Project Story – Part 3: Smart Decisions and a Mix of striking Details
“I like smart decisions!” — was the owner’s first response to the question why he decided to refurbish his aircraft so extensively. Finding smart and customized solutions, that is the general approach in his company, in all matters. From his point of view, it would therefore not have been particularly smart to invest in a new business jet — which has an ordinary OEM interior that can be found everywhere. It was far better to buy a used aircraft, and to design its interior down to the last detail so that it fit his own wishes and ideas.
The owner told us that it was very important for him to have an airplane that is unique – and not only offers you what you would generally expect and usually get. In addition, in such a work on customer request, you can literally see the craftsmanship and feel the effort that goes behind it. As an entrepreneur, he knows what it means to put all the passion and skill into a result. Therefore, he also appreciates well done work very much.
However, not only the wish for individuality and a unique design were important in the decision-making process. Functionality also played a decisive role. “We had numerous discussions about this,” the owner tells us, pointing to JAN KYZLINK — architect, designer and long-time confidant of the owner, who has already accompanied and implemented numerous other projects for him.
“We always had to match my design ideas and wishes with the certified conditions of the existing interior. No changes could be made to the configuration of the cabin. We also couldn’t knock down or move walls, as we usually do with buildings. The space for the realization of my ideas was therefore very limited and it was the sophisticated details that would make the big difference”.
JAN KYZLING agrees energetically and attests the owner a very good taste in his wishes. Good taste makes the implementation of projects like this in itself a lot easier. And Anyway … “The best thing is to work for people with a good taste!“, Jan adds with a smile.
This business jet was already the second one that Jan accompanied in the refurbishment for his long-term customer. But on the first aircraft — a Cessna Citation XLS — his task was far more reduced. There, it was just a matter of reshaping the seats and adjusting the material colors. This Global 5000 was to be something completely different.
“When I heard about this project, my first thought was ‘Wow, Great. We have to do this with Carsten again!'” recounts Jan. But the initial euphoria was quickly over when he saw the interior of the purchased aircraft. “At first I was really concerned about how the end result would turn out. Everything was really ugly old fashioned and a simple change of colors would not help here by far. That meant a lot of work for us and AeroVisto.”
So Jan had to find the right and striking details to achieve his goal. As Jan tells us, he spent quite a long time looking for a way to find the balance between the shapes and details. “With a house, we can start with the design from scratch — in this case, at least 85% was already set for us — and these shapes had to stay. So there was no revolution possible, but I was sure that with the right details we could do a great facelift of the interior.”
We wanted to know from Jan where, for him as a designer, the starting point for his creative thinking was. Whether it was the shapes themselves, the materials, or something else? “It’s always a mix of ideas that come to mind” Jan explains, “The designer’s job is to bring these ideas into harmony with each other.”
Why is that? Well, change the design of the seats to two-tone? That sounds quite simple. But such a central element of the interior inevitably has a major impact on the overall effect of the cabin.
That’s the challenge of working in such a tight space: you always have to balance all the details with the overall look and feel, and you also have to look at your own ideas from the perspective of others. For this reason Jan always works in a team, because as he says “More heads knows more”.
In addition to the owner of the Global 5000, PETR POSPÍŠIL, Head of Design at KYZLINK ARCHITECTS, also served as a sparring partner for this project. On the basis of detailed 3D models, the numerous ideas and options were discussed together. Numerous ideas were dropped — the most suitable ones were finally selected.
“Of course, all this takes time. For example, just for the final choice of the wood, we requested a total of about 20 different samples, which were made by AeroVisto according to my specifications. And Andreas Herdt, team leader of the paint shop, supported us patiently and competently” says Jan with a big smile. But this was not for fun. The question of whether to choose light or dark wood was very decisive. As Jan explains to us, the wood and its color is the central element of the interior and thus the basis on which all other colors and materials must be oriented.
This basic idea was the foundation on which a truly convincing interior design was created.
Looking at the result, Jan says “I’m really pleased and proud of this baby. The owner is also very pleased. But this is not just about us. Numerous people were involved in the successful completion of this project — and they all can be really satisfied and proud about the result.”
We can only agree with this great statement!
But that’s not all! In Part 2 of the interview, we will go into a few more design details and the concept behind them, which Jan pointed out to us in the interview.
