Architect Zaha Hadid has been commissioned to design an eight-metre vessel known as the Z-Boat.
Designed for London-based art dealer and writer Kenny Schachter, its asymmetrical shape would look at home in a Batman movie. Schachter, who previously partnered with the Baghdad-born architect on a three-wheel car project Z-Car, described it as 'a distinctive element in the boating world, which lends the boat a strong sculptural - and a little menacing - presence.'
A spokesman for the French firm Shoreteam, which is building the craft, said: 'The idea is to think of vessels or vehicles as highly individualistic expressions of art, architecture and design, reflecting the edge of what is possible using the most advanced means.' The interior, he says, will be 'spec-ed out with a vinyl material new to the market', articulating Hadid's futuristic aesthetic.
And speed? 'As high a spec as customers dare to go and is safe to maintain,' he says tantalisingly. Famous for her radical deconstructivist designs, Hadid became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004.
She has also appeared on Forbes' '100 Most Powerful Women' and Time's '100 Most Influential People' lists. The boat will be a limited-edition of 12, in a range of colours including blue, gray, black and white, priced at €375,000 (HK$3.6 million) and available early next year.
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