THE WISDOM OF ANDREW WINCH OF WINCH DESIGN
ANDREW WINCH’S PARTNERSHIPS CAPSTONE
Andrew Winch is a world-renowned yacht designer who has created iconic vessels from small sailboats to over 100-meter superyachts. Andrew’s career started with the sea with yachts but also moved to land and air in the form of designing mansions and planes. His designs are known for merging timeless elegance alongside cutting-edge technologies.
Andrew's passion for his work and his obsession with detail have been the secret to his success. He draws on his love of art and materials to create consistently high-quality work that clients appreciate. His reputation is based on his ability to deliver on time and to the highest standards, and he takes pride in bringing something unique to each project.
Throughout his career, Andrew has consistently demonstrated his commitment to partnerships. Be it with discerning clients and suppliers, all the way through to his Capstone project for Winch Design.
After a long and productive conversation with Andrew, we summarize his path to Capstone thinking and share some of the insights we gained from our discussion, as well as drawing from his past interviews. There is a lot to take in, so here we paraphrase and outline our conversations with Andrew in a conversational style. Firstly, we start with some of Andrew’s wisdom:
ON IDEAL CLIENTS:
“My best project is a sailing project with a client that likes to sail…Sailing is the best way of travelling. Those that see the brief and process as a chance to do something special, something often that might break convention. It is about unlocking passion which is a hard thing to do in our lives, but when it happens, it shows a certain lifestyle, a spirit, a love of design. The studio has a passion to create something, and then it becomes a shared passion, that’s the ideal client. It is a partnership – the studio spends the client’s money but it is fulfilling their dreams, creating fun. It is always clear early whether we share the drive to do better, as we can do better and have to do better, it is our studio’s reason to do things. To do better than the last time- not just with clients but with shipyards, interior contractors, and furniture suppliers”.
ON GREAT DESIGN AND BEYOND:
“Starts with truly listening to the client and having empathy. Only then can we start understanding a client’s needs and dreams”. Great design is not only bringing to life the wildest dreams of our clients, but also sharing it with the exceptionally creative Winch design family – as well as my own”
ON FREEDOM:
“What signifies freedom more than travelling from destination to destination in a dream home on water, or in the sky?”
ON WINCH DESIGN’S DESIGN PHILOSOPHY:
One of the things Andrew’s clients appreciate the most is the love of cleverness in space optimisation – squeezing the most out of a space. Space utilisation and flow: “If there is one unifying thread which runs through all if our design departments, it’s our commitment to designing not just spaces for clients, but lifestyles. Truly understanding the needs of the client and their world”. We look to make sure that the design provides the opportunity for clients to enjoy their space- be it a private jet, a yacht or a mansion, that for them, it’s a pleasure. That’s the investment in the designer – the colour and balance, the planning of space, uninterrupted views, eye lines, sight lines. Understanding the function. Uncomfortable interior design can lead to disrupted thinking. The desk on a plane or in the office of a superyacht is important. It can often be where the owner does an hour a day of thinking. Where they get their downtime within the downtime on a superyacht. A space to think. A place where multi-million-dollar decisions or negotiations can take place. If someone spends one hour a day doing their best thinking, making some of their largest business decisions, this needs to be a calm space. The office is an example where good or bad design can affect lifestyle – bad lifestyle management is disruptive to anyone’s mind. They might be in their office or at their desk on a superyacht for an hour a day. They need a peaceful mind, an acuteness to match the depth of decision-making. Smooth sailing, just like a good chauffeur provides a seamless ride so that often, you forget you are even being moved”.
ON EMBRACING THE NEW
“We are always finding new territory to work in – recent projects include a new recording studio for Grammy Award-winning DJ Afrojack. Another is the Old War Office (the redevelopment known as OWO)”. The Old War Office is the 1906 Whitehall building, one of the greatest of the Edwardian Age. Sir Winston Churchill occupied a grand suite of offices as Secretary of State for War 1919-1921. Inspired by the building’s resident spies, Sir Ian Fleming conjured the idea of 007 James Bond within OWO’s walls. The Hinduja Group bought the building and started the monumental transformation which Gopichand Parmanand Hinduja described as “my greatest legacy to London for future generations to enjoy”. The redevelopment includes a Raffles Hotel and the OWO Residences- 85 unique residences are shaped from storied interiors of Britain’s former War Office. Winch Design have been responsible for designing the 5-bedroom OWO lateral Penthouse. The studio collaborated with and championed forty award-winning suppliers to craft and source bespoke pieces of furniture, fabrics, artwork and accessories, creating a residence that feels carefully curated over time.
