Several companies design and install systems that superyacht owners, guests, and crew use every day. These range from security and communications to lighting, AV, and IT. Van Berge Henegouwen (VBH) is among the specialists. Increasingly, VBH finds that clients want more than just lighting, air conditioning, and entertainment control options on an iPad or other tablet. The wow factor is key. If you want it, too, take note of two particularly eye-catching experiences that VBH recently created.
“Experiences” is no exaggeration. VBH’s managing director, Michiel Haverkorn van Rijsewijk, says clients want “a natural feeling and an emotional atmosphere.” This is where VBH’s LuxperienceLab comes in. The staff, with both industrial and artistic know-how, collaborate with each owner’s advisors, the naval architects and designers, and the shipyard. Technical details, the story behind why the yacht was commissioned, and the personality of the owners and guests are sought. VBH’s LuxperienceLab then “translates” this information into the architecture of the installation, including its content.
One megayacht owner has quite a lot of content to enjoy as he rises up through his yacht in the elevator. Initially, he wanted an aquarium installed in the elevator shaft. Unfortunately, though, he learned that fish get seasick aboard. VBH designed a virtual aquarium—really, a virtual underwater experience. On the lowest of the megayacht’s five decks, the shaft displays the bottom of the sea. Therefore, as the owner or guests travel down, they essentially immerse themselves in the ocean, gliding alongside all sorts of fish and sea life. This video shows how:
Another megayacht owner wanted a different type of wow factor. He wanted to be the focus in the marina come nighttime. VBH’s solution: an LED facade for the transom. Picture an animation of water flowing over the edge of the aft-deck pool directly above, cascading down over the transom. Because the owner likes to throw parties, VBH installed sensors and cameras to capture motion. As people walk or dance across the swim platform, the LED facade changes. The video display and lighting are programmable to keep the party going.
VBH has integrated and customized setups aboard five megayachts so far this year. Another 22 customers, with megayachts to 328 feet (100 meters), are awaiting their installations. Delivery dates range from later this year to 2018.
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