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Alberto Mancini, class of 1978, comes from the picturesque city of Trieste in the northeastern corner of Italy; a city known affectionately as “Vienna by the sea” for its diverse heritage along the crossroads of Latin, Slavic and Germanic cultures. It is here that Alberto’s love of everything nautical began, sailing on the family boat in the natural bay that surrounds the town.
Alberto, with a background of automobile design, studied at the European Design Institute of Torino and from there began a series of collaborations with some of the best-known naval architects and designers around. He was part of the design team of the incomparable, and perhaps most complex sailing yacht of its time, Perini’s Maltese Falcon- along with Nuvolari Lenard, Enrico Gobbi, and the list goes on and on.
When he was ready to open his own shop, he returned home, to Trieste, and founded AM Yacht Design which focuses on interior and exterior yacht design for owners and shipyards.
As he gets ready to go down to the Italian town of Fano for the launch of his latest yacht (the Dominator – Ilumen 28m) next month, and then shortly after to the Mangusta shipyard, Superyacht Content caught up with him to chat about the biggest trends in yacht design today.
BIGGER, WIDER, BEAMY-ER, TALLER
On fiberglass production yachts, clients want to experience bigger spaces… they want castles. Unfortunately this doesn’t tend to lend itself well with the exterior styling. They want a villa and we have to work hard to find every square inch inside for them.
THE ORIGAMI YACHT
Unfolding terraces, decks and flybridges. Everything unfolds and transforms. It makes it a challenge to create an exciting sleek exterior aesthetic.
GYMS ONBOARD
Social entertaining and family spaces like cinema rooms are always a big request. More and more though, gyms are a big must right now and in particular outdoor exercise areas with equipment that overlooks the panorama. Clients want to breathe the fresh sea air while using a treadmill so gyms are moving up and getting a bigger priority onboard.
THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS
Maximizing glass to increase light and transparency is, of course, a trend you can immediately see on all the new yachts coming out. The quantity of glass surface now on newer vessels is much higher in comparison to older yachts.
FLEXIBLE FURNISHINGS
A big trend is to buy more loose furniture instead of custom fixed furnishing. Owners can buy whatever furniture they enjoy, and when the yacht is sold it, can be removed easily by the new owner in order to create their own layout. It allows for a lot more flexibility in terms of restyling and spaces become multifunctional. For example, removable chaise lounges that can be removed to create open entertaining space… it creates more flexibility in terms of how they live on the yacht.
But for Alberto everything really depends on the vision of the client.
“I am working now on a 46 meter for a client in Qatar and at the same time putting together a minimalistic interior space for an Overmarine Mangusta which have very different scopes. This is why I am so proud of my design team. I want to show how here in Trieste we are interpreting all types of design visions… not just one particular trend.”
Just one last question… any one particular new innovative design feature you are loving right now?
“Yes… I love the new technologies which permit me to create fabric & glass panels… imagine a glass decorative panel in a saloon or bathroom. It’s a cool little feature right now.”
Find out more about Alberto and his work at amyachtdesign.com
