields and geographical areas. This has allowed us to be much more open-minded while working on today’s projects. Now, yacht design absorbs our energy, and we do not have time to concentrate on projects in other fields other than working on conceptual phases, and advising on how a team should work to develop our idea.

What is the hallmark of Optima Design?

We believe it is very important to focus on the uniqueness of the project and of the client, as a study of the history of the product to be designed. This is fundamental – especially for a new brand. It is also relevant to consider where the product is to be placed: the geographical area, ethnicity and the age of the end-user.

We often put ourselves in other people’s shoes to try to create a design that is the greatest expression of the brand. This leads us to follow new paths to find new solutions, which leads the way to customise each product for each client.

How do you adapt to your clients’ requests and current technological trends in your designs?

The evolution of the market, recent production from the main shipyards and the new manufacturing tools and materials employed, have led yacht design to some progressive new models. It is possible to bear all this research in mind – with some compromises for a client’s inherent style, and brief – for small boats.

Aft beach club on Cantieri di Pisa’s Saturno 56

It is often important to provide compatibility with the different accessories required by the client or yacht owner, and to offer optional customisation that an owner desires to make his boat unique, or to his taste.

However, for larger yachts up to megayacht size, we need to bear in mind it is a handcrafted object, dreamed up, designed and built by people – from the owner to the shipyard to the designer. Every megayacht is, and must be, approached as a prototype.

To succeed in this in a timely way, it is necessary to have great interdisciplinary skills and to be constantly updated both on new possibilities that technological progress offers, and on the current limits dictated by regulations that guarantee safety and functionality. Only then can construction and design choices be anticipated, even in initial layout phases, in an effective way.

How do you technically achieve this?

This is Michele [Zignego]’s specialty area. First, under his lead, we create a structural and water-tight model. Then we install the yacht’s main machinery, assess the weight of hull, superstructure and fittings and simulate different conditions, running some preliminary computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and seakeeping tests. These help to define the hull form, which in turn defines other structural shapes, the yacht’s capacity and performance capability.

Aft view of Amer Steel 499

From here, we estimate the size of all local structures that are needed to accommodate fittings and on-board systems most effectively, according to the characteristics of the yacht and the passengers’ needs, as well as to discover the crew and maintenance needs.

Our research and development department is constantly working on new solutions – on hydrodynamics, on new materials and on putting together new technological solutions that allow immediate, feasible new design solutions to be proposed to potential owners.

We also share the design choices with suppliers and the production department at the early stages. We maximise usable space by optimising everything to the smallest detail. During construction, we deploy part of the initial engineering team to make the production work more effective, monitor its process, anticipate events and minimise reaction times.

As Michele says: the engineering of a yacht determines its quality and longevity; just like a human body, it is what is not seen that determines how healthy it is and how well it works.

Profile of Amer Steel 499

How do you incorporate sustainable elements into your designs?

With important research on new systems that generate energy and can combine multiple systems to generate energy, and with the equally important aspect of ‘energy saving’. A well-designed project leads to greater efficiency and lower weight, and therefore lower energy demand.

In general, the optimisation of each component leads to consuming less energy, emitting less pollution. Better electrical balance requires smaller generators, resulting in lower weight and cost; and optimisation of structures translates into lower weight, better performance, lower cost of building and hopefully also of future maintenance.

Please describe some of the most fulfilling moments for you in yacht design, and the most appreciated aspects of your projects to date, by your clients.

During development of a project, many important moments determine success. Without doubt, the initial phase, where the first sketch is drawn, is the most relevant.

This phase needs to be preceded by a very intimate conversation with the client, even if the idea changes and is shaped differently throughout time. We might return to the first idea with the awareness that it has matured and improved.

When we have to work with serial products, the project arises from a reflection on what that product will mean for the owners. Only afterwards can we check market research to understand if what we have designed is going in the right direction.

Luxardo’s urban development concept boards for Zhangzhou, China

You have a long working experience with Chinese and Asian clients. How has the region inspired you?

I have worked in Asia and with Asian clients since 2000, allowing me to understand the culture. To develop projects, you have to know the culture of clients. The development that Asia, and China in particular, has had has no equivalent in history. Technology has certainly changed people’s lifestyles, but the culture, with its ancient roots, has always remained.

I have fond memories of the different nature of the projects I was involved with from 2001, that ranged from 40-140ft yachts, up to designing tourist areas linked to sailing.

For example, Baia Blu d’Oriente (a luxury city development, three hours by car from Zhoushan, Ningbo and Shanghai) was an important project incorporating high-tech entertainment complexes, a seven-star hotel, a marina, 365 villas, an opera house and many other luxurious attractions.

Design for Baia Blu d’Oriente in Ningbo, Binhai in China

It was the union of Italian style with the reality of China, trying to keep alive a Silk Road connection which has never been interrupted, even if weakened over the years. It symbolised a very strong bond between our cultures.

In China, we also developed projects in Shanghai, Ningbo, Fuzhou, Zhangzhou, Zhujiajian Island in Zhoushan and Xiamen, to name a few. We have been involved in many other projects in the region, not only related to marine and tourism development but also to the automotive sector, which have given us more awareness in knowing how to do the best for our clients.

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