MotoringZaha Hadid Architects Teams With Rossinavi to Create a Fully Electric YachtDubbed the Oneiric, this yacht’s energy consumption is managed via artificial intelligence

By David Sokol

June 6, 2022

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The primary bedroom of the yacht.All images are courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects/Rossinavi

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Known for spectacular organic forms, Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has taken to yacht design like a fish to water. For the three years preceding Hadid’s 2016 death, the Dame Commander had partnered with German shipbuilder Blohm+Vohs on a family of seacrafts sporting outrageously braided exoskeletons. Now, the Italian maker Rossinavi is preparing to celebrate ZHA’s next plunge into the discipline with its introduction of the Oneiric at Fuorisalone.

Oneiric is an electric catamaran and its energy consumption is managed via artificial intelligence. In a nod to the superyacht’s lessened environmental impact, ZHA’s sinuous design of the 44-meter (144 feet) watercraft pays homage to the gently rolling ocean. Oneiric’s exterior appears as a single continuous line that rises from an aluminum hull, snakes up and around three photovoltaic-integrated levels, and undulates into the other hull. To make the design feel even more like an extension of the water, the catamaran’s hull, gunwale, and transom merge and diverge in branching curves, and the stern gradually steps down like an oversize swimming platform.

An exterior view of the 144-foot-long yacht.

Flowing lines characterize the ship’s interiors, as well, with integrated furnishings melding into adjacent planes; walls also meet ceilings via endless coved surfaces. To underscore the sensation that ocean and physical environments are one, Oneiric’s captain controls the superyacht from a patio-like command center that is a hybrid of the traditional enclosed cockpit and an open flybridge. And in the owner’s cabin, the bedroom boasts 180-degree views as well as sunlight penetration through skylights. (Oneiric encompasses four additional guest cabins, and another quartet of cabins for crew members.) Just as Rossinavi replaced a conventional yacht monohull with an efficient catamaran shape to maximize the usefulness of the electric battery pack, so the interior is finished largely in lightweight, high-performing recycled and recyclable materials that burden Oneiric with the least drag.

The vessel features the signature Zaha Hadid swerve in many of its details.

Photovoltaics continually charge Oneiric’s battery during daylight hours, and the onboard AI monitors energy consumption and battery status. This robot shipmate also provides navigation advice according to environmental impact. Oneiric can complete a day trip entirely in electric mode, which equates fewer carbon and noise emissions to harm the atmosphere and ocean habitats. According to a statement, Rossinavi has calculated that Oneiric can handle slightly more than two thirds of a transatlantic voyage using its solar power. In a similarity to new electric cars like the Chevy Silverado, bidirectional charging allows owners and crew members to charge landlubber appliances while the superyacht is docked.

The interiors feel as spacious and modern as a sleekly designed home.

Founded in 2007, Rossinavi is the only independent superyacht manufacturer in Italy. Prior to finalizing the ZHA commission, the shipbuilder had introduced the all-electric Sea Cat 40 last December. Rossinavi collaborated on that first-ever offering with naval architect Fulvio de Simoni. Oneiric will be on display in Milan starting June 6 at the Fuorisalone exhibit “BluE, The Underwater Experience,” an educational immersive installation devoted to phytoplankton.

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