MoverShaker: Coming to America
Next year, Rossinavi, the family-owned luxury yacht builder in Viareggio, Italy, opens its first U.S. showroom in Miami. Company COO and second-generation scion Federico Rossi discusses the rarified world of all-custom megayachts and his shipyard’s expanding role in it.
Interior Design: What made you
decide to open a
U.S. location now?
Federico Rossi: In the last three years, we have seen significant interest in our shipyard and vessels from the U.S. market. Already this year, we have delivered one yacht to an American client, and another one is in construction for 2020 delivery. So the timing was right for us to ex-pand our presence into North America. We plan to open our Miami showroom in 2019.
ID: Did you always know you’d go into the “family business” of shipbuilding?
FR: I have many passions and interests, including motorbikes. But I
have grown up in this business, and my whole family is involved in different aspects of building the company.
ID: What new technologies are transforming luxury shipbuilding?
FR: In addition to 3-D
cutting and zero-noise technology, we are
also investigating new conceptual models
of boats. We push boundaries to meet the demands of discerning and savvy clients.
ID: Are more clients wanting to be involved in the design of their vessel?
FR: Since each of our superyachts is fully custom, our clients are closely involved in the design and development. Even though our reputation has been built on an expert and mature clientele, clients are getting younger, which our research with the International University of Monaco bears out.
ID: Tell us about the new limited-edition superyachts you are about to introduce.
FR: We are testing out a
new model for custom shipbuilding. We found that some prospective clients are interested
in particular existing designs, so we are offering a custom edition of certain superyachts.
ID: Are you seeing any trends in terms of amenities: pools, meditation rooms, certain materials?
FR: We can identify specific global preferences, like a sun deck, which is a “must,” especially for U.S. clients. Recently, Europeans have been asking for a beach area cockpit; in that case,
we are creating new volumetric spaces at the stern side of the boat. In contrast, U.S. customers are more interested in a large beach club space, and accordingly we
have engineered new platforms or hatches to extend the length of the sun-bathing area near water level, and again at the stern side of the boat. We have also received requests for pools with water in continuous circulation, so clients
can swim train. For U.S. clients, “evolved” forms of pools are a real trend, as is the demand for more than one pool. We have projects with three or more pools or Jacuzzis all over the external spaces!
ID: Achille Salvagni is a frequent collaborator. What do you like most about his aesthetic or process?
FR: Achille is a talented designer with a great sense of culture, and a master of understanding how to synthesize the client’s wishes and the builder-side needs.
ID: What makes a Rossinavi yacht—and working with your company—unique?
FR: Because we are a fully custom shipbuilder and make each superyacht in Viareggio, clients can work directly with the company on every aspect of their vessel. Our clients are some of the most discerning people in the world. They have access to everything. We say that real luxury is having the shipyard at the complete disposal of the client.
> See more from the Fall Homes 2018 issue of Interior Design
