This idea best describes the superyacht Tis, which Lürssen has painstakingly built for five years with the assistance of Winch Design. The contract for the construction of Project Palo Alto was signed in 2014, and after the hull and superstructure were ready, the vessel spent 22 months in dry dock in Bremen, and then launched and in mid-August 2018 went to sea trials. The interior complexity of the project was so high that it took just under a year to complete the finishing: last June, Tis was finally handed over to the owner and sailed from Germany to the Mediterranean, where she spent the entire season and took part in the Monaco Yacht Show.
Andrew Winch and his talented team have designed both the interior and exterior designs of the yacht. Outwardly, it is somewhat reminiscent of Phoenix 2: their continuous classic deck lines are very similar, but at the same time its exterior is completely independent.
In addition, the client never liked portholes that were too small on yachts, so he asked the shipyard to install the largest windows and transparent doors through which grandiose views were opened. The windows are arranged so that the external and internal spaces merge into each other in a natural way, and the open areas can be isolated and heated if the yacht is in cold waters, or combined with premises in warm climates.
All this allows you to live a wonderful life in a luxurious environment with first-class service (38 people in the crew!), Invite friends and organize unforgettable holidays. There are two helipads on board (the bow is certified), but the owner wanted to cover the upper one, on the sundeck, with teak and turn it into a private terrace, since he does not plan to use it for its intended purpose. A logical decision, considering that on the sundeck you can arrange a dinner with seating for 60 people and throw a disco, since the necessary equipment along with an open-air cinema is integrated into the superstructure.
I almost forgot: there is another place here that perfectly characterizes the lifestyle of the owners. This tea room is a fantastically cozy little cafe in the spirit of Ladurée. Decorated in the colors of a famous Parisian pastry shop, the space is wonderfully complemented by armchairs and sofas from the time of Louis XVI, and it acts as a cherry on the cake from the decks.
But what is this floating palace like a ship? Or is Tis good only as an apartment anchored off the shores of the Mediterranean, a kind of royal houseboat? It would be a mistake to think so, for the yacht is prepared and superbly equipped for cruising the oceans, including polar latitudes. With an ice-strengthened hull (ICE class 1-D) and two helipads, one of which can store and refuel a helicopter, it can act as a fully independent explorer with above average fuel autonomy (7000 miles at 12 knots). Onboard there is a system for using heat from generators, powerful watermakers, four Quantum XT stabilizers, and the level of noise and vibration is minimized through the use of elastic cushions of the propulsion engines and the enclosure of generators in special soundproof boxes.
According to Andrew Winch, the owner of Tis plans to live in his “little house” for eight months a year with his wife and maybe sometimes with a child. Whether such a castle on the water is needed for this is not for us to judge, but the fact that this castle is full of beauty of the highest order is beyond doubt.
Tis is one of those yachts in which the interior design “grows” extremely deeply into the structure, merging with it in such a way that the subsequent refit with a radical change in style seems simply unthinkable.
“The cabins here are designed to evoke memories of the places the owners have been,” explains Matthew Wilkinson, companion and designer at Winch Design. “Family vacations in Provence, traveling around Tuscany, holidays in Marrakech … and the atmosphere of these places is reflected even in the decoration of the bathrooms, which at times resemble jewelry boxes.”
Probably, the customer chose Andrew Winch’s studio not only because he personally knows this charismatic master, but also because Winch Design is able to embody wishes without reference to any one style and weave a harmonious “design canvas” using completely different “threads “. A layman will hardly be able to calculate the number of materials used in the interior of Tis, and the detailing of the elements here is exactly the way its owners see it – this is noticeable in the textures, and especially in the choice of furniture.
Initially, it was assumed that the French furniture of the era of Louis XIV – Louis XVIII on the yacht will be taken from the collection that the owners have been lovingly collecting over the years. However, the antique furnishings cannot be simply taken and transferred to the ship, because often cables must be laid inside cabinets, chests of drawers and nightstands, and sockets must be integrated into them. Therefore, the designers copied the originals and designed replicas adapted to the required dimensions, which were then manually created by the masters of the Rinck and Dissidi companies. The same has been done with works of art, which are ubiquitous in decoration: they have been replaced by impeccable copies or high-resolution photographs.
