This article was written by Marilyn Mower and features art ideas by Circu, Dragons of Walton Street, Dolfi, and Savio Firmino.
One of the perks of writing about superyachts for a living is that I get to speak with many of the world’s most accomplished superyacht designers and builders on a pretty regular basis. I’ll be the first to admit that I often get lost in the engineering details that most designers and builders revel in. But my recent conversation with Daniel Nerhagen (partner and yacht director of the Swedish-based firm Tillberg Design of Sweden) was utterly inspiring. In just one word he explained the 77-meter-long Project Lycka that his team at Tillberg Design of Sweden have partnered with Denison Yachting and the German superyacht shipyard Nobiskrug to design and build.
“She.”
“From our very first design discussions, Lycka was always going to be a ‘she,’” Daniel says with a pleasantly disarming warmth in his eyes. Of course, he and his team have designed Lycka to be sporty, contemporary, and comfortable. But they were also extremely clear that they wanted the design to be slightly more feminine than most of the more aggressively masculine large yachts, explorers, and the numerous go-fast boats that are being built today.
THEY WANTED THE DESIGN TO BE SLIGHTLY MORE FEMININE THAN MOST OF THE MORE AGGRESSIVELY MASCULINE LARGE YACHTS, EXPLORERS, AND THE NUMEROUS GO-FAST BOATS THAT ARE BEING BUILT TODAY.
And as you can see, that design philosophy translates into a yacht that’s both strong and soft in compelling ways.
“So that’s how we got to the exterior expression,” he continues. And being from Sweden they also embraced the concept of “less is more” that’s often attributed to the best of Scandinavian design. “Scandinavian design for us involves clean lines, high-quality craftsmanship, and overwhelming attention to detail. We don’t use a lot of materials and textures and colors and patterns. We are extremely intentional about the colors, textures, and materials we use—and the ones we do use, are striking.”
“Our design language on Lycka is simple but not necessarily easy.” And that’s what makes this project so special.
“A lot of clients I’ve spoken to recently are much more practical than I expected,” Daniel continues. “For them, a yacht is more like a summer house. They want to use it. They don’t want a showpiece yacht that they can’t bring their kids on without worrying about the white carpets and priceless art.
“This doesn’t mean that they don’t want high-end interior. But they don’t want the bling either,” he adds. And that’s what Lycka is all about. Combining high design and high-quality craftsmanship to maximize the relaxation and enjoyment of a new breed of yacht owner that’s looking for a little less flash and the way Tillberg Design of Sweden melds form and function in elegant ways.
LYCKA BRINGS MANY UNIQUE ELEMENTS TO THIS DESIGN THAT APPEAL TO TODAY’S CUSTOMERS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR YACHTS THAT ARE MORE SUSTAINABLE AND OPTIMIZED FOR EFFICIENCY.
Meanwhile, Denison yacht broker Tony Smith, who was mostly responsible for pulling the dream team of Tillberg Design of Sweden and Nobiskrug together for this project said at a press conference during the Monaco Yacht Show recently, “Lycka brings many unique elements to this design that appeal to today’s customers who are looking for yachts that are more sustainable and optimized for efficiency. While also incorporating all the features—a dedicated beach club and spa, gym, private office, central elevator, various balconies, and sundeck—that superyacht owners expect.”
And when it comes to superyacht builders, it’s hard to find a shipyard that’s built a more diverse range of iconic superyachts than Nobiskrug. The yard may have been founded in 1905, but there is nothing “old fashioned” about superyachts—including Sailing Yacht A and Artefact—that Nobiskrug has built in the recent past. In fact, Artefact that was launched in 2020 was one of the first superyachts to be built under IMO Tier III emissions regulations with a hybrid electric propulsion system.
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