London’s Chelsea Harbour was the venue for Superyacht Design Week – the annual gathering of top-flight marine architects and shipbuilders, academics, technical specialists and interior designers.

Our own Neil Grant spoke in the packed panel session ‘Designing with Peace of Mind’, hosted by Crestron and moderated by Paddy Baker, Editor of Installation Magazine.

Alongside Patrick Coote of Blohm+Voss and Ameet Sarvaiya of Van Berge Henegouwen, Neil and fellow panellists addressed the question of when the appointment of a technical integrator is essential in the construction of superyacht.

‘Not soon enough’ was the panel’s unanimous response. Rather than AV/IT systems being regarded as an after-thought, it’s vital that they are embedded right into the vessel’s initial design. On-board space limitations and strict regulations mean there’s little leeway for tinkering late in the day with screens, speakers, cables, hoists and other technical systems.

“Everything needs to be specified, installed, future-proofed and terminated prior to individual areas of the vessel being closed off as they’re completed”, notes Neil. “And that means that the final technical design of entertainment, comms and other systems needs to be nailed down very early on in any size of project.”

The panel also addressed one of today’s most pressing concerns for vessel owners, crews and guests – on-board security. Just as worrying as the danger of physical intruders is the growing risk of cyber-attacks and the hacking of on-board networks. Neil underlined the inherent strength and security of all Harris Grant’s IT systems: this can extend to round-the-clock remote monitoring if clients require it. Occupants’ physical security is further ensured by CCTV cameras that are an intrinsic part of on-board communications and IT systems.

You can also see the show report from interior design blogger Langdon Hyde.