Carla and Samuel flew to Italy for the prestigious BOAT International Design & Innovation Awards ceremony on 8 February and were delighted to find themselves on the winners’ podium. The famous Neptune statue for Best Interior Design, Motor Yachts 499GT, was awarded to the 34-meter Lady Lene, built by Van der Valk Shipyard in Holland. While Carla Guilhem Design is now a recognized name in the superyacht sector, this exceptional project was actually our very first offshore assignment.
“Although we’d previously worked with great pleasure with the owners of Lady Lene on their residential properties, this project was like entering a new world when we started four years ago,” says Carla. “Superyachts involve different processes and I was very grateful to the Van der Valk yard for how willing they were to open their doors to someone new and help me understand how it all works. I really put my heart and soul into this project and you can feel that in an interior that achieved what the clients were looking for. To win such a prestigious award in an industry of design giants makes me very proud and I cannot thank the owners enough for their trust in the team at Carla Guilhem Design.”
The 34-meter explorer Lady Lene was named Best Interior Design by a panel of expert judges comprising designers, naval architects, and industry professionals. Their report praised “the elegant interior treatment onboard this pure custom yacht that was designed to accommodate a family member with compromised mobility. It was clear the designers and builders understood and interpreted the owner’s brief.” Click here to read more from the judges’ assessment and view extra images of Carla’s fabulous interior.
Lady Lene’s clean style certainly reflected the tastes of the owners of Lady Lene. Taking the many round corners in the exterior design as the starting point, Carla adopted an Art Deco theme that works very well in a maritime environment. As the BOAT International Design & Innovation Awards judges wrote: “The brief included requirements for the feel of a beach villa, plenty of light, two owner’s suites, good space for crew and extra staff, and smartly positioned grab rails. Wrapped in supple leather, the latter is visually unobtrusive.”
Another key aspect of the design and layout for Lady Lene was uninterrupted wheelchair access and the judges were impressed with how this was achieved: “There is easy flow all around the decks, from the stable boarding passerelle wide enough for a wheelchair all the way to the cabins, which are accessible via a lift. It’s a feature that is seldom seen in a yacht of this size. But remove the requirements for wheelchair access and the interior design of Lady Lene stands on its own merit as elegant.”
We are honored to have received this recognition despite strong competition in our category. This would not have been possible without strong partnerships across all disciplines involved.
