The yachting world is a dream come true and superyacht designers have understood this. Concepts and projects regularly emerge under the pencil strokes of these imaginative designers.
If today the world's largest superyacht is Azzam - 180 m long - it could well lose its status. South Korean designer Chulhun Park designed the Valkyrie, a huge yacht 229 m long and 30 m wide. If this project is only an exercise in style to date, its designer thinks he can one day bring it to life and evoke the interest of potential buyers. An interest that still costs the trifles of some 800 million dollars?!
Chulhun Park developed Valkyrie as part of his final year project at the Royal College of Art in London. An 8-month project, supported by the Monegasque manufacturer Palmer Johnson Yachts, which also employed the young designer at the end of his studies. The yacht was therefore designed on the trimaran hull developed and patented by the Monaco-based shipyard. A choice of hull that reduces drag at high speed and provides more stability.
If the hull is already existing, the dead works are totally invented by the designer. Unlike traditional designs with an imposing stepped superstructure and a white hull colour, Chulhun Park has opted for a steel or aluminium hull and a grey carbon fibre superstructure and non-rectilinear shapes.
If this project was to be visually unique, its main characteristic is that it created a floating entertainment space open to the public. "Most people consider superyachts to be the exclusive property of billionaires, a way of showing their wealth. But with Valkyrie, I have added public spaces, where everyone can go like a shopping mall, restaurants, bars, theatre, casino, art gallery or convention centre. A way to satisfy visitors and generate profits" explains the designer.
49 m taller than the current largest private yacht in the world, Valkyrie will accommodate 52 guests in 26 cabins and 92 crew members in 46 cabins. A bridge will be entirely reserved for the owner and its average speed will be 25 knots.
