interview with italian yacht designer luca dini

interview with italian yacht designer luca dini

florentine designer luca dini has spent 25 years perfecting yacht design in italy and around the world. since creating his own studio in 1996, he has designed countless projects from architecture and car design, to airplane interiors and obviously yachts. the firm has worked with some of the most well know italian shipyards such as admiral, mondomarine and tecnomar.
the cantieri di pisa ’22’ with matching tender

with projects spanning the world, luca dini has worked with many special clients including king juan carlos from spain. his experience and approach are always adapting but he still remains enthusiastic, sincere and confident when facing new difficulties and challenges in the yacht industry. designboom meet luca dini at the 2016 italian yacht design conference hosted by the politecnico di milano, where we asked him about his design background, his approach and problems facing the yacht industry.

designboom: what originally made you want to expand for architecture and more into naval design?

luca dini: my passion for boats moved me away from architecture. from the beginning I always thought yacht design as a part of architecture, but after seeing in 1982 the m.y. nabila anchored in the port city livorno italy, it instantly sparked that passion. from that day forth, it became my mission to become a yacht designer.

luca dini’s designs blend client needs with his own personal styles

DB: what particular aspects of your background have shaped your designs for the yacht industry?

LD: in general, interior design I studied has really shaped my ideas. an approach and a way of thinking must be completely different when you design the interior of a yacht compared to that of a house and the experience of what it is like to be on board.

DB: what has been the biggest influence on your work to date?

LD: in the beginning of my career, it was italian architect pierluigi spadolini. subsequently, gerald gilgenast and jon bannenberg.

the ‘akhir’ features sliding doors that keep the lines clean with the rest of the yacht

DB: do you approach each project similarly?

LD: we always start with a white paper on the table. I gather all of my collaborators at the studio in florence and forte dei marmi and we open a discussion table. I want everyone’s opinion, especially concerning my first sketches. then, the various departments start working on computers in their respective disciplines. but every week we discuss the project all together, which results in the final designs.

DB: what would you like to see changed in the yacht industry in the years to come?

LD: I’d like to see more professionalism than what currently exists in the industry. unfortunately, this characteristic is lacking and is not at the level of the owner’s investment. particularly in design, architecture, at the shipyards, with the brokers, and at all levels.

a three floor deck layout

DB: what are you currently interested in and how is it feeding into your designs?

LD: currently, I’m very much enjoying creating some villas totally immersed in nature, almost invisible. I find it very exciting for my design and I like to use these news concepts also on the yachts.

DB: is there one specific project that has given you particular satisfaction?

LD: it was the MY sea force one, but now it is the mondomarine 60MT that I will deliver in a month to its owner. this yacht is full of new and innovative exterior and interior design concept.

DB: can you tell us about any projects you are currently working on that you are especially excited about?

LD: precisely, the 60MT mondomarine, and the new line of cantieri di pisa, which is being revived after several years. this is a project to which I hold dear to my heart because my whole career was born thanks to these yachts

the MY ‘sea force one’