A Shift and a Breath

Abstract

The marine architecture industry is continuing to test the boundaries of technology and design to create yachts that are faster, lighter and more manoeuvrable. The money required to see these innovations translated into physical yachts has created a money and power driven industry. The superyacht society that has developed with the growth in size and grandeur of recreational yachts has come to symbolise the ultimate in wealth, power and success. ‘A shift and a breath…’ expresses the dynamic of a sail powered yacht. This represents the shift that the interior intervention makes away from traditional yacht design. The yachts physical context, water and wind, along with the functional requirements have defined the formal qualities of the yacht. The forms created by the interaction with the physical context are traditionally evident only in the exterior of the yacht. This intervention embraces the inherent form of the hull and engages it in a dialogue with the interior spaces it encloses. It creates a visual connection with the wind and its relationship with the dynamic qualities of the yacht. The idea of displacement is evident both physically and thematically throughout the yacht. Psychological displacement involves the transference of an affect from one element onto another. This has been integrated, both physically and visually, into the interior intervention with the transference of the yachts exterior qualities and context into the interior. Experiential displacement is emphasized for the occupants being made more aware of their water related context in contrast to the land. The functional characteristics of the yacht provide an ordering system requiring balance and axial symmetry, and this is instantly visible. There is a hierarchy of the yacht’s occupants that dictates specific relationships with the yacht as a whole and also with the private areas they inhabit. The owner’s quarters act as the organisational generator and the spatial layout and programmes are laid out in relation to the relationships of the yachts occupants with the owner.