 SD122 IS THE YARD’S LARGEST FIBERGLASS CRAFT. IN 2010 IT RECEIVED THE WORLD SUPERYACHT AWARD FOR BEST DESIGN.Saloon of the SL104/500
Master bathroom of the SL104/500 with the striking onyx slab
40 Alloy
40 Alloy
46 Steel
SL72
Boutique of uniqueness
Not just a shipyard that guarantees the latest technology and the highest levels of quality construction, but a "couturier," where each yacht bears the unique imprint of its owner.
Sanlorenzo has been custom building motoryachts since 1958. It's like a boutique for watercraft, where ship owners can just walk in and by consulting with the in-house architects model a luxury yacht to suit their own needs, tastes and personality, just like a bespoke suit. Naturally, as in all complex structures that contain a high degree of engineering, there are certain fixed parameters that have to be respected: hull, superstructure and engines. But everything else - layout, materials and décor - can be selected individually by the owner. In over fifty years Sanlorenzo has thus made 600 yachts, and each one is different from all the others, a unique achievement in boatbuilding.
The yard was founded in Viareggio, the world's luxury yacht building capital, and moved to Ameglia in the province of La Spezia in 1998.
In 2004 the ownership passed from the hands of its founder Giovanni Jannetti to a young entrepreneur with a rich and brilliant career in the marine industry, Massimo Perotti. He has consolidated, expanded and relaunched its spirit and mission.
The company's production structure is divided between two yards. Cantieri Navali Sanlorenzo at Ameglia builds the range of 19 to 33 meter fiberglass planing motoryachts which established the firm's reputation. To this yard, in 2006 Perotti added the shipyard in Viareggio, where in 1958 the company was founded. The Viareggio yard builds 27 to 37 meter semi-displacement fiberglass yachts; fast planing aluminum yachts, including the top-of-the-range 40 Alloy luxury yacht, which has won numerous accolades internationally for its innovative design and folding terraces; and steel and aluminum displacement yachts, with the 46 Steel as the yard's flagship to date.
In the full customization of each Sanlorenzo yacht, stone plays a key part in the dialectic of the composition of the yacht's décor.
"Stone is used principally in the bathrooms and kitchens," observes Tiziana Vercellesi, the architect in charge of interior design, who works closely with the future owners at the Viareggio shipyard specializing in metal yachts. "But it is also widely used in areas such as entrances, foyers, in particular in horizontal applications, on floors, rather than for lining the bulkheads.
The technical-applicative method adopted is similar for horizontal or vertical surfaces. But on vertical surfaces stone is only used lightened with honeycomb in aluminum, while when it's used horizontally either method, lightened or solid, can be used depending on the type of stone and the amount of wear expected. Solid stone is used in particular when the decoration is complex and composite, with inlays, friezes and patterns." Owners of Sanlorenzo craft generally favor restraint and delicacy and the architects are skilled at guiding their choice towards simplicity and refinement. The materials most in request are uniformly colored stones with moderate veining.
Together with more modern and minimalist styles clients sometimes choose highly decorative materials, such as the slabs of large-veined onyx in the master bathroom of SL 104/500, the first of the series, presented at the Genoa Boat Show in 2009. The interiors were designed by Milan-based studio Dordoni Architetti. In these cases stone is used like a painting, a work of art that decorates and furnishes as well as facing the interiors. "Recently veined materials have been returning to favor," continues Tiziana Vercellesi, "as compared to the simple and discrete sandstone which we have also used to furnish many yachts. Combinations of different kinds of stone are also currently very attractive to enhance the strictly minimalist furnishings."
The Sanlorenzo yard draws on the highly developed stone-working skills of the Apuan region both for supplies and processing, even when the material is brought from further afield.
"We always use fully traceable stone from our suppliers," specifies Tiziana Vercellesi, "examining the live rock to choose the sheets of stone to be cut and harmoniously combined. We are now working like this, cabin by cabin, on the 46 Steel 107, to be launched in 2011."
The architect Sandro Chiavetta has worked on 250 of the 600 Sanlorenzo watercraft in his fifteen years of collaboration with the shipbuilder. Down to 2010 he was based on the Ameglia yard before moving to Viareggio, where he is responsible for designing the interiors of the semi-displacement fiberglass shuttles. The degree of decorative elegance and elaborateness is strongly culture-dependent. The Russians, for example, come from a culture that demands a strong display of opulence and thus adopt the materials accordingly. "Russian yacht owners, who for the last couple
of years have been turning to Sanlorenzo," specifies Sandro Chiavetta, "are more inclined to favor formal richness. Basically they always have the Hermitage in St. Petersburg before their eyes!"
A material recently introduced is Fossena stone, in a very modern gray tone which is extremely fashionable. "I'd call it an Armani color," notes Chiavetta. "It mingles beige and gray and also comes up well flamed. Another material we're using is a ‘Coca-cola' shade of onyx capable of enhancing very simple interiors, with smooth and clear wood paneling. We'll be using it in the master bathroom of the next SD122."
How have tastes in decoration changed over the last fifteen years? "Since the nineties tastes have become much more restrained," observes Chiavetta. "The trend currently is towards monochrome, except where a special kind of stone might be used in specific circumstances because it displays unique markings, veining, texture. Then the stone is used like a picture, like a work of art, which it is, a work made by nature. Finishes have also changed. Today matte finishes are far commoner. We're between two opposites: the absolute simplicity of sandstone with a matte finish or the luster of onyx with a gloss finish."
Matte or glossy, veined or smooth, stone continues to be an essential item in the Sanlorenzo range, an important material used by architects to fashion a yacht to suit the taste of its owner, both equally unique.
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