Lürssen delivers 114m Nausicaä

by Lürssen Yachts 24 May 09:24 PDT

114m Nausicaä © Tom van Oosanen

Lürssen has delivered the 114.2-metre NAUSICAÄ, a vessel that establishes an entirely new definition of yachting. Built under the project name COSMOS, she was designed in her entirety by acclaimed Australian industrial designer Marc Newson. NAUSICAÄ is in a category of her own.

"The delivery of NAUSICAÄ has given me a profound connection to my great-grandfather, Friedrich Lürssen, who built the world's first motorboat in 1886," says Peter Lürssen. "I am incredibly grateful for that. While innovation drives everything we do, NAUSICAÄ has truly broken new ground, just as the 6-metre REMs did 140 years ago."

Every aspect of NAUSICAÄ, from the smallest feature to the striking silhouette - exterior, interior, and every element in between - is custom Marc Newson and reflects a singular design vision. He was afforded a liberating degree of creative freedom, allowing the project to evolve in a joyful and organic way - one that resulted in both bold innovation and seamless coherence. The aesthetic remains unmistakably within his lexicon, yet is ground-breaking within the industry.

114m Nausicaä - photo © Tom van Oosanen

"It is extremely challenging for a design project, of any description, to literally deliver on the vision conceived and presented at concept stage," says Marc Newson. "Here, I am very proud to say that every detail, at every scale, has been realised at the most coherent level. Working with an immensely creative client has enabled rare opportunities to push the boundaries and test the limits of form, material and functionality."

Executing this vision was an exercise in creative engineering, moulding natural and organic shapes out of unforgiving materials. There are hardly any flat architectural surfaces, and NAUSICAÄ is shaped by curvatures and louvred details. Developing vast cylindrical steel forms that are geometrically precise, identical in size, and mirrored in design was no easy feat. This detail appears throughout - along the exterior aft deck, framing the main aft entrance, across numerous exterior doors, and extending all the way to the exhaust mast.

Beneath her bold design is an Ice Class 1D hull that ensures she is equally at home in tropical waters and polar seas. NAUSICAÄ can cruise safely in light ice conditions, ensuring no destination is beyond reach. Her design architecture complements her planned itineraries, and she carries an extraordinary amount of glass throughout for panoramic vistas from nearly every space on board.

114m Nausicaä - photo © Tom van Oosanen

One of the most remarkable architectural elements is the Skydome - a glass structure composed of seven panes, each measuring 3,000 × 2,800 mm, 62 mm thick, and weighing 1,050 kg. This uppermost vantage point houses a 56 square-metre Owner's office with a head height of 3.15 metres. Ornate bronze shutters are set within a sliding, circular rail offering complete control of the natural sunlight. There is an adjoining sky terrace for a private al fresco retreat directly connected to the study.

The engineering behind the Skydome required each pane to be hot-bent by gravity under precisely controlled conditions. This process was validated through multiple prototype bending and lamination tests on full-size 1:1 mock-ups, before a single production pane was made.

NAUSICAÄ also features a continuous glass band that wraps around the entire upper deck. While much of it is glazing, the intersections of bulwarks, doors, and technical spaces are finished in the same material language, creating the impression of an uninterrupted ribbon of glass. The feature culminates forward at the 19-metre wide observation lounge, which sits directly below the fully certified bow helipad.

"Innovation in glass has long been a hallmark of Lürssen," says Peter Lürssen. "From RISING SUN to KISMET, and now NAUSICAÄ, we continue to push the boundaries of scale and structural complexity, creating spaces that are both aesthetically dramatic and functional for our clients. It is rare to find a modern Lürssen yacht that does not break new ground in glass engineering."

Her open aft deck spans the full 18-metre beam and is centred around a Jacuzzi and swimming pool long enough for laps and deep enough for diving. Further aft, a large dry dock handles the yacht's 12.5-metre sportsfish tender via a sledge system that extends over the swim platform into the water, rated to a 16-tonne load capacity. Once deployed, the tracks retract, transforming the tender well into a sheltered teak-lined space. Further protection comes from a flat hydraulic beam that can close off the space.

114m Nausicaä - photo © Tom van Oosanen

The interior of NAUSICAÄ is equally striking and unconventional. In lieu of a main salon, NAUSICAÄ opens into a two-level atrium, with the main deck dedicated as an art gallery. A huge sculpture takes centre stage, while custom pieces can be set around the open space. A circular balcony on the upper deck acts as a viewing platform, and the remaining area of the upper aft atrium is dedicated to hospitality with a sushi bar, table tennis area, and inlaid settees - everything, every detail throughout, custom designed by Marc Newson.

In terms of propulsion, NAUSICAÄ has a diesel-electric plant that comprises five engines - two primary and three auxiliary - and which drive fully electric Azimuth pods. The battery plant delivers up to 2 MW - sufficient to power all hotel systems simultaneously at peak load. This allows the yacht to operate silently, with zero local emissions, for extended periods.

A provision for a future methanol fuel cell will take her ambitions further still, through the conversion of methanol into hydrogen to generate electricity. While this is an emerging technology in yachting, it is happening. And when it does, its integration will mark a major step away from traditional fossil fuels in large-yacht propulsion.

Her visionary design, pioneering engineering and uncompromising ambition combine to make NAUSICAÄ one of the most distinctive yachts ever to bear the Lürssen name.

NAUSICAÄ Specifications: