“We will be parlaying our restaurant and lounge design savvy into several iconic dining venues and our residential experience into one of the world’s most exclusive penthouse suites.”
Portrait by Jeff Michelson
Shot on location at the Empire Hotel, New York
The elite design house is headed by the savvy architect and interior designer duo of Francesca Bucci and Hans Galutera who both have more than 12 years of experience in marine design. Together, Bucci and Galutera have helped launch and position Royal Caribbean’s Celebrity Cruises brand as a luxurious, contemporary cruise line that shatters the long-standing myth that cruise ships are kitschy, all-inclusive theme parks on water. One need only visit Solstice, the latest vessel in Celebrity’s fleet—a veritable boutique hotel on water—to attest to the sheer design expertise of BG Studio.
On land, the stellar team of Bucci and Galutera has created the looks of several prestigious New York residential buildings for the city’s most important real estate developers, such as Resnick & Sons, The Witkoff Group, and Roseland Property Company. The firm also boasts a vast portfolio of private, high-end residential design projects that line Central Park West and Park Avenue.
The firm continues to work on several prestigious projects such as Oasis of the Seas, slated to be the largest cruise ship ever constructed, and the prestigious Queen Elizabeth 2 project in Dubai, where developer Nakheel plans to convert the legendary ship into a seven-star floating hotel. “QE2 is particularly important to me because it marks our first venture into Dubai, a city which has always fascinated me,” says Galutera. “We will be parlaying our restaurant and lounge design savvy into several iconic dining venues and our residential experience into one of the world’s most exclusive penthouse suites.”
With this dichotomy of land- and marine-based projects, BG Studio is now embarking on the next logical progression: high-end yacht design in South Florida and Europe. “These days even the most prestigious private yachts are designed in a very predictable, safe nautical design,” says Bucci. “What we bring to the table with our diverse experience in cruise ship and high-end residential design is a solid understanding of how to make yachts look and feel like luxury residences.”
BG Studio International
264 West 40th St. Suite 703
New York, NY 10018
www.bgstudio.com
fbucci@bgstudio.com
hgalutera@bgstudio.com
