The Beautiful Mind of Solange

The 85m/279’ superyacht SOLANDGE, launched in October 2013 by Lürssen, is presented as an exceptional luxury charter yacht, embodying an owner's detailed vision for pleasure, efficiency, and self-sufficiency for extended voyages. The owner's prior experience with a refitted Lürssen vessel informed a deliberate six-year design and build process, allowing for extensive refinement of ideas. The project brought together industry experts, including project manager Richard Masters, exterior designer Espen Oeino, and interior designer Aileen Rodriguez, along with the owner's established crew, to ensure meticulous attention to detail and integrate proven design elements from other yachts. Masters maintained a constant on-site presence throughout the build. SOLANDGE's exterior design by Espen Oeino scales up an 80m hull and engineering platform, similar to yachts like PHEONIX 2, ACE, and QUATTROELLE, into expansive and versatile living spaces. The design incorporates fluid lines, soft volumetric shapes, and dynamic edges, creating a modern and energetic aesthetic. A striking white line slicing through the dark blue hull accentuates the vessel's strength. The exterior is designed for multi-functional use, featuring numerous bars, buffets, dining areas, a main pool, and two hot tubs, reflecting a trend towards outdoor spaces mirroring interior functions. The interior, styled by Aileen Rodriguez, showcases an opulent yet sophisticated design, described as 'classical touches with a contemporary backdrop.' Rodriguez, having worked on the owner’s previous yacht and residences, brought a deep understanding of their needs to the project. The interior features 49 different marble and granite surfaces, 33 alternative woods, and intricate details like the 'Tree of Life' sculpture in the main deck foyer. This 16-meter tall sculpture, illuminated by over 1,200 points of light simulating tropical raindrops on colored glass flowers, is encircled by a floating staircase, antique Venetian mirrors, hand-carved art glass, and an elevator clad in custom leather panels. The main salon, a spacious 172-square-meter area, includes a central dining table crafted with burl inlays, semi-precious stones, Mother of Pearl, and gold leaf, illuminated by amethyst and rose quartz chandeliers. Forward of the dining area is a comfortable seating arrangement with a fireplace and television, while aft features another seating area and a curved bar. The color palette of purple and gold hues throughout creates an opulent yet balanced ambiance. The VIP stateroom offers flexible accommodation, capable of transforming into two separate cabins, and features large windows, high ceilings, intricate woodwork, and a green and gold color scheme. The dedicated owner’s area spans half of the upper deck, comprising an apartment with a private office, separate dressing rooms and bathrooms, and 180-degree windows offering outdoor views and access to a private spa pool. This personalized space is adorned with hand-picked Murano works and 14 back-lit glazed columns with botanical scenes. The master bathrooms include rose quartz countertops, exotic stone, wood, glass, gold leaf, and mother-of-pearl ceiling inserts. The skylounge features a warm, earthy palette with metallic accents, bronze details, and a three-tonne crystal glass and bronze dome. The aft deck's functionality is a key aspect of Oeino’s design, offering seating, shaded areas, and a 6m jet-flow pool. The bridge deck aft provides a luxury spa facility with a steam room, sauna, massage room, beauty salon, gym, and outdoor pool, featuring a color-shifting glass-bubble for ambiance. The sundeck is equipped with sunpads, U-shaped seating, a horseshoe-shaped bar with a gold mosaic finish, and a romantic bed-sized platform for stargazing. The beach club on the aft swim platform offers a relaxed atmosphere with a shower, sauna, and pantry, providing easy access to tenders and water toys, including NAIAD and Centurion Enzo tenders. At night, the sundeck transforms into an entertainment hub with a dance floor over the Jacuzzi, twinkling lights, and a DJ booth. Crew comfort was also a priority, with dedicated crew passages, wide pathways, a separate crew lift, and a 500-bottle wine cellar, ensuring efficient operations. SOLANDGE is designed to offer an unparalleled charter experience, reflecting careful consideration in every aspect of its design and finish. #LuxuryYacht #Superyacht #YachtDesign #Lurssen #EspenOeino #AileenRodriguez #YachtInterior #YachtCharter #MarineEngineering

