Remember Project Cosmos? The 375-foot Lürssen mammoth, now named Nausicaä, has finally been delivered to her owner, Japanese fashion billionaire Yusaku Maezawa. Like Feadship’s headline-grabbing vessel Breakthrough, commissioned by Bill Gates and billed as the world’s first hydrogen-powered superyacht, Nausicaä belongs in the same pioneering league. But that is where the similarities end. Unlike a classic breakthrough, nothing about Nausicaä follows the norm. In fact, she is unlike anything Lürssen has done before, making her one of the coolest superyachts to be delivered this year.
The credit for that originality goes to Australian industrial designer Marc Newson, the name behind the Aquariva by Marc Newson and the 139-meter Solaris, who designed the vessel not to look like a stack of floors, but to have purpose and personality in equal measure. One of the clearest expressions of that thinking is the Skydome with its private terrace. Comprising seven giant curved glass panes, each hot-bent, massively thick, and weighing over a ton, it conceals the owner’s office suite, complete with a private terrace for a whiff of fresh air.
Honestly, if any office can rival Oceanco owner Gabe Newell’s floating workspace, Nausicaä seems like a serious contender. It perhaps stems from billionaire Maezawa’s spacefaring persona, preferring a private observatory-office over a party deck. His preferences and passions shape Nausicaä just as much as Marc Newson’s design ideologies. The yacht’s black glass ribbon across the upper deck is another striking Newson touch, visually hiding doors and technical spaces so the vessel reads as one uninterrupted form.
Even the radar domes and cylindrical detailing feel intentional, turning technical hardware into design. Beneath sits a 19-meter observation lounge, one of the smartest layout moves on board, transforming a highly technical area into one of the best vantage points.
An art collector’s floating gallery
The enthusiastic art collector and founder of a contemporary art foundation has also carved out a humongous space for art aboard the 375-footer. The main deck features a two-level art-gallery atrium with a revolving collection of art and sculpture, complete with a circular viewing deck that makes admiring a multimillion-dollar collection feel all the more blissful and satisfying.
Perhaps he also took pointers from past experience, when his children were reportedly so frightened by Jean-Michel Basquiat’s $110 million blue skull painting that they flung a bowl of cereal at it aboard a luxury vessel. With a proper gallery aboard, the art is tucked away safely, with no chance of cereal flinging. Some of the major works associated with the self-made tycoon include Christopher Wool’s Untitled from 1990, Richard Prince’s Runaway Nurse, Andy Warhol’s Flowers, Jeff Koons and many more.
Built for adventure, not just applause
The 50-year-old mega-collector is just as passionate about adventure as he is about art, and that forms the third dimension of Nausicaä. Maezawa’s yacht is the fulfillment of his fantasy of owning something unlike anything else, robust enough to travel anywhere, even toward the poles. That point is reinforced by the Ice Class 1D hull, a reminder that this is not just a showpiece, but a yacht built for serious high-latitude itineraries. On the foredeck sits a helipad, while aft there is a 12.5-meter sportfishing tender beside the swimming pool. In addition, the luxury vessel of the man who flew to the International Space Station features a bespoke sushi bar and table tennis area, both dripping in the aesthetics of Newson’s studio.
As Newson himself stated, “It is extremely challenging for a design project, of any description, to literally deliver on the vision conceived and presented at concept stage.” He added, “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.”
A silent sanctuary at anchor
At the end of the day, it is still a boat, a beautiful and bold one, powered by an advanced diesel-electric grid and a massive 2 MW battery bank. This allows the superyacht to transition seamlessly into a silent hotel mode when moored, shutting down its generators completely and running onboard systems off battery power for a whisper-quiet, emission-free sanctuary at anchor. Now we wait and watch as the billionaire worth $1.5 billion advertises for a partner or party to accompany him on this incredible sailing trip.
