Mario Pedol in His Own Words

The designer of the largest yacht in the world reflects on the influences that have shaped his career.

- Justin Ratchliffe

As unlikely as it might seem, Mario Pedol was commissioned to draw the exterior lines for 590-foot (180-meter) Azzam at a time when his biggest powerboat design that had ever been built was, even he admits, shockingly small by comparison.

It was a 68-foot (20.7-meter) lobster boat for Toy Marine: literally a toy in comparison.

“I must admit that I was as surprised as the next man when we were asked to design the biggest motoryacht in the world,” he says. “I got the call confirming the job when I was in Porto Cervo for the Maxi Rolex Cup. To say I was over the moon is putting it lightly!”

In fact, Azzam came to the founder of Nauta Design in Milan, Italy, in a roundabout way, via a 76-foot (23.1-meter) sailing yacht called Kiribilli II. She had naval architecture by Reichel/Pugh and had been designed for Italian architect Renzo Piano, who loved her and had a client interested in a motoryacht. So Pedol worked with Piano on a concept motoryacht: 262-foot (79.8-meter) Project Light. Fincantieri was going to build her, but the project fell victim to the financial crisis in 2008.

“To cut a long story short,” Pedol says, “the future owner of Azzam saw the renderings, and we were asked to transform the basic concept into a megayacht. The initial brief was for a 145-meter (475-foot) vessel, but even after the hull was stretched, her design remained faithful to our original sketches.”

Azzam’s massive media presence—not to mention her overall length—has, of course, helped Nauta Design become one of today’s leading design firms. The company is now working on projects for yards as varied as Baltic Yachts in Finland and Cantiere delle Marche in Italy, turning out large sailing and powerboat designs alike.