Ezequiel Farca Outfits a Benetti Crystal Yacht With an Elevator

This is a seafaring residence: a 140-foot Benetti Crystal yacht, customized by architect Ezequiel Farca to accommodate its “very tall” owner and his extended family. “As a project it was interesting for me professionally, since I had never designed a yacht before,” Farca says. “Added to that, its owner is an architect too, which made for a great collaboration.”

In deference to the owner’s height, Farca raised the ceiling in the main saloon by 4 inches. For the owner’s elderly parents, he installed an elevator that terminates on the sundeck. The elevator rises through a trapdoor that, when closed, integrates seamlessly with the rest of the deck. “All of these changes required significant engineering,” Farca explains. “It meant study for me and hard work for Benetti, but everyone was happy to meet the challenge.”

Speaking of challenges, this big family—15 grandkids alone!—lives more than six months a year on board, so everything had to be comfortable for all generations. The master suite on the main deck has a lounge and study, his and her bathrooms, and frameless glass doors that open to a portside deck. Below are four more cabins.

Although this was Farca’s first time designing a yacht, the results have proved so successful it won’t be his last: Three more customized Benetti yachts are already on the books.

Design Principal: Ezequiel Farca. Project Team: Christina Grappin; Angelique Bidet; Ana Elena Torres. Architect of Record: Angelo Longinotti. General Contractor: Benetti