People ask how we design a superyacht. The honest answer is that we begin by not designing it.
Life first, then lines
Before the first sketch there is a conversation about how the yacht will be lived. Who wakes up on board, and where do they want to have breakfast? Is the yacht for family summers in the Mediterranean, for winters in the Caribbean, for charter, for crossing oceans? How many crew, and how should they move through the yacht? A yacht that answers these questions well feels effortless. One that does not can be beautiful and still be tiring to live on.
Proportion and light
A superyacht is seen from far away and lived in from very close. Her profile has to hold together at a distance: the balance of decks, the length of the lines, how she sits on the water. Inside, the most valuable material is light. We draw windows, decks and openings to bring the sea into every room, as on August, whose beach club opens on three sides to the water.
The general arrangement is drawn with the profile
We do not draw a shape and fill it afterwards. The exterior, the interior and the general arrangement develop together, so stairs, crew routes, service spaces and the tender garage find their places as the profile takes form. It is slower at the beginning and much faster at the end.
Designed to be built
Every design is developed on a real naval architecture platform and validated by Astra Nord before it is presented as final. Hull form, weights, stability and regulation are part of the design, not a correction to it. An owner who approves a T. Fotiadis design approves a yacht that can be built as drawn.
Interiors with a reason
Materials, joinery and lighting are chosen for life at sea: for movement, humidity, salt and many years of use. We design interiors to feel calm and personal, and to be seen as they will be lived. That last part is where Elysium Brands, our sister agency, brings renderings, film and scale models, so owners can feel a space long before it exists.
Restraint
The strongest designs we know say one thing clearly. We would rather leave something out than add a line that the yacht does not need. Owners notice the difference on their third season, not on their first day.
If you would like to see how this works on a particular yacht, the general arrangement and specification of each of our designs are available in private.
Theodoros Fotiadis