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Zaha Hadid Architects designs superyacht marina and casino development in the Bahamas

2024-05-30T13:49:00-04:00

Details for a new luxury superyacht marina and residential community designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, the largest in North America, have been announced, along with an anticipated 2027 completion date. Slated for the Bahamian South Abaco island, the project will also feature a casino and nightclub from ZHA as part of the development’s "social epicenter," according to a press release from client Habacoa. It will be anchored by the 25,000-square-foot yacht club space, which the firm says is designed to evoke waves and tidal currents.

Image: Zaha Hadid Architects, rendering courtesy of Flyingarchitecture

In terms of sustainability, Habacoa says: "The site’s existing deep-water minimizes disruption to the shoreline and marine habitats, while sustainable construction methods on land will create a majority of the development. Working with marine biologists and local environmental bodies, any corals impacted by construct...

NEOM announces Jaumur, a new satellite marina concept for the Gulf of Aqaba

2024-05-21T13:01:00-04:00

NEOM’s next satellite development has been announced as Jaumur, a seaside marina getaway on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf of Aqaba designed by the Australian-British firm bureau^proberts. Founder Liam Proberts and Partner Terry McQuillan appear in a marketing video that promotes the resort as a “place like no other.”

Video courtesy NEOM/YouTube

NEOM’s press arm says: “Jaumur is an exclusive residential community thoughtfully master planned around an inspiring marina for more than 6,000 residents. Embedded into the varied topography of the Gulf of Aqaba coast, it features 500 marina apartments and nearly 700 luxury villas, boasting waterfront access and private mooring. Two distinctive destination hotels within Jaumur offer 350 luxurious rooms and suites, inviting guests to enjoy the breathtaking views and embrace all aspects of modern coastal hospitality and sporting activities.”

Image courtesy NEOM via Facebook

The development's main focal point will be its marina, whose basin is covered by ...

Architecture-inspired ship concept could become the world's first 3D printed superyacht

2023-02-28T15:36:00-05:00

Multidisciplinary designer Jozeph Forakis has unveiled the concept for a luxury superyacht, christened Pegasus, that he described as “invisible both in design and in her environmental impact.” When completed in 2030, the futuristic 288-foot ship will become the world’s first 3D-printed sea vessel that produces zero emissions and can cruise with near-infinite range.

Forakis says the inspiration behind the yacht is Diller Scofidio + Renfro’s Blur Building, a pavilion that sat above Lake Neuchâtelin in the Swiss municipality of Yverdon-les-Bains during Swiss Expo 2002. The structure was concealed by a mass of fog that was formed by pumped lake water and dispensed as mist through 35,000 high-pressure nozzles.

Image courtesy Jozeph Forakis

The yacht would be constructed via robotic 3D printing to create a durable and lightweight mesh framework for both the hull and superstructure. According to Forakis, this could allow the structure to be produced using less energy, material, and time compared to conventional construction.

The yacht is distinguished by its reflective façade and its multi-tiered glass wings. The PEGASUS 88m Concept is said to have a “near-infinite range” through solar energy used to convert seawater into hydrogen, which onboard fuel cells would convert into electricity.

$8 billion turtle-shaped luxury yacht could become the largest floating structure ever built

2022-11-28T18:35:00-05:00

The latest luxury boat to hit the market is Pangeos -- named after Pangea, a supercontinent that existed from 200 million to 335 million years ago. And if those seem like big numbers, wait until you hear how many dollars it'll take to construct it: $8 billion, according to designers Lazzarini.

If funded and built, the sea turtle-shaped "terayacht" would be the largest floating structure ever built, spanning 1,800 feet long and 2,000 feet wide. Dubbed a “floating city,” the boat would feature hotels, shopping malls, parks, and ports for smaller vessels and aircraft to connect.

Due to its size, the yacht would require the construction of a special dam that would flood to levitate it before being launched. The designers have noted Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Port as a potential building location. The shipyard would stretch approximately 2,133 feet wide and 1,969 feet long.

The yacht’s hull would be comprised of 30,000 "cells," and its draft would stretch 98 feet. It would be capable of moving at a speed of five knots. The boat’s “arms” would draw energy from the drag and waves that break against it. Rooftop solar panels would also provide power. Unlike cruise ships or other commercial sea voyages, Pangeos wouldn’t operate out of a port or have a set itinerary, "it would s...

Jeff Bezos is having a bridge dismantled in Rotterdam to make way for his superyacht

2022-02-04T10:41:00-05:00

A century-old steel bridge in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam will be partially dismantled this summer to allow a superyacht being built for Jeff Bezos to sail through.

The controversial project will make way for Bezos’ new $485 million Oceanco-designed sailing yacht, which is about half the length of the Titanic. Bezos has agreed to pay for the bridge’s removal. The 144-year-old structure narrowly survived heavy allied bombing of the city during War II and a later attempt by the city to demolish it that was eventually stopped by local citizens. The bridge was restored in 2007.

Rotterdam’s mayor’s office has said it welcomes the economic benefits of the project, although some residents have other plans.

“From an economic perspective and maintaining employment, the municipality considers this a very important project,” Rotterdam municipal project leader Marcel Walravens told AFP. “In addition, Rotterdam has also been declared the maritime capital of Europe. Shipbuilding and activity within that sector are therefore an important pillar of the municipality.”

The extra-architectural ventures of Zaha Hadid

2016-03-31T20:46:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid will rightfully go down in history for the tremendous mark she made on architecture. But buildings weren't the only things she designed.

In fact, for the majority of her career, she worked at smaller scales, whether with painting, furniture design, or some other venture. One of her first realized projects, from 1985, consisted entirely of furniture, shelves, and other additions to a pre-existing International Style home in London at 24 Cathcart Road.

Her interest in the expanded field of design, including interiors and the objects that fill them, continued throughout her career. For some, this work indicates a crass and unapologetic commercialism. Philip Kennicott, for example, wrote for the Washington Post earlier today, "She spoke the airy language of architectural theory, with all its utopian overtones, but she vigorously branded consumer products from candles to tableware to neckties."

ln any case, her influence exceeds architecture – extending to the runway, the showroo...

Frank Gehry designs his first yacht, "Foggy"

2015-10-08T13:15:00-04:00

Fashioned out of traditional larch wood but accented with titanium and a glass latticework that glimmers like a school of fish, she looked schizophrenic, a hybrid of past and future. [...] Gehry is an avid yachtsman, and sailing informs much of his most famous work—think of the billowing motif of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, New York's IAC building, and, most recently, the Louis Vuitton Foundation [...] "On a boat like this, it's about romance and romantic encounters," the architect says.

It took him nearly 87 years, but Frank Gehry has finally designed his first yacht, for developer Richard Cohen – joining the ranks of Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano and John Pawson who have all taken a stab at nautical design. Gehry's personal sailboat, a Beneteau First 44.7 named "Foggy 1", resides in Marina del Rey.

Check out more shots of the boat and its interior in the image gallery.

Zaha Hadid Designs Superyachts For Blohm+Voss

2013-10-15T11:47:00-04:00

The striking exoskeleton structure of the upper section is an interwoven network of supports that vary in thickness and lend a natural aesthetic to the yacht’s external appearance; evoking the organic structural systems found in nature. This exoskeleton connects the various levels and decks seamlessly via expressive diagonals. Where traditional yacht design adheres to a strict horizontal order, Hadid has created an intense connectivity between the various decks and elements of the design.