Yacht builder Oceanco, design firm Van Geest Design, and lighting design firm Temeloy Advanced Lighting Design debuted a new super yacht with a triangulated, animated, glowing hull design.

It is a staggering engineering challenge, to equip a massive hull with a smooth, white, uniformly luminous surface.  For instance:

• Challenge #1: Finding a primary surface material that is translucent, yet appears opaque white during the day.  This material has to be transparent enough to not waste too much luminous efficacy.
• Challenge #2: Creating a light engine that produces uniform illumination without too much depth.
• Challenge #3: Packaging this material and light engine into triangulated facets – each custom made to a different shape – that have to be an durable as an ocean-going ship’s hull.  Think of the demanding specs for water ingress protection, impact resistance, cleaning, solar fading, salt spray, extreme temperature, fire resistance, etc.
• Challenge #4: Electrically connecting all those 600 triangulated panels and physically mounting them to the inner primary hull.  Making sure the wiring connections also meet the demands of ocean-going specifications.  Making a wiring penetration through the primary hull.
• Challenge #5: Providing the massive power needed to drive the whole wall (and remember, there are two sides to the ship!)
• Challenge #6: Maintaining this system for the life of the ship.

The project is detailed here in an interview with Pieter van Geest.  The only description of the actual lighting technology:

The hull side facets are realised with the use of custom hull panel-lights triggered by 300 individually dimmable white triangles per hull side to create unlimited lighting possibilities. At night, these lights generate a shimmering twinkling effect. The lighting technologies used are all proven technologies and patented in their way of use. The lighting panels have been developed to comply with shock and impact resistance, IP rating, sea water and aging, rigorous cleaning and yacht use.

A yacht is not just a yacht anymore – it is an experience, an experience that is always surprising and ever changing. This boat has the ability to change its appearance wherever and whenever she wants, which is unique and something never seen before.

It is a fascinating project and I can’t wait to see the real yacht constructed, to see if the lighting effect in reality meets the original concept.  I can see many architects interested in this type of embedded lighting effect for use in more permanent buildings.