Chinese ultra-luxury is having a moment. Mindful of the buying power, cultural sensitivities and tastes of a new generation of wealthy Chinese family and elite corporate buyers, London-based design studio PriestmanGoode has created a private jet concept to explore new facets of aviation design.
Ways of Seeing / 观 Guān is the name of this new cabin concept, one that has grown organically out of local research and needs, instead of just being ‘a generic template with local dressing applied’. Shown here in renders based on the Boeing 737’s narrow-bodied long-range jet platform, the studio reckons the design language could also be adopted for a locally made jet such as the Comac C919.
One of the principal shifts is the idea of an aircraft that goes beyond a mere business tool to represent a shared family environment, ‘a space where three generations; grandparents, parents, children, can travel and spend time together’. The layout includes a private retreat space at the rear of the cabin, complete with a bedroom, en-suite bathroom and study area. The last can also be used as an office or even a meditation suite or wellbeing space, alongside a second bedroom.
The main space is a shared lounge and dining area, with a multifunctional table for dining, gaming or just socialising, alongside a woven metal screen. ‘We didn’t want to design a Chinese-inflected version of an existing template,’ says Ben Rowan, creative director at PriestmanGoode. ‘We wanted to start from an honest, well-researched picture of how a specific person actually lives and travels and let the cabin follow from that. It’s why the input from our cultural consultant sits at the centre of the brief rather than layered on at the end, and why we didn’t default to a house style: the design has to be driven by the people it’s for.’
It was this work with a cultural consultant, along with crafted collaborations, that determined the way the limited space aboard would be used, especially in the way it rejects the ‘single principal’s use’ strategy that results in so many jet interiors resembling boardrooms or mancaves in the sky.
As PriestmanGoode notes, the consultant’s ‘insight pointed to a clear shift towards multi-generational travel among Chinese entrepreneurs and their families, with a personal style blending natural cues and a contemporary aesthetic of clean, understated lines and natural materials’.
Throughout the cabin, technology has been designed to keep out of sight; screens and speakers are hidden unless required. Craft is used to highlight key areas of the design, soften the lines and bring in human warmth and interest. Tai Ping was responsible for the bedroom carpet, a bespoke design that uses traditional geometric motifs from Chinese culture, while the shared areas feature an organic patterned carpet by Andre Fu.
The lacquer artwork onboard was supplied by The Gallery by SOIL in Hong Kong. It includes works by National Master of Crafts Erke Gan, featuring a marbled ‘rhinoceros hide’ texture on the table surfaces, alongside some of his standalone vases. In the bedroom, you can find lacquer artwork by Shi Yuguang. Jade-toned stone veneer is found in the bathroom alongside patterned fabric in the bedroom.
‘These collaborations … are proof that the cultural authenticity PriestmanGoode set out to achieve rests on genuine craft authority, not surface styling,’ the designers note. ‘Our research found that this business traveller seeks to combine business and family time… Modularity runs through the cabin: the dining table becomes a place for family games and tea, the study transforms into a workspace, and the sofa converts for rest, allowing both cabin, and family within it, to move fluidly between both purposes over the course of a shared journey.’