ON BEING CHALLENGED:
“Client challenges us and the market – for example recently building a fuel free eco-friendly explorer yacht that is still as comfortable for family. It must leave no footprint where it arrives and leaves doing nothing but supporting the world rather than leaving a mess- and now whether that’s in Monaco harbour or the outer reaches of Patagonia”.
ON CHALLENGERS:
Andrew and I agreed there used to be two types of boat owners – those that like sailing and those that like motorboats. The former, at the helm, action, feeling the movement, seeing the boat as a live and active operation, being part of a sailing community be it a crew or regatta, they like the collective feel of sailing together. The latter, motorboat owners preferring leisure, the status symbol, aquatic toys for play, often privacy to spend time with friends and family having fun away from others.
Now, Andrew and I have concluded… there is a third type – the Challenger. Luxury and comfort with purpose and performance. It is no longer enough to integrate over-the top furnishings and try to include the biggest pool, seafarers are pushing for the integration of the latest technologies to challenge and reimagine the purpose of boats, at minimum for their travels to be kinder to the environment. The challenger is pushing for the use of bio-sourced, recyclable materials and the method of propulsion- whether biofuel, hydrogen, hybrid or fully electric... The challenger is pushing design- be it asymmetry, split and merge and refits over new yachts. Flexibility in performance for the new wave of owner is key.
ANDREW’S CAPSTONE JOURNEY
Next, we consider the arc of Andrew’s career, we’ve identified three distinct phases (as per our Capstones classical order):
CORNERSTONE PHASE
Andrew Winch grew up ‘in Chichester Harbour’, sailing single-handed from the age if nine. In his teens he built his own 23 ft keelboat and at the age of 21 Andrew skippered across the Atlantic. It was clear to Andrew, being on England’s South coast, from an early age that he wanted to work around the excitement of yachting- something that remains still to this day…
Andrew’s first opportunity came whilst working in a small design studio of 12 people when a boat brief came in- Andrew was the only one in the office that had sailing experience so he took it on. A recession was hitting the business, the owner and Andrew realised motorboat projects were a new source of revenue where the budgets were typically bigger and less affected by economic cycles.
Six years later he left to start his own studio, founding Andrew Winch Designs in 1986 with his wife Jane. His first brief was to design a 60 ft sailboat. Andew didn’t expect that 50 years later he would have one of the most unique design studios in the world, 150 people strong, award-winning and still independent... Some parts of the core DNA, established in the early days remain… 50 years ago Andrew and Jane were buying sandwiches for the team of 5. They have kept that promise of lunch for all the staff ever since- with catering on site at the design studio, all of Winch Design have lunch together.
KEYSTONE PHASE
Andrew had a choice with his studio – whether to stay small and focus on just yacht designs or branch out. Andrew had larger ambitions. During his keystone phase, he grew the business to a multi-disciplinary international brand working on projects on land, in the air and at sea.
Winch Design expanded to projects from architecture interiors, exteriors, chateaux, beach villas and mountain retreats to aircraft ranging from helicopters, Gulfstream G650s and the first ever private Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Andrew often went to see a client, through discussions, walking away with a project completely different to the reason for the meeting. In 2015 the firm was re-branded to Winch Design signifying a shift in Andrew’s priorities.
CAPSTONE PHASE & PARTNERSHIPS
Andrew explains that his keystone phase was about putting work and the design studio first. 30 years CEO, with his wife Jane part also, they accepted that the time on the business would often before family. There were many things Andrew and family couldn’t do because he was too busy leading Winch Design. Therefore, his Capstone phase in life is best summarised by ‘family before work’. His time is characterised by doing things he’s always not been able to do due to Winch Design commitments. He and Jane, now living on a farm in Cranleigh, Surrey, are kept busy by their grandchildren and now own a dog, something they wouldn’t have considered during the keystone phase. Skiing, shooting, cycling, hiking and of course sailing remain his passions. He loves spending three months in the Caribbean in the winter sailing round, harnessing the trade winds- “it’s a playground for beautiful sailing”.
Andrew is no longer driven by the need to prove himself, but he still loves the creative process of designing. He has taken on a new role as Creative Director at Winch Design, where he acts as a mentor and sounding board for other designers. He is passionate about developing the talent at Winch Design and takes great satisfaction in seeing other designers reach their full potential.
