Cruise & Ferry Interiors 2020

3 8 us with a tangible reference point to help our clients with sustainable designs.” Volume harnessed this knowledge when it acted as lead curators for the ship- wide art collection for Virgin Voyages’ first-ever cruise ship, Scarlet Lady. The team commissioned bespoke pieces from multiple artists and also produced 28 original pieces for the collection, including everything from light art to wallpaper, sculptures and prints. Several pieces are made from repurposed materials. For example, Scarlet Lady’s Mexican restaurant, Pink Agave, designed by Tom Dixon, showcases a set of three totem vessels that Volume produced using a mix of 3D-printed shapes made from recycled fishing nets and Jesmonite flecked with repurposed cardboard pieces from its ‘Take the Plunge’ installation. Elsewhere, there is a 3D-printed mermaid’s tail sculpture made from post-consumer plastic waste, as well as a plinth to showcase the ship’s model made from Jesmonite and plastic rubbish that Volume collected during a coastal clean-up at Tilbury Fort in the UK with Thames 21 , a charity that puts healthy rivers back at the heart of Greater London. “For Scarlet Lady all the artwork is purposefully curated to convey Virgin Voyages’ overarching brand identity and its commitment to sustainability and protecting the oceans,” says Kate Brewer, Volume Creative’s associate director of product and art. “We saw this commission as an opportunity to take waste materials and transform them into beautiful pieces of artwork to prompt discussion about the importance of reducing our environmental impact, while also showcasing Virgin Voyages’ ongoing work to keep our oceans plastic-free. Our professional artist brought authenticity to the artwork we designed in-house and we’re honoured that the collection has been shortlisted for an award.” Volume also fulfilled various other roles during the Scarlet Lady project, working as an extension of Virgin Voyages’ in-house design team from the start. It served as both a negotiator between the cruise line and Fincantieri shipyard and as creative director for 50 public spaces, working closely with the Creative Collective team of international designers. In addition, the company designed the interior of the Extra Virgin Italian restaurant and the retail environments. “Flexibility is key for onboard retail spaces, so we replaced the traditional static shop floor plan with a versatile, open lifestyle area where brands can sit seamlessly alongside each other and easily increase or decrease their footprint depending on uptake,” says Francesca Henley, associate director of interiors. “The space is experience-led, offering spots like a beauty and make-up bar, a fragrance station, digital mirrors so guests can virtually try on clothing, and DJ points in every space. We used a kit of parts, which all worked together, and then used unusual materials such as chipboard and pressed concrete to define the different spaces. This helped to reduce complexity, while ensuring flexibility and innovative design.” Volume took its role as Virgin Voyages’ brand guardian seriously and worked hard to help the line-up of designers, architects, artists and producers in Virgin Voyages’ Creative Collective to turn their visions for each space into reality. “We have heart and purpose in everything we do; we challenge ways of working and ways of thinking and have brought together a diverse team from artists to architects to project managers and product designers,” says Emma Lally, associate director of design management. “Everyone has a voice and a unique perspective on each of our projects, we encourage differing opinions and perspectives, these differences make us better designers. We understand how to design the most impactful end user experiences while being mindful of our clients’ operational, financial, customer and regulatory-driven constraints. We listen and walk side by side with them on the journey of creating a new experience or revitalising an existing one.” Buoyed by the success of the Virgin project, Volume is now keen to collaborate with more cruise brands in future. “We were new to the passenger COVER STORY “We aim to really push the boundaries of what is possible in interior design ” Photo: Ed Reeve