Boat International – April 2018

106

Above: a cutaway
rendering shows the size
of the padel tennis court
but only stepping into the
real thing, opposite, do
you really understand its
scale. The sundeck runs
from a central corridor to
diferent types of social
areas at each end, with
moveable and built-in
furniture in curving
organic shapes that echo
the exterior and interior
designs. Lighting on
these deck spaces, as well

as inside, was carefully

considered. “We’ve got

minimal downlights,”

says Andrew Langton.

Where they do appear,

they have been recessed

into the overheads and

fitted with bales –

a honeycomb mesh –

“so that they don’t

dazzle you”, he says.

Below and right:

the superstructure is

formed of curving,

sculptured forms and

flowing lines

Padel

power

Placing a padel tennis court –

a vast void – at the bottom and

centre of this boat was an

architectural challenge. “It’s like

a 20 metre gap in your structure,”

says Abeking & Rasmussen project

manager Andreas Hering. The

design to support and protect it

needed to be extra tough and this

yard, with its military experience,

was up to the job. “We had to beef

up the structure all around it,” he

says. Ultra-strong crossbeams take

thestrainthatpillarswouldina

more conventional space, and

there are watertight doors at both

thetopandbottomofthestairs

from the lower deck. As for the

playing surface itself: “The bottom

of the padel court floor, that was

extra thick steel plating, then

a levelling compound then a layer

of rubber and then the turf,” says

Hering. Two tonnes of sand were

spread onto that turf, to prevent

slipping, and worked in by the

crew, who the owner encourages

toplayandworkoutinthespace.

PHOTOGRAPHY: GUILLAUME PLISSON; ABEKING & RASMUSSEN/MARCUS MEYE

R PHOTOGRAPHY

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