Too much theory can be such a curse. Originally the post about architecture was supposed to introduce another coquine![design] project called ‘Ice Fairy’. Which would imply that indeed the inspiration taken from contemporary architecture would turn a yacht into a snow queen. Worse even, when the designer envisions polished aluminium, naked concrete and the unavoidable stretch of glass being the main theme for the interior…

But one thought at a time: The exterior of this mid size motor yacht (actually, the design would work nicely anywhere between 55 and 88 metres) was clearly inspired by the works of Spanish star architect Santiago Calatrava. The general idea was to find a shape that allowed us to break with the traditional ‘layer cake’, dictated by the need to create decks to define living spaces. Obviously, we cannot avoid floors and we cannot avoid ceilings as a result of the next floor up. Raising those ceilings in order to gain more ‘living volume’ usually has a rather unflattering effect on the exterior, so we had to find something different.

The deckhouse structure of ‘Ice Fairy’ allowed us to rethink interior volumes, giving it a new vertical dimension. The exposed metal backbone makes the glass surfaces much more manageable and therefore allows a level of light flooding the interior that hasn’t been seen before. We then went on to maximise the impact this new approach would have on the interior, as it seemed wrong to come up with something so different on the outside while doing ‘same old’ on the inside. And in the end, with a bit of wood and leather in the right places, concrete can be quite cozy actually!