Page 6 - A

When you put Starck’s thoughts into focus you can start to understand where the design of the exterior of ‘A’ comes from. Think of the hull as the lithe body of a sea creature, say a dolphin or whale, and look at the bow as the refined head, and the superstructure as the body and dorsal fin, all moving in perfect harmony, quietly and effortlessly through the waves, and you get the idea. Starck continues “I designed
‘A’ imagining outside and inside at the same time to ensure global harmony and to have no conflict between the hull and the superstructure and the volume I wanted inside. It is very important to work both at the same time in order to avoid mistakes and inharmonious details. I designed the entire boat with Thierry Gaugain, my partner in sailing projects, and we had a consultation with Martin Francis to check the hydraulics of the yacht and especially the hull. It is during the tank test that we had the confirmation of my intuition about a hull making a minimum of waves with a maximum of efficiency.”
The living areas on ‘A’ are pure theatre, nothing is modular, nothing is symmetrical or aligned. The result is a freedom of expression that defies you to categorise it in any way. The effect is chic, elegant, unstructured, yet the eclectic use of noble elements combined with contemporary furniture is at the heart of the most elegant way of living, as Starck explains: “The rooms are very wide, very bright, very harmonious. In shades of light shark skin, mirrors, warm wood, silk fabric and carpets, all very artistic but in a discreet way in order to remain quiet and relaxing. Bathrooms are in polished stainless steel with backlit arabescato marble, Baccarat mirrors and polished stainless steel accessories... by themselves they are each a piece of art.”
“I DESIGNED ‘A’ IMAGINING OUTSIDE AND INSIDE AT THE SAME TIME TO ENSURE GLOBAL HARMONY AND TO HAVE NO CONFLICT BETWEEN THE HULL AND THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND THE VOLUME I WANTED INSIDE.” PHILIPPE STARCK