British artist Sophie Smallhorn, whose work explores the relationships between color, volume, and proportion, grew up immersed in a creative environment. Her parents were industrial and textile designers, and her Montessori education, with its use of brightly colored, precisely shaped wooden objects, fostered an early understanding of color, form, and dimension. This upbringing shaped her artistic approach, which is characterized by sophisticated geometric solids and a focus on color dynamics. Initially, Smallhorn pursued a degree in Wood, Metal, Ceramics, and Plastics at the University of Brighton, where she crafted sculptural furniture pieces that, despite their limited functionality, were primarily driven by color. She began creating assemblages from leftover materials for personal enjoyment, eventually selling them informally. Her acceptance of her work as fine art came only after a gallery explicitly presented it as sculpture, reflecting her background in design and making. Early career milestones included significant commissions from the avant-garde fashion brand Comme des Garçons, which provided opportunities for large-scale installations at its Tokyo flagship. These projects broadened her scope, leading to collaborations such as developing a 56-color palette for the London 2012 Olympic Stadium with Populous Architects, where exterior canvas banners in various hues marked spectator entrances. More recently, Smallhorn has ventured into textile design with Designtex, creating an upholstery pattern named Ribbon. This marks her first formal foray into textiles, a field her mother worked in, and one Smallhorn initially resisted due to her discomfort with digital design processes and the overwhelming possibilities of digital printing. However, a clear vision from Designtex's executive design director, Sara Balderi, during their renewed collaboration post-COVID, made the digital process manageable and even a revelation. The inspiration for the Ribbon motif originated from an enameled snuff box with an undulating ribbon, which Smallhorn encountered at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She developed the idea by physically manipulating collage and colored acetates, twisting and folding them, before translating these physical experiments into a digital layout for pattern repeat, palette, and scale. The initial design, which started smaller, evolved into a bold, graphic, and dynamic pattern with a theatrical quality, largely influenced by Designtex. The ribbon on the fabric is not solid but composed of parallel lines, a deliberate choice by Smallhorn to achieve an effect similar to screen printing, where overlapping transparent colors create a third hue, adding a playful and energizing graphic element. A solid version of this pattern, called Flat Ribbon, is available as a customizable wallcovering through Designtex’s Digital Studio website. Smallhorn notes a significant crossover between her two-dimensional prints and her three-dimensional sculptures and installations, as both involve compositions of hard-edged formal shapes. Screen printing serves as a rapid and playful method for developing ideas, allowing for serendipitous color scenarios that often inform her sculptural pieces. While her three-dimensional work does not allow for layering transparent colors, the print table mimics sketching, providing inspiration for new color combinations. She uses the same acrylic paint for both prints and assemblages, viewing the latter as vehicles for exploring and holding a palette. Smallhorn emphasizes the intuitive nature of her color decisions, often repainting pieces multiple times to achieve a desired equilibrium among what she describes as 'easy' and 'less easy' or 'awkward' and 'less awkward' colors, without relying on a predefined system. Her collaborations with brands like Comme des Garçons and COS exemplify her ability to bridge fine art and commercial design. For COS, she created window displays for five global stores, featuring large, overgrown stacks of shapes designed to complement product displays. This dual engagement with both artistic and commercial realms is a comfortable space for Smallhorn, who appreciates working with brands that share a similar sensibility toward color and design. Her career demonstrates a consistent exploration of color, form, and proportion across various mediums, continually seeking synergistic relationships in her chromatic work. #SophieSmallhorn #ArtistInterview #ColorDesign #Sculpture #TextileDesign #InteriorArt #DesigntexCollaboration #GeometricForms #CreativeProcess