SOPHISTICATED SERENITY: MEETING 50M CAMILA THE LATEST BILGIN AND HOT LAB COLLABORATION
Milan-based studio Hot Lab, part of the Viken Group, has revealed new details of its latest superyacht project with Turkish builder Bilgin Yachts, the 50-metre Bilgin 163 Camila. Delivered to her delighted owner in May 2025, Camila is the culmination of over fifteen years of successful collaborations between the two companies, which began with a 37.5-metre custom motor yacht project back in 2009 and has developed into one of the most prolific and celebrated design-yard partnerships in the world.
Technically superb and profoundly liveable Hot Lab’s well-known “Architecture for Voyagers” philosophy evident also from other recent projects such as the 50-metre Bilgin Yachts Eternal Spark, launched in 2023 is an integral part of the partnership between the Milan-based studio and the Turkish builder.
As İsmail Şengün, CEO of Bilgin Yachts explains: “This philosophy resonates deeply with us. Our focus on displacement hull performance, optimised hydrodynamics, and long-range capability (Camila delivers approximately 5,000 nautical miles at cruising speed) aligns naturally with Hot Lab’s insistence that interior spaces must serve the rhythm of life on board. How guests move between decks, how a saloon transitions to an aft terrace, how a master suite manages natural light at sea; these are as much engineering questions as they are design ones.”
On board Camila, this synergy has been translated into a platform where a 499 GT volume offers 20% more space than comparable 48-metre yachts. Hot Lab’s spatial intelligence, paired with Bilgin’s structural capability to realise bold configurations, has produced a yacht where engineering and aesthetics are truly indistinguishable. The result is a vessel that is both technically superb and profoundly liveable. In this respect, Camila’s performance statistics speak volumes. She is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure: a configuration chosen for its exceptional strength, stability at sea, and long-range performance. Powered by twin CAT C32 engines delivering 2 × 1,081. kW, she reaches a top speed of 16.5 knots while maintaining a trans-oceanic range of 5,000 nautical miles. Furthermore, her full-displacement hull delivers exceptional stability and sea-keeping qualities.
Serenity meets understated luxury Stepping on board, the 50-metre Camila is defined by understated luxury, warmth and sophisticated serenity, accommodating up to 12 guests across six staterooms. Elegant without being ostentatious, contemporary yet timeless, she has been built for an owner with an appreciation of refinement, craftsmanship and a sense of harmony, who values comfort and privacy, whilst also enjoying sharing beautiful spaces with family and friends.
Hot Lab’s Senior FF&E Designer, Chiara Pastore, explains more: “The atmosphere we aimed to create on board is calm, enveloping, and welcoming. Through warm neutral tones, tactile materials, organic shapes, and carefully integrated lighting, we wanted every space to feel both protective and open, a true retreat at sea, where luxury is expressed through detail, proportion, and material quality rather than excess.”
Material success Notably some of the most significant challenges in Camila’s build were found in the choice of materials and complexity of the installation. The interior features a multi-stone palette (Travertine, Silky Georgette, Calacatta Gold, and Carrara Extra), each of which has its own weight, structural behaviour and finishing requirements.
This was a challenge which the Bilgin and Hot Lab teams rose to. As Şengün recalls: “Realising these as a seamless, harmonious whole aboard a moving, marine environment required our craftspeople to master the intersection of structural engineering and fine stone work at a level rarely seen in this size category.”
A coherent design language furthermore, as Pastore highlights, Camila’s interiors have more than a few nods to previous highly successful Hot Lab designs. Distinctive hallmarks include: “The careful balance between architectural rigour and soft, organic forms; the use of layered materials and subtle detailing; and the pursuit of timeless elegance rather than trends. The integration of custom elements, from lighting to furniture to architectural details, is also very much part of our design DNA.”
Indeed, Hot Lab’s Co-Founder and Design Director, Enrico Lumini, explains the benefits of having maintained such a long-standing partnership with Bilgin Yachts. “This continuity has enabled the teams to develop a coherent design language across multiple yachts, while preserving the flexibility required to tailor each project to the individual owner.”
Perfectly tuned projects currently working on an impressive total of six projects with Bilgin Yachts across three platforms (50, 52 and 54 metres) presents its own set of challenges for the Milan-based studio, which it relishes.
Hot Lab’s Senior Interior Designer and Project Manager Nazenin Dino explains more: “Working across multiple platforms in parallel is both demanding and very rewarding, because even when the overall layout logic is consistent, each project requires its own level of calibration. The real challenge is in how you tune the experience: proportions, sightlines, circulation comfort and the way social spaces connect to one another. Small adjustments in geometry or flow can significantly change how generous and relaxed the yacht feels.”
She continues: “Across all three, our priority is consistent: to deliver a timeless experience with strong functionality, while respecting platform logic, build realities and the owner’s lifestyle. The key is making each yacht feel like it has its own personality without losing the DNA of the series.”
No compromise needed looking at Camila, it is clear that she exemplifies the best of the collaboration between Hot Lab and Bilgin Yachts. As Şengün explains: “The result is a yacht that does not force a compromise between Italian design excellence and Turkish engineering rigour; it embodies both simultaneously.”
Finally, the companies also share a philosophy of continuous improvement. “Each successive project in our series benefits from incremental refinements, not radical departures, but the kind of precise, considered improvements that echo the model-year evolution of the finest automotive manufacturers,” says Şengün.
As Antonio Romano, Commercial and Marketing director of the Viken Group and Co-Founder of Hot Lab, explains, this is a source of genuine pride for the Milan-based studio: “We’re proud of this successful collaboration, and I’m sure that the best is yet to come. BIlgin Yachts is a brand recognized worldwide as a leading producer in the 50m range. The industry is aware that the quality reached in the last years is on the same level of the most known European producers, sometimes even better.”