PARTNERSHIP STRUCTURE: EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP
Andrew has always placed the highest value on its people. To reflect belief, he recently restructured the company to make it employee-owned. The partnership structure means all employees are now stakeholders in the company, giving them a stake in its success. The company is owned by a trust on behalf of all within the company, with shares of the profit paid to employees. The most famous example structure being the John Lewis Partnership, the UKs biggest employee-owned business where staff at every level of the business, from shelf stackers to senior corporate staff, receive the same percentage of their annual salary as a bonus. Andrew was successful in recruiting Patrick Lewis, the great grandson of John Lewis's founder and former CFO of John Lewis, to be the first Trustee Chair of the Winch Employee Ownership Trust.
ANDREW AND WINCH DESIGN PARTNERSHIPS
Another key defining feature of Andrew’s Capstone phase is how Andrew is excited about sustainability and the future of materials. Andrew cites the example of aluminium yachts that can be stripped and sunk to create artificial reefs. It takes about a year for the vessel to become full-blown ecosystems. The aluminium attracts spoors of Oculina varicose. The shade from the boat helps reduce temperatures on the ocean floor. The sunk vessels become homes to rare breeds of coral, multiple species of reef fish and are also useful for visiting researchers.
Andrew is a supporter of British craftwork. He is a trustee of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) which supports excellence in British craftsmanship, providing support to craftspeople of all ages and backgrounds by funding their scholars for courses, apprenticeships, and training. Since 1990 QEST has awarded over £5.2 million to 700 makers, almost 90% of which are still practising their craft today and many are recognised leaders in their field. Winch Design operate a QEST scholarship program. Andrew is excited by Winch being able to partner with the UK’s phenomenal talent in craft- from making carpets, fences, stone building, mosaics, craft work, passionate about what they are doing. Winch and QEST provide craftspeople with the support and publicity to be become strong enough to survive and thrive.
Partnerships aren’t just Andrew’s passion, they are baked into the DNA of Winch Design. Winch’s increased focus is on sustainability and charity partnerships. The studio is part of the Water Revolution Foundation – which aims to take the lead in neutralising the footprint of the superyacht industry and preserving the world’s precious oceans. Its core focus is developing greener manufacturing processes and the studio are part of the sustainable yacht design task force that shares its findings among other businesses in the industry, seeing others as partners rather than competitors. Winch Design has a full-time sustainability materials specialist and is experimenting with cutting-edge interior design features such as vegan leather wall panelling, wooden floors made from off-cuts and paint using egg shells.
There are three notable charity partnerships. The studio has a charity commission that decides what to support, each year sponsoring three charities with the annual target of £1,000 per head for every member of the Winch Design team. As an example, 30 of Winch Design took part in a three peaks challenge to raise money for their charities, Andrew was proud to report that all 30 of the team finished, with those strongest helping the weakest complete the challenge- demonstrating the spirit and tenacity of the studio.
Currently the studio and Andrew work closely with three charities: Maggie’s, The Felix Project and the Blue Marine Foundation.
The Blue Marine Foundation, the charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health by addressing overfishing, one of the world’s biggest problems. Winch Design share the vision of a healthy ocean forever for everyone. The Felix Project, a charity that rescues good, surplus food from the food industry and redistributes it to those in need. Lastly, Maggie’s, the charity that offers practical, emotional and social support to people with cancer as well as to their families and friends. Maggie’s operates warm and welcoming spaces based on healing architecture by award-winning architects. It is built on the approach that great design and architecture can help the people that come to Maggie’s for support feel better- and help the charity give the best possible cancer support.
Overall, Andrew still has the enthusiasm and drive to create amazing things in partnership with others. Andrew’s ethos remains: Showing the potential to create something beautiful in partnership, with both the process and results being shared with others… with Winch designers, suppliers, charity partners and of course clients.
About Winch Design
Winch Design is a globally leading multi-disciplinary studio, specialising in the bespoke design of superyachts, residential and commercial properties and private jets. The studio was founded in 1986 by Andrew Winch and his wife, Jane, and now comprises of over 150 talented individuals who have designed and delivered some of the most iconic designs of the 21st century. Situated in an old fire station on the banks of the river Thames, Winch Design prides itself on having brought to life the dreams of its clients for the last 37 years; creating bespoke homes on land, in the air and at sea. www.winchdesign.com
To read other Luxury Capstones:
Yalda T Alaouis’s Eat Sleep Burn Capstone HERE
Konrad Bergstrom’s Silent Capstone HERE