Project NEXO

Van der Valk Shipyard Unveils Project NEXO:
A 30-Metre Yacht Concept That Adapts to Life Onboard

Project NEXO-Van der Valk Shipyard has unveiled its new 30-metre concept, Project NEXO, short for New Experience X-Over, or Crossover: a yacht conceived for active, design-conscious owners who want to live well on the water. Developed in cooperation with Dutch design studio Phathom, Project NEXO represents the shipyard’s vision of what modern yachting at this length can, and should, feel like.

At its heart is a simple but ambitious idea: that a yacht’s design can do more than accommodate
its owners. It can lift them. Every line, material and spatial decision in Project NEXO has been
made in service of one goal, to instil a sense of wellness that goes far beyond a gym or a spa.
Here, wellness is not an amenity bolted onto the yacht. It is the architecture itself: the way a
space opens, breathes, and reshapes itself around the people living in it.

Designed to Adapt

Project NEXO is built around the belief that a yacht should adapt to its owners, rather than the other
way around. Its architecture prioritizes spatial flexibility, with areas that shift configuration
depending on the mood, the moment, and the people on board. A soft minimalist design language
runs throughout, rooted in natural materials and a deliberate blurring of the line between inside and
outside, so that being on board never feels separate from being at sea. It is this constant, quiet
dialogue between structure and surroundings that gives Project NEXO its restorative quality: the
sense of calm that comes not from a single feature, but from the whole yacht working in your favor.

A Beach Club Built for Immersion

At the stern, a dual-level beach club forms the social and recreational heart of the yacht, and it
sets the tone for how Project NEXO approaches relaxation: not as a scheduled activity, but as an
atmosphere. A central hot tub anchors the space, flanked by side terraces that open outward to
connect directly with the sea, dissolving the boundary between deck and water. Below, a
concealed garage keeps a tender and a full complement of water toys out of sight beneath a
clean, walkable deck, so the space stays uncluttered and calm until the moment it’s needed. A
hydraulic swim platform extends the beach club to the waterline, making the transition from
yacht to ocean as effortless as stepping outside for fresh air.

A Bow That Reinvents Itself

Forward, a liftable bow platform turns the foredeck into a genuinely multi-use space, and a
strikingly literal expression of NEXO’s philosophy that a single space can hold many different
states of mind. Raise it for sunbathing, raise the screen for an open-air cinema night under the
stars, or clear it for a dedicated fitness zone. The platform expands the yacht’s usable footprint
without ever compromising its clean exterior lines, proving that adaptability and elegance don’t
have to be a trade-off.

Living Spaces That Breathe

Midship, the main deck salon opens aft and to both sides, merging with the exterior decks to form
additional side terraces. To port, a sliding bar repositions itself to suit the moment, from formal
service to casual drinks. To starboard, the salon sofa rotates outward, joining the exterior terrace to
create a single indoor-outdoor seating arrangement. Forward, the full-beam owner’s suite occupies
the bow, its integrated en suite designed to heighten the sense of space and keep the owner visually
and emotionally connected to the water beyond. One level up, the upper deck lounge is equally
adaptable, and can be specified as an indoor-outdoor dining area, a gym, or a spa, depending on the
owner’s preference.

Natural Materials, Deliberately Chosen

Throughout the interior, stone, linen and leather have been carefully selected not just for how
they look, but for how they feel: tactile, grounding, and evocative of the natural world. Biophilic
detailing, from planting to organic textures, keeps the focus where it belongs: on the water, the
light, and the experience of simply being at sea. Nothing here competes for attention. Every
material choice is made so that owners feel more present, more at ease, and more connected to
their surroundings the moment they step aboard.

A Name That Says It All

The name captures the ambition behind the design. Project NEXO is a crossover in the truest
sense: dissolving the lines between interior and exterior, between yacht and sea, and between
the many ways a single space can be used. It is wellness understood not as a checklist of
features, but as a state of mind built into the yacht’s very architecture.

Custom Focus

Van der Valk Shipyard builds every yacht entirely to owner specification, and Project NEXO is no
exception. It is not a production model, but a point of departure: a clear statement of what
becomes possible when the shipyard’s custom expertise is brought to bear on a single, coherent
vision. Owners interested in developing the concept further are invited to contact the shipyard
directly.