Conversion to a luxury liner – a prestigious executive suite with style

Wireless, modern and connected to the ocean

The renovations and reconstructions needed over a year to be completed. They consisted of all non-load-bearing elements and were accompanied by enormous amounts of effort. Air conditioning, electrics and even floors and ceilings – Ulrich Weinkath had to remove everything before being able to implement his completely newly developed floor plan.

The first step and initial solution was completed by inserting new partition walls into the shell construction. Thus, the visitor is greeted by a round waiting room finished in an elegant dark tone. The supporting structure was expertly disguised as a “funnel” of a luxury ship through the oval cladding.

The company logo is almost man-sized and was placed on the funnel. It was cast from white acrylic glass in an elaborate process. As to exactly fit the curve of the column, first a counter-mould had to be created in 3D, “There are few firms, which offer services in this large a size,” Weinkath explains. This turned out to be only one of few challenges that occurred during the renovation of the now modern and luxurious rooms. The illusion of a much larger entrance was cleverly created by using LED spotlights and a mirrored ceiling.

The technology included in the room was also fully modernised and optically it seems to be wireless. “Retractable, controllable through radio and mobile phones, the power supply of the workspaces integrated into table legs and hardware connected through WIFI – in the end not a single cable should disturb the modern appearance,” Ulrich Weinkath explains the clients’ wishes.

An exclusive and high-quality…

…implementation: References to maritime shipping can be found in many details of the planning process and these exceptional ideas lead to magnificent effects. The solid oak floor with its’ elegant foggy grey complexion looks as if it were tanned by the sun. To achieve this effect Ulrich Weinkath had oyster shells ground and the resulting powder was added to the parquet oil.

The assistants’ workspace is also devised to fit the concept. The reception table is made of light grey mineral material and gives the idea of a wave – the material pours from the wall to the floor. The six-metre-long counter is also engraved with a nautical chart of the surrounding waters in the mirrored front surface.

The highest quality of work

The brothers’ office area impresses with a modern, masculine ambience and artfully manufactured materials: tables of blackened oak, layered with black linoleum next to sideboards with mirrored fronts made of smoked glass, complemented with office chairs and the settee 243 Volage (Designer Phillipe Starck for the company Cassina), in chocolate-coloured leather. Special attention was paid to the modern technology. According to the clients’ wishes the designer had the power supply and all of the cables hidden in the specially designed worktables. These have double bottoms and hollow table legs. Additionally, wireless charging units were built into the tables from below and freestanding elements were connected through WIFI. Thus, not a single cable is able to disturb the harmonious concept. The new glass partition wall added in the assistants’ workspace allows for an effortless communication and lets daylight shine into the interior space.

Undisturbed relaxation time

A private area, which is not visible from the outside, serves as a place of retreat for the management. To bestow an organic form on the area Ulrich Weinkath had the walls rounded and in the centre, he had the Bart Daybed von Moooi Works/Bart Schilder placed. The white pigmented oak slats of the rounded wall panelling seem to float between the black skirting boards and the shadow gap to the ceiling. They form an elegant contrast to the grey shimmering oak floors and remind the viewer of the flowing movement the scales of a fish create when it is swimming in water. The space behind the rounded walls is also of use as storage room. The doors of the storage cupboards are concealed in the slat surface as to be almost unnoticeable and can be opened and closed with the help of individual movable slats.