'World's first gigayacht' is planned to be longer than 24 double-decker buses
Superyachts seem to know no bounds – or financial constraints – when it comes to extravagance, and now another design has come along to blow the others clean out of the water.
Envisaged by the Valkyrie Project, the whopping 751-foot-long vessel would dwarf the world's current largest superyacht Azzam – a 590-foot-long boat thought to be owned by former United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan that is said to have cost more than $500 million. And it makes multibillionaire Jeff Bezos' 417-foot "Koru" yacht look like a mere dinghy. Valkyrie is set to be kitted out with entertainment features including an on-board casino, theatre, art gallery and convention hall.
The Valkyrie would be the biggest private vessel ever built and a "floating entertainment hub" containing its own casino and art galleries (Chulhun Park/Solent News)Speaking to CNN Travel, Chulhun Park, the South Korean designer behind Valkyrie, said he was "determined to design a visually unique yacht which would stand out from a fleet". But he insists the luxury ship isn't yet another example of an ultra-rich vanity project, a case of the haves and the have-yachts. Apparently, you won't need to be a billionaire to hitch a ride.
"Most people consider superyachts to be exclusive properties of billionaires to display their wealth. However, such a hub would essentially be floating architecture utilized by the public," he claimed.
Park took inspiration from deconstructivism, an architectural movement dating back to the 1980s that championed asymmetrical shapes and non-linear styles. Speaking to SuperYachts.com, Park said: "Having seen too many conventional white yachts, which were vertically stacked like wedding cakes, I was determined to design a visually unique yacht which would stand out from a fleet. I was interested in manipulating a structure's surface to create non-rectilinear shapes, which appear to distort and dislocate elements of shape."
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Valkyrie would accommodate 52 guests in 25 cabins alongside an extra 92 crew members in 46 cabins – and could hold many more day visitors besides. If built, Valkyrie will incorporate a steel or aluminium Trimaran hull first engineered by Palmer Johnson Yachts – where Park previously worked as a senior exterior designer – to minimise drag during high-speed travel and boost fuel efficiency by 50% while creating up to 30% additional interior and exterior space.
And despite its hefty price tag of an estimated $800 million, Park emphasises that there is "genuine interest" in the project and could welcome passengers one day soon.
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