This Sculptural Vessel Capsizes Yachting Stereotypes

There’s a lot going on with Pegasus, the concept superyacht envisioned by Jozeph Forakis as existing in total harmony with nature. Spanning nearly 300 feet long, the futuristic vessel is virtually invisible thanks to a silver-metallic finish that mirrors the sea’s motions and colors. Cladding the exterior hull and superstructure is a 3-D printed lightweight mesh framework that minimizes its environmental impact compared to traditional shipbuilding methods. Ditto for the solar panels embedded in the exterior’s reflecting glass, which is angled toward the sky in order to convert seawater into hydrogen and electricity, ensuring Pegasus can continue cruising without a hitch.

The overall effect is otherworldly—not a quality often associated with superyachts, which can often seem imposing and indulgent. “Sailing is a beautiful way to be close to nature, yet motor yachts have become synonymous with reckless exploitation of resources,” Forakis tells Forbes. “The challenge I give myself is to achieve a holistic ecosystem of ideas and expression, as balanced, essential, and poetic as ecosystems in nature. I’m interested in addressing humanistic needs in harmony with the environment.”

Pegasus would be fitted out with onboard amenities like an aquarium-style lap pool, an oversize jacuzzi, and large windows that transform into open balconies, but a meditative zen garden and reflecting pool inspire at least a hint of introspection. And inside, an Avatar-inspired hydroponic “tree of life” stretches across four interior levels. 

“The original vision was to design a yacht like a cloud floating above a sea,” Forakis says, drawing inspiration from Blur Building, an open-air pavilion created by Diller & Scofidio—now known as Diller Scofidio + Renfro—for the 2002 Swiss Expo. That project, which hovered over Lake Neuchâtelin in the quaint Swiss town of Yverdon-les-Bains, shot pumped lake water as a fine mist through 35,000 high-pressure nozzles. Inside, visitors traverse an optical “white-out” and “white noise” created by the mist. From afar, the tensegrity structure is shrouded in an ethereal fog, not unlike a giant cloud installation by Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde, whom Forakis also cites as an influence.

The technology needed to execute Pegasus’s architecture still needs fine-tuning, but Forakis is optimistic he can deliver a prototype by 2030. He’s vacillating between using a polymeric or metallic alloy as the base material, but “the concept has been highly researched and is based on existing technologies,” he says. “By integrating the hull and the superstructure, the triangulated, 3D-mesh framework would effectively distribute loads across the entire craft, resulting in a stronger, stiffer, lighter system.” The vessel’s final geometry, he says, will be fine-tuned with the help of AI, resulting in a fractalized triangular pattern based on load and impact requirements.