Her work may have its critics, but you can't fault the consistency of her design language. Even those with the most fleeting of interests in architecture and design cannot fail to recognize that this yacht design for Blohm+Voss has Zaha Hadid written all over it.
The concept, newly revealed as part of an exhibition of Hadid's work at the David Gill Gallery in London, is for a 128-m (420-ft) superyacht, along with a set of five 90-m (295-ft) yachts which, according to the Blohm+Voss press release "creatively explore the design philosophies of the master prototype."
The seemingly organic lattices are supposedly evocative of "natural marine formations," and though that may be true, the same can surely be said of her prior designs for the Nuragic and Contemporary Art Museum in Cagliari, Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Centre and Zephyr Sofa. This yacht fits comfortably into the lattice-y subset of her uniquely curvilinear oeuvre.
It sounds as though the master prototype sets out the design intent, whereas the five companion designs are practical, buildable interpretations. One of these sub-designs, named Jazz, has apparently been fully specced-out by Blohm+Voss. And, "four further 90m yachts have been designed to fulfil [sic] the different requirements and individual requests of their designated owners," so perhaps all five will one day make it onto the high seas.
A specification for a 90-m yacht included with the press release lists these additional details:
- Beam (max): 16 m (52 ft)
- Draught: 4.2 m (13 ft)
- Maximum speed: 16 knots (30 km/h)
- Cruising speed: 14 knots (26 km/h)
- Range: 5,000 MM (presumably a typo for nautical miles, and not millimeters. That would make it 9,260 km)
- Class: Lloyd's Register
- Propulsion: 2 x 2,160 kW diesel, via gearbox to fixed prop
- Maneuvering system: 1 x bow thruster
Sources: Zaha Hadid Architects, Blohm+Voss
