Rani Awad

ANDREW WINCH DESIGN| JIM DIXON
that is more lightweight but that can do the job
and look as good. So this on-going dialogue is a
very important part of the vision.
Q: How often do you walk into the
completion centre to look at progress on a
project and end up saying “Oh no, not like
that!”
A: It happens, but again, if we are working
very closely together, then any unacceptable
deviations from our concept can be caught at
a very early stage. We are always working with
the Owner’s representative, who liaises between
the design studio, the completions team and the
Principal, and if there is good communication
then everything stays pretty well on track.
Q: Now we come on to the impossible
question, “What makes for a good design?”
A: We always spend the initial meetings
with the client trying to get as holistic a view
as we can, both of their lifestyle and interests,
and of the role the aircraft is going to play in
their personal and business life. Every Owner is
looking for something unique and individual
to them, and the art is to achieve this in each
particular case. The outcome always changes
depending on the individuals, but the process
that leads to the generation of the design has
very common themes.
What we try to establish early on is the
broad brushstrokes, such as whether the owner
will be sleeping on the aircraft a good deal,
whether they like watching television or movies
in bed, or in a home cinema type surround,
whether there are staff as well as VIP guests
travelling, and so on.
Q: Do they generally engage you for the life
of the project, or just for the initial design
stage?
A: A client commissions us for the full design
and gestation, from fi rst sketch to the detailed
visuals, and then to monitor the translation of
the design into the real world of the aircraft
interior as it is taking shape. This adds to the
technical ‘project management’ of the completion
by scrutinizing the design at every stage. We
are ‘creators’, rather than ‘builders’, and take the
time to ensure our ideas and details are interpreted
accurately on the Client’s behalf.
Q: You must get some fairly unusual
requests?
A: Every client is different and each has
their own ideas. We are working with a client just
now who does not want the aircraft cabin to look
like an aircraft cabin. He wants it to look and
feel like a luxurious living room on the ground,
so we are paneling over the windows and using
viewing screens to create the effect of a room.
Another client wanted to be able to sit in
the main cabin and yet feel like he was fl ying
the aircraft. So we arranged a 47 inch screen
on the bulkhead that entirely mirrored everything
the pilots were seeing out the cockpit
windows. Every client, in a way, wants their
aircraft to be the equivalent of a residential
apartment in the sky.
66 International | Autumn 2015