We resume our conversation with Antonio Luxardo, a Ligurian yacht designer based in La Spezia, to further explore his design philosophy and his work for two important players in Italian shipbuilding. In the article published in December, we traced the stages of his education, his ideals as a yacht designer and his current commitments with both Amer Yachts and Cantieri di Pisa. In both cases, Antonio Luxardo works through his studio “Antonio Luxardo Design” for the creative aspects and through “Optima Engineering” (founded in La Spezia in 2004 together with Michele Zignego) for the engineering and technical feasibility of the projects.

PressMare – Antonio Luxardo, how do you manage to work for two shipyards creating such different lines without imposing your own style?

AL – It is essential to keep the individual identities clearly separated. Each shipyard’s “family feeling” must be enhanced. To achieve this, I tried to keep the two philosophies mentally separate as much as possible. I also created two separate 3D development teams, avoiding any “contamination” and preventing our personal “signature” from flattening the identities of the two brands.

PM – Is there something the two brands share?

AL – Certainly: the centrality of people and the environment within the project. This is a philosophy I personally fully share. It is essential to maximise contact with the sea, integrating large glazed surfaces and outdoor spaces to ensure full enjoyment of the different onboard areas. As I said, I favour an approach that starts from function and user needs and only then develops the aesthetic dimension.

PM – If your relationship with Amer Yachts is based, so to speak, on friendship with the Amerio family, your collaboration with Cantieri di Pisa started with a competition…

AL – Yes. As I mentioned, the new ownership of Cantieri di Pisa (the yard was acquired and relaunched in 2021 by Enrico Gennasio, ed.) launched a design competition to give the shipyard a new identity and to create synergies between companies, revolutionising the current philosophy of yachting. The new ownership identified this new direction in my ideas. The focus was therefore to relaunch the shipyard, reinterpret the brand’s heritage and the history of the Akhir line in a modern key. Pierluigi Spadolini designed Akhir in 1967 and I tried to make it more contemporary while preserving its essence. But the work did not stop there, because there was also a need to create new models reflecting the elegance, sportiness and historical innovation of the shipyard. So the commitment was significant, especially considering that at the same time there was also the work with Amer Yachts and its new lines.

PM – We can imagine that… How did you manage to diversify your commitment so effectively, in addition to creating two separate design teams?

AL – Amer is a relatively young shipyard: it is 50 years old and has been building its own lines for about 25 years; there I had to create something completely new. It was about defining a different identity that nevertheless reflected the Amerio family’s values. Cantieri di Pisa, on the other hand, has 80 years of history (founded in 1945, ed.), and is the guardian of a line, Akhir, perhaps the longest-lasting on the market. So here there was a history to consider and a heritage to respect. And that was not simple. I had to transfer the entire Akhir essence into a modern era and new regulations.

PM – …It must also be difficult to step into a heritage created by such an important yacht designer, right?

AL – Absolutely. Spadolini created Akhir at the end of the 1960s. Even today it is a modern and current line, so I can say that my path has been a complex one.

PM – But also one of great responsibility. How much did you feel that weight?

AL – A great deal. Whatever you do, whether new or reinterpreted, you will always find someone against it. I really tried to act as a bridge to recreate something that could revive the soul that has characterised Cantieri di Pisa. And Akhir is precisely the soul of the shipyard. You can read it in its elegance and innovation. Cantieri di Pisa has always produced technologically innovative yachts. I had to study Spadolini’s philosophy in depth and fully understand all the transformations he introduced in yacht design (wheelhouse positions, the creation of the saloon which did not previously exist, ribbon windows, and so on).

PM – For the new lines, did you also take into account the innovations introduced by Spadolini?

AL – Absolutely. We collected them as heritage and reworked them to create a new product. Polaris is an example of this. It may be a bit too futuristic, but in my view something was needed that was not present in the range and that could speak the language of the future. And I am pleased with this aspect because it is part of that research I mentioned (see part one, ed.) to bring change to yacht design.

PM – So alongside the new Akhir, Saturno (an elegant and sporty motor yacht) and Polaris (innovative and futuristic, designed to anticipate trends) were born…

AL – Yes, and in addition to these there are other Cantieri di Pisa yachts: new models in which I transferred stylistic elements and characteristics to create a common identity recalling Cantieri di Pisa.

PM – Can you tell us about their individual characteristics?

AL – The concept behind the Cantieri di Pisa lines was to define three “product personalities” capable of inspiring the owner and guiding them towards a more immediate and personal choice of their yacht. These are three lines with distinctive features, designed to be developed in the size best suited to the client’s needs, approximately from 40 to over 100 metres.

The Polaris line (currently 48, 38 and 60 metres) includes steel and aluminium voyagers with composite superstructures and a displacement hull for long-range cruising and reduced fuel consumption. It consists of yachts of different types and materials compared to the brand’s historical production, but with lines immediately recognisable as belonging to its tradition.

In particular, Polaris 48 takes the range of an explorer yacht and adds versatile outdoor spaces and a high level of interior refinement. Its main feature lies in the liveability of the upper and main decks, which offer two large sea terraces, usable in different ways and connected to each other. These provide about 200 square metres of convivial space, of which 50 are dedicated to an internal lounge and as much as 150 outdoors. Engineering has been entrusted to Optima Design, with a hull designed to ensure good performance and reduced consumption.

PM – And Saturno?

AL – Saturno is a line conceived as a true product personality, also scalable to the size best suited to the client’s needs (approximately between 38 and 90 metres). It is characterised by the shipyard’s historic stylistic features such as the white and black side stripes, large ribbon windows and a traditionally inspired stern, reinterpreted in a modern way. It features an elegant contemporary design and is conceived for life on board.

PM – Cantieri di Pisa recently started construction of a 40-metre full-custom yacht with the traditional “coin ceremony”. Is this also your design?

AL – Yes, the Custom division has sold and started building a 40-metre superyacht with a gross tonnage under 500 GT. It is characterised by slender external lines recalling the classic stylistic elements of the yard’s most iconic models, such as the white and black ventilation grilles, the black band running along the hull and handrails that become design features. It also features an unprecedented layout for a yacht of this size, starting with six guest cabins, including a refined owner’s suite forward on the main deck with a private terrace.

PM – And Akhir?

AL – As I said, Cantieri di Pisa decided to create lines with distinct personalities but sharing the same recognisability and identity, to ensure continuity between past and future. In full respect of the shipyard’s DNA, Akhir was reborn, retaining some of the distinctive traits of the historical line, such as the taut lines of the superstructure, the ribbon windows that define the profile, the frontal “shark” ornament, the air intakes with horizontal grilles and the white and black colour scheme that highlights and enhances the forms. In practice, the line was redesigned to meet the needs of modern owners while respecting its history.

Désirée Sormani