Project NEXO – Unveiled with Van Der Valk Shipyard
Project NEXO started with a question: what if a yacht could do more than accomodate its owners, and actually lift them?
“Together with Van der Valk Shipyard, we developed a 30-metre concept for owners who are active and care about design, and who see time on the water as a way to recharge. NEXO, short for New Experience X-Over, is our answer.“
The name reflects what the design sets out to do: dissolve the lines between interior and exterior, between yacht and sea, and between the different ways one space can be used. For us, wellness isn’t a list of features. It’s a state of mind built into the architecture.
“We didn’t want to add a gym and a spa and call it a wellness yacht. Here, the feeling of wellbeing comes from the architecture itself: how a space opens up, how light and air move through it, and how it can reconfigure around the people using it.“
The design language is soft minimalism, built on natural materials, and the boundary between inside and outside is deliberately blurred. The calm on board doesn’t come from one standout feature. It comes from everything working together.
“On the main deck, the salon opens aft and to both sides, merging with the exterior decks to form generous side terraces.“
On the port side, a sliding bar moves to fit the occasion, from a formal service to relaxed drinks. On the starboard side, the salon sofa swivels outward to join the terrace, creating a single seating zone that runs from inside to outside.
We chose stone, linen and leather for how they feel to the touch as much as for how they look: grounding, tactile and close to nature. Planting and organic textures add a biophilic layer. Nothing is there to compete with the water and the light, because the point is to feel present and at ease as soon as you step aboard.
“The full-beam owner’s suite sits forward, and its en suite is designed to make the space feel larger and to keep the owner in sight of the water.”
One deck up, the lounge can be configured as an indoor-outdoor dining area, a gym or a spa, depending on how the owner wants to live.
Aft, the beach club spans two levels and is the social centre of the yacht. A hot tub sits at its heart, with folding terraces on either side that open straight onto the sea. Beneath the deck, a hidden garage holds the tender and the water toys, so the deck above stays clean, open and quiet until the equipment is needed. A hydraulic swim platform lowers to the waterline, making it as easy to step into the sea as it is to step out for fresh air.
Another great expression of the NEXO idea is forward. A lifting platform lets the foredeck become a sun lounge, a clear area for training, or an open-air cinema once the screen goes up. It adds usable space without disturbing the profile, so flexibility doesn’t cost any elegance.
Van der Valk builds each yacht to the owner’s own specification, and NEXO is no exception. It isn’t a catalogue model but an invitation, showing what the shipyard’s custom know-how can do with one clear vision. Owners who want to take the concept further are welcome to get in touch with Van der Valk directly.