Yacht by Philippe Starck

The Design of Philippe Starck's motor yacht A is dividing yacht aficionados worldwide. It seems that either you love this submarine-looking vessel or you love it less, to put it politely. We admit that we are leaning to the second option.

 A in Oslo, Norway, in front of the Akershus Festning.

Photo 1 by stigkk flickr, Photo by Floden flickr

Our skepticism regarding the design is not because of the creative front part or the overall lines. They are great in our opinion. The bow is actually very efficient making the yacht capable of higher speeds in higher waves. It is the little things, like the windows, that seems a bit odd. The theme of the boat is a minimalist one with straight windows along the superstructure, but on the hull there are oval windows. These windows look too traditional because of the dominant straight lines and minimalist design. There is also something about the superstructure. The first row of windows are vertical while the next two rows lean backwards exactly on top of each other. Maybe choosing one style would have worked better visually on this yacht. The effect is that the yacht looks like a mixture of several parts, good by themselves, that in the end do not blend well.

We think that the shape presented in this yacht is very good, and understand that many may disagree about the small things pointed out above. However, the good thing is that this yacht has challenged stereotypes and conventions creating a debate in the design community which brings yacht design forward.

Facts 
Launched 2008 by Blohm + Voss, Germany
Naval Architect: Martin Francis and Design: Philippe Starck
Length: 119 m / 387 ft
14 guests
42 staff
Cruising speed 19,5 knots
Max speed  23 knots
12,070 HP
Range 6500 nm
4 quantum zero speed stabilizers
Helipad on the forward deck
3 tenders 

 Photo by Pedro da Silva flickr

Yacht A in a Norwegian fjord

Photo by margit86 flickr