Poltrone Frau, internal marine

NEWS	PHOTOGALLERY

As long ago as the 1930s, the first-class cabins of the transatlantic liner Rex were furnished by Poltrona Frau. Over time the brand has become increasingly successful, making a name for itself in the furnishing industry – including the nautical side of the business – and it has gradually become known for its outstanding style. The list of the company’s collaborators in recent decades features many illustrious names. In the 1950s and 60s, for example, Cassina provided the furnishings for over 50 cruise ships, including the Andrea Doria, Raffaello, Michelangelo and the entire Costa Armatori fleet.

“The Poltrona Frau Group, with brands like Poltrona Frau, Cassina, Cappellini and Alias, Gebrüder Thonet Vienna, Gufram and Nemo, has worked with many yards in Italy and abroad,” says Kurt Wallner, head of the group’s contract division. “These include Sanlorenzo, Gruppo Ferretti, Rodriquez, Azimut-Benetti, Cantiere Navale di Pesaro, Fincantieri, De Vries Scheepsbouw and Oceanco.” The fact that such important brands have turned to the Poltrona Frau Group for furnishings means they are sure of receiving a high-quality product rooted in craft skills and expertise. “For us it’s an extremely important value, and it underpins the work of the entire Contract Division,” Wallner continues. “The yards appreciate this a great deal because it makes our products even more adaptable to their needs. That’s one of the main reasons why our relationship with them has grown stronger over the years, and we’re in discussions with many of them about potential new projects. We see every job as an opportunity for growth and improvement.”

For the Poltrona Frau Group’s designers, it makes no difference if they are furnishing private homes or stores, or giving a yacht a distinctive style. “We’re used to working in close contact with the client and the designer or architect. Constant communication and ability to provide solutions to highly specific needs is the same whether the client is a company that’s come to us to create a showroom or a shipyard that wants a yacht fitting out,” Wallner explains. “Our distinctive offer lies in our ability to engineer an architectural concept, and in our experience and skill in developing complex, precise ideas, supplying a top-quality Italian design.”

Obviously, though, the company’s approach varies according to whether it’s a standard series production item or a totally custom project. The differences are technical, financial and organisational. “One of our strengths, in the nautical sector, too, is that we guarantee clients the highest levels of personalisation,” Wallner continues. Every owner thinks of his or her yacht as a seagoing refuge, so the design should be an extension of the owner’s lifestyle, the highest expression of their way of experiencing the sea. Series produced craft should also be based on a structure, an ability and a flexibility that can satisfy the owner’s desires.” So it’s a team project serving the owner’s needs, focussing on some established pieces that are hallmarks of style in themselves. For example, the group furnished the Norman Foster-designed 41-metre Ocean Emerald with Cassina products for the Rodriquez yard. Cassina also engineered and developed all the fixed furnishings for the SL100 New, working in close contact with the Sanlorenzo yard and the Studio Dordoni. The design for the Azimut 116 with Cappellini furnishings is another example of this depth and variety of research. “At the moment we’re supplying the custom furnishings for Pershing,” says Wallner. “They’re inspired by Poltrona Frau’s Quadra and Kennedee lines.”

Of course, the group’s designers are well aware that furniture intended for a yacht must have different features from items designed for interiors on dry land. “Furnishings for yachts must respect three basic criteria – functionality, materials and weight. They must be designed in a way that makes best use of the space available and should be manufactured with specific, suitable materials. The furnishing design and execution stages for a yacht should be coordinated at all levels of the production chain, from the initial meeting to installation, one of the most critical and demanding elements in any nautical build. We can get a clearer idea by imagining a yacht as an object made up two skins, one external (in metal or fibreglass – this is the shell) and the internal layer in wood, stone and other materials. All the technical and engineering equipment runs between these two elements, and all maintenance, setup and checking operations for these installations mean that access through the furnishing must be possible. So while the furnishings must feature flawless quality and looks, from the technical point of view most of it must be designed to be dismantled and remounted dozens of times during the yacht’s lifetime!”

The Poltrona Frau Group’s design philosophy means above all listening to the client, but throughout the project’s production phase there are constant meetings between architects and yard so that everyone’s demands are met. “It’s crucial to have the work under control at every stage, and that’s achieved through careful, meticulous and highly detailed planning,” Wallner emphasises. “That applies to both the engineering phase of the furniture and the development and structuring of the entire production process.”

In 2008, the company registered revenues of 310.40 million euro, and the group’s commitment for the years to come is to keep on confronting the challenges offered by the market with passion, skill, innovation and experimental ability. There will also be a distinct focus on the nautical world. “Poltrona Frau’s commitment in this sector is expanding,” Wallner concludes. “We’ve recently been involved in a number of high-profile yacht projects where we’ve provided one hundred per cent of the furnishings for the common areas and the cabins. We firmly believe that Italy is currently the country where the most important nautical projects are being developed and completed and we’re convinced it will remain so in the future.”

Caterina Belloni