ICON Yachts reveals Project MISSION’s Interiors by Carla Guilhem
Harmony in Duality
Palm Beach International Boat Show 2024
MISSION was conceived with its own goals — to seek out groundbreaking designers capable of crafting an equally groundbreaking explorer yacht. Carla Guilhem’s award-winning yacht interior design studio in Miami was chosen to design the interior of MISSION to bring harmony and balance. Her style, generally more feminine and softer, was deliberately chosen to balance the rugged, hard-edged exterior.
Project MISSION was unveiled during the last Monaco Yacht Show by the Dutch shipyard ICON Yachts in collaboration with Bernd Weel Design, responsible for her unique exterior. MISSION is a purpose-built expedition vessel designed to facilitate exploration while maintaining a contemporary and modern appearance. The exterior, with its geometric elements, is robust and resilient, ready to face any challenge during her voyages of exploration.
Main Salon
Turning to the interior, Carla Guillhem took the lead in designing an interior that contrasts with the exterior, yet is intimately linked to it. MISSION was designed with the idea of travelling to the most extraordinary and remote parts of the world. It should be what you see through the windows that grabs the guests’ attention. The yacht should be the setting in which to admire the most beautiful escapes. The intention was therefore to have a very futuristic minimalist but warm interior design in contrast to the exterior. The aim was to create a balance between two opposites, with each section integrating some of these contrasting elements.
“The presence of earth elements reinforces the connection between outside and inside. Although the canvas is the outside, the sophistication and remarkable details make the inside of this explorer as the perfect place for deep exploration. While the exterior of MISSION represents the search for the unknown, the interior is designed to facilitate self-discovery, the exploration of the self” says the designer Carla Guilhem.
“Project MISSION has a very distinctive and unique distribution of its superstructure volumes, creating some very special interior spaces. Together with the team at ICON Yachts, we were looking for a top interior designer who could bring out the best in these volumes and spaces. I was very pleased that Carla accepted the challenge! Not only do our two studios make a great team, but I truly believe she has done a stunning job. I feel that the interior complements the exterior and vice versa. A warm and balanced place to retreat to after a day of experiencing and exploring the most remote places in the world” says designer Bernd Weel.
Master Stateroom
Project MISSION