Dutch design and naval architecture studio Mulder Design knows a thing or two about yacht design.
From developing exciting and enthralling yacht projects that encompass every element of the process, to exploring large yacht concepts that deliver style, poise, practicality and envy-inducing features, there are few corners of the yacht and superyacht segment that the team hasn’t touched.
Mulder’s project White Coral, a striking, sublime 115-metre yacht that manages to capture a distinctly modern aesthetic while remaining absolutely timeless. With all the features you would expect from a 100-metre-plus dream yacht, including expansive beach club, forward helideck and a serene, relaxing exterior and interior style, White Coral is the epitome of what the Mulder team can offer clients at all sizes of yacht.
“When we started this project a couple of years ago, we wanted to do a larger yacht as typically our projects range up to 60 metres,” begins Bas Mulder, owner at Mulder Design. “We decided to really show what we can do so settled on 115 metres, and from there we took a rough idea, developed and expanded the concept, and produced some sketches which we showed at the Monaco Yacht Show.”
Those initial sketches garnered considerable interest, including from one particular client who asked to see more of the design.
“So we started deeper development of the concept and extended that into full 3D renders; we did some basic calculations to centre the concept in reality, and came up with lots of exciting ideas to play with,” Mulder continues.
“We didn’t work on a full general arrangement although we did create the block plan to define the spaces needed for guests, crew, accommodation and technical areas; but we wanted to show that far from being just technical designers, we can offer our skills and experience of creating stunning exterior designs at any size of yacht that consider interior demands and thereby perfectly fuse function and form.”
That fusing of function and form, and the idea of inner calm and connection to the ocean, is apparent in her name. Formed in the deep ocean by creatures called coral polyps, white coral is an organic gemstone that is well known in vedic astrology.
Worn for financial success, mental peace, strong willpower and healthy progeny, it perfectly captures the essence of the White Coral project and the drive and talent of the team behind her.
Stylish seduction
At the heart of the White Coral project is the exterior design, which is at once dramatic yet seductive. “At Mulder Design, there’s a core ethos we apply to everything we do,” Mulder asserts, “which is to create a long-lasting, timeless design rather than something that can be identified by a particular era or fashion.
The key for us is always to have long, elegant and simple lines, then enhance them without adding too many fussy details which most of the time merely distract the eye. People,” he adds, “like classic proportions, and they have certain expectations. Our exterior designs aim to meet those classic proportions, then exceed those expectations.”
The Mulder Design ethos is rooted not only in considerable heritage but also in practicality – the Mulder team comprises naval architects and engineers, meaning an holistic naval architecture and design approach to projects up to 60 metres, and exterior design work on larger yachts that is rooted in engineering expertise.
That, particularly, is the case with the White Coral concept. “While our team can take on all aspects of design and engineering in house for yachts up to 60 metres, we also take on the exterior design for much larger yachts. For that, we can not only tap into our history creating some of the most famous yachts of all time, but also drawing on our engineering knowledge and expertise,” Mulder enthuses.
“This is a critical advantage for us, because the basis for any design should always be to consider whether it is technically feasible. We start with the core calculations, and from there we develop beautiful and complex designs that we know are not only stunning but which can also be built.”
White Coral’s exquisite profile boasts a powerful forward-leaning stance and sleek yet sumptuous, sculpted profile details, with the rising sweep of the profile’s aft style line joining each deck aft and creating a complex interplay of geometric shapes.
Such mastery of design language is no fluke – for Mulder, the process of designing a yacht’s lines begins with simple consideration to the overall dimensions. “I always try to bring it back to balance,” he says, “and once you have the flow of the hull and superstructure you can start adding more detail, such as smaller shapes or key motifs and style elements, sharp angles or rounded features – that way you can more easily adapt to any client’s individual taste while ensuring the overall design is at its core harmonious.”
Fully featured
Of course, there are also details featuring in the design that carry the DNA of the Mulder studio’s extensive portfolio. “The vertical mast shape on White Coral is actually an element we’ve carried for over a quarter of a century or more,” Mulder quips, “and the same could be said for the reverse fashion plates, which are definitely a Mulder style feature!”
White Coral also shows how the Mulder team are able to incorporate desirable features that demand expertise to realise. Aft, for example, there’s a large main deck pool atop an 18-metre by 8-metre beach club complete with opening hull doors to create vast terraces on the sea. At
the other end of the yacht, the bow features a fully certified helipad plus under-deck bow helicopter hangar, something the Mulder team has worked on with previous projects and therefore has the engineering knowledge and design experience to incorporate ensuring functional practicality.
“People know our smaller yachts and mid-size superyachts, and they know us well for being able to provide the full suite of design services from hulls to engineering to GAs and profiles,” Mulder says.
“But we also specialise in creating stunning exterior designs for larger superyachts, for which the naval architecture and engineering will be completed elsewhere but for which our holistic understanding of those elements ensures a project which is not only aesthetically stunning but also firmly rooted in reality. That,” he concludes, “is the Mulder way.”
