Conceived through the joint expertise of French naval architecture firm VPLP Design and Milanese studio Micheletti+Partners, Tyrena is a 76-metre long, 22-metre wide sailing mega-catamaran designed as a highly efficient and environmentally respectful alternative to traditional motor superyachts. Unveiled at the Monaco Yacht Show, the project marries VPLP’s high-performance naval architecture and advanced wind propulsion technology with Micheletti+Partners’ architectural vision and refined aesthetic language. Tyrena aims to disrupt the superyacht industry’s ongoing race toward gigantism – which adds meters of overall length without enhancing genuine living space – by offering a lighter, smarter, and far more efficient multihull platform where true luxury is defined by silence, self-sufficiency, and an intimate connection with the ocean.
This partnership draws upon the rich heritage of two internationally acclaimed design studios. VPLP Design, founded in 1983 in Southampton by Vincent Lauriot-Prévost and Marc Van Peteghem – and today led by a team of six long-standing collaborators including Quentin Lucet – contributes four decades of maritime innovation ranging from offshore racing (IMOCA, Ultim, the 2010 America’s Cup victory with USA 17’s rigid wing, and the Formula 40 “flying hull” concept) to production cruising with the world-renowned Lagoon range. This racing expertise birthed OceanWings, automated rigid wing-sails proven on the 121-metre cargo vessel Canopée. On the Italian side, Micheletti+Partners, founded in Milan in 1987 by Lucio Micheletti, brings a multidisciplinary approach rooted in civil architecture and automotive design. The studio’s philosophy centers on the “fluid boat” and “free compass”, where floating space, devoid of a static genius loci, is organized around human perception, light, and visual continuity enabled by iconic features such as the “tuga leggera” (light deckhouse) and meticulous acoustic dampening.
A co-design process
The creative process for Tyrena was a true four-handed co-design conducted around the same working table in Paris and Milan. Rejecting the traditional sequential workflow where naval architecture precedes styling, both teams simultaneously addressed hull geometry, general arrangement, structural layout, and exterior styling. Spanning 76 metres in length with a 22-metre beam, Tyrena is set to become the largest sailing catamaran ever built, surpassing Hemisphere (44 metres). Its multihull platform delivers interior living areas and deck spaces equivalent to those of a 130-metre monohull motor yacht, while offering significantly superior hydrodynamic efficiency due to slender hulls that dramatically reduce drag.
Performance and energy efficiency form the engineering core of Tyrena. Powered by twin OceanWings rigid wing-sails, the catamaran achieves a cruising speed of 12 knots under sail alone in breezes exceeding 17 knots, enabling zero-emission transatlantic ocean crossings. Under hybrid propulsion, reducing cruising speed from 15 to 12 knots nearly quadruples range – from 6,400 to 23,400 nautical miles – while reducing fuel consumption by up to 40%. Exceeding the circumference of the entire globe, this range turns Tyrena into a super-catamaran virtually capable of circumnavigating the Earth on a single fuel tank. Constructing the hull and superstructure in aluminium was essential to minimize displacement and maximize hydrodynamic performance, avoiding the heavy weight penalty of steel construction.
Architecture and life on board
Architecturally, Tyrena reinterprets Mediterranean living to structure life on board around protected sanctuaries and sweeping open sea views. The platform’s extraordinary beam allowed the designers to draw upon classic Mediterranean architectural typologies: the Roman atrium, Greek peristyle, and Italian masseria define shaded internal courtyards sheltered from wind, while the loggia and belvedere open continuous visual perspectives toward the horizon. The interior focal point is the Vertical Garden, a glass-enclosed cylinder housing a “secret garden” that spans multiple decks, blending natural light, lush vegetation, and water reflections that shift in mood between day and night through directed lighting.
Exterior deck design is packed with innovative technological features. The upper surfaces integrate printable solar panels, while the coachroof features skylights and adjustable flaps modeled on fish gills that channel airflow for passive natural ventilation. Large hull windows incorporate a graphic design capturing a freeze frame of a wave in motion, brought to life by the ocean’s movement. Aft, derived from the Aperio concept, a moveable platform lowers to water level to bridge both hulls at anchor, creating a seaside villa layout for seamless movement. Forward, a private acoustic amphitheatre overlooks the ocean for live music, flanked by an infinity pool with an underwater viewing tunnel looking directly into the sea and a shell-sculpted monolithic seat. Tyrena thus proves how technology, lightness and beauty can come together to create a new category of yacht owner: perhaps someone coming from the world of large motor yachts, looking for space, comfort, privacy, autonomy and generous outdoor areas. An owner who may not necessarily identify with traditional sailing, but is drawn to a different way of experiencing life at sea.
Giacomo Barbaro
