Viking Cruises

viking.com | 39 H I S TO R Y & A R C H I T E C T U R E I S S U E 2 2 IDENTITY Across the Viking fleet – ocean, river and expedition – the aesthetic, brand and layouts are deliberately designed to be extended across all ships so that guests have a welcoming experience when stepping onboard so, even if it is their first time on a particular ship, it still feels like a familiar space. Although the ships share a common design vocabulary, I always like to find ways to surprise and delight guests with details unique to each vessel. We want things to be discoverable on day four as well as day seven of their voyage and even beyond that, with guests finding things they haven't seen or noticed before. For example, on Viking's ocean ships, guests will find Norwegian trolls peeking out at the back of the lift and the Viking god Odin's pair of black ravens – Huginn and Muninn – watching over the Wintergarden. The staircases are also unique features doing more than simply serving to connect one floor to another. I believe the space needs to be used to display something interesting and enriching. For example, on the Viking Mississippi the staircase shows large scale maps documenting how the flow of the river changed over the years. Something that sets apart each of the ocean vessels and the expedition vessels, are the original onboard art collections; each art collection is entirely unique but the artwork across all the vessels is an ode to the Viking's Nordic heritage. We work with art curators to carefully select a diverse spectrum of work for each ship with a mix of established and up-and-coming artists, most of whom are Norwegian. The pieces encompass a variety of media and approaches – from digital to print and from oil paintings to photography and sculpture. We have original artwork by Edvard Munch, Nikolai Astrup, Johannes Flintoe, Kåre Tveter and Jakob Weidemann, among many other great artists. The interior design is minimalist and uses a natural palette. I'd describe the look of Viking's ships as residential modernism. The design philosophy centres around an appreciation of nature, which is deeply ingrained in Scandinavian culture. The ships feature natural materials, woven textiles, soft wood panelling, a blue-toned neutral palette and natural light. INFLUENCES When you're lodging in a traditional land-based hotel the view is essentially the same every day, but on a ship, your location and view change constantly so your ship needs to be a refuge. A place you can relax and reflect on what you've seen and explored that day as well as where you can prepare for the next day's discoveries. Hotels tend to take their design direction from the surrounding location, but since Viking's ships travel all over the world, we opted instead to create five fundamental design pillars based on the vision of its Norwegian Chairman and CEO, Torstein Hagen: Norse heritage, residential modernism, a love and respect for nature, a sense of craft, and exploration. Mr. Hagen's vision has always been for the ships to be built with the Viking's spirit of exploration in mind, and for the design of the ships to allow guests to spend as much time as possible immersed in their destination. When there's a new ship to design, we love to lean into our research; we imagine all the places that ship is going to travel and the various environments it will be immersed into. For example, I had never been to Antarctica so I needed to seek inspiration from those who had. I had many conversations with Liv Arnesen – godmother of the Viking Octantis and the first woman to ski solo to the South Pole – because of her deep understanding of the region. Liv's stories inspired many small details on the ship and helped to create an incredibly immersive experience. CHALLENGES The design of the expedition ships was fascinating and challenging. Our objective was to provide guests with the first-hand experience of being on a polar expedition, while also giving them a comfortable and secure respite – which was Mr. Hagen's main goal when designing these new ships. Our concept was anchored in the idea that each ship needed to offer a balance between the functional areas, with exposed steel and submarines, and some of the more decorative and luxurious elements that will be familiar from other Viking ships. Achieving this harmony of design is one the things I am most proud of on this project. This Page: Richard ensures that use of space is maximised

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