Perhaps one of the most spectacular areas on board the Tis is the atrium and the central spiral staircase, the open spans of which seem to be suspended, and from below through all decks you can see the topmost “floor”. Getting here for the first time, you really freeze with an open mouth, so grandiose is the magnificently realized design of the designers.
“This is not a nouveau riche, but a sophisticated, very refined and noble yacht,” says Andrew Winch. – Yes, there is a lot of gilding, but nowhere is there shiny gold, only aged, muted antique soft gilding. To make the railings, we specially went to the Le Bristol hotel, thoroughly studied the gilding and achieved exactly the same one ”.
There are several ways to obtain aged gilding: relatively simple and cheap (using a pigment of the appropriate shade) and much more complicated, when gilding is exposed to external factors in order to quickly reproduce the natural course of time. It is in the second case that the result is perceived organically, and, for example, the gilding (23.8 carats) on the Tis ceilings does not seem to be a remake at all.
When you start thinking about what the Tis interiors are made of, you quickly realize that you cannot believe your eyes. The yacht is built to PYC standards, which means that finishing, including decorative, must be non-combustible, and it is extremely difficult to achieve this with such a scale. Almost all elements here are made of aluminum, painted or covered with the finest veneer, synthetic non-combustible resin or natural stone cuts. It took a lot of work to make all this look noble and tactilely perceived as real, and LIST, Oldenburger and BSW were involved in the production of the interiors. Most of the lighting fixtures, including the chic chandelier with cascading crystal petals in the saloon on the owner’s deck, were custom-made for Tis by the Czech company Preciosa Lighting, and some of the rooms have fireplaces to enhance the comfort.
This is not a nouveau riche, but a refined, very refined and noble yacht
As one of the indicators for assessing the level of the yacht’s interior, you can use sensors and sprays of an automatic fire extinguishing system: not every designer and shipyard manages to “implant” them in the finish as flawlessly as it is done on Tis.
This yacht is essentially a complex of apartments where the owner, guests and staff live on different, intelligently zoned decks. For example, the Tis transom was originally designed as a front gate – a kind of drawbridge across the moat at the entrance to the castle. From a distance it seems to be made of wood, but this is only an illusion: in fact, it is skillfully painted. Having passed the “bridge”, the guests find themselves on a wonderful “beach” with a majestic staircase (the language cannot be called a ladder) to the main deck. The “beach club”, designed in the spirit of the island of Capri, has a bar and a dining table, and especially for men there is a relaxation area where, like in a sports bar, they can calmly watch football after a sauna, without fear of being watched from the outside. Unlike many “beach clubs”, this area on Tis is reliably hidden from prying eyes, while maintaining a connection with the sea.
There is another spa area on board. It is located on the same deck as the wheelhouse and includes a hammam, swimming pool, gym, massage room and hairdresser. The 12-meter pool with glass inserts in the sides of the bowl allows you to swim against the current created by the jet, and according to Andrew Winch, who had a chance to try it when the yacht was anchored by Palma, the pleasure is fantastic.
The windows on board are arranged so that the outer and inner spaces merge into each other in a natural way
Tis has a superbly equipped business center and one of the dining rooms serves as a conference room. There, a multifunctional table has all the necessary equipment, including microphones and power outlets, a video conferencing screen, and the room can be completely isolated for confidential meetings.
By the way, Tis is the owner’s first yacht, but he also has a rich charter experience. By the time he was ripe for building his own boat, he already understood well what he needed.
“From day one, the customer said I don’t need a yacht with low ceilings,” recalls Andrew Winch. – To achieve this, it was necessary to design multilevel decks, matching them with the lines of the exterior, and thereby increase the height of the premises. The ceiling in the Tis master cabin is the highest we have ever done and, in addition to elegance, adds value to the interiors. You will certainly feel it when you look around the yacht. “
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