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BAZ Yacht Design, designing yachts around life on board

From architecture to naval engineering, BAZ Yacht Design creates yachts where aesthetics, function and connection with the sea evolve from the same design process

BAZ Yacht Design brings architecture, interior design and naval engineering together in projects shaped around real life at sea. MOBU 33 captures this philosophy

BAZ Yacht Design was created from the meeting of two disciplines that constantly interact in yachting but do not always begin from the same perspective: architecture and naval engineering. Founded in 2014 by Bilge Zaptçıoğlu Atal and Barbaros Atal, the studio works across exterior and interior design, naval architecture and refit projects, ranging from compact day cruisers and long-range explorers to large-volume motorsailers and superyachts.

What makes this combination interesting is not simply the range of expertise involved, but the way those disciplines are brought together. The studio’s approach seeks to balance aesthetics, functionality and build feasibility from the earliest stages of a project, connecting architectural sensitivity with solid naval and engineering knowledge.

Two different backgrounds, one vision of the yacht

Bilge Zaptçıoğlu Atal comes from architecture. She graduated from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and also studied at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona. Barbaros Atal trained as a naval architect at Istanbul Technical University. Together they founded BAZ Yacht Design in 2014.

This complementary background helps explain the studio’s design language. A yacht is neither approached purely as an object to be styled nor exclusively as a marine machine to be optimised. Form, structure, use and the relationship with the marine environment are considered as parts of the same project.

It is an increasingly relevant approach at a time when many owners are asking for less rigid layouts, spaces that can evolve throughout the day and a stronger connection between interior and exterior living.

From exterior design to refit

The BAZ Yacht Design portfolio reflects a broad range of work. The studio provides exterior design, interior design, naval architecture and refit services for both new-build and existing yachts.

Its projects include larger concepts, motor yachts, motorsailers, tenders and interior transformations. This variety suggests an approach based less on applying the same visual signature to every yacht and more on finding different solutions according to the type of vessel and the way it will ultimately be used.

One example is the REN 62, whose interior was designed by BAZ Yacht Design and which received international recognition, including the 2025 International Yacht & Aviation Award for Interior Design Under 40 Metres.

MOBU 33, social space becomes architecture

The MOBU 33 concept takes this philosophy in a particularly interesting direction. Instead of beginning with a single spectacular feature, it starts by reconsidering how people meet, move and spend time together on board.

The 33-metre motor yacht is conceived as a performance yacht, yet speed is not the central idea. BAZ Yacht Design places social living at the heart of the project, making interaction between guests one of the elements that shapes the architecture itself.

A 3.8-metre-high atrium changes the perception of the yacht

MOBU is organised around a 3.8-metre-high atrium extending from the aft cockpit into the main salon.

The solution creates a single architectural volume connecting outdoor and indoor spaces. Rather than simply opening a door or glazing towards the sea, it reduces the visual and functional separation between two areas that are often treated as distinct on more conventional yachts.

From this central space, half-level transitions lead towards the upper main deck and the accommodation below. The intention is to make circulation feel more natural while keeping the different areas connected and easy to understand.

The sea becomes part of the layout

Outdoor living plays an important role in MOBU. Wide opening terraces, generous deck areas and an open-plan layout allow the yacht to accommodate both relaxed days on board and larger social occasions.

What is particularly interesting is that these features do not appear to have been added after the basic architecture was resolved. They are part of the central organising principle of the yacht.

The relationship with the sea therefore extends beyond glazing or an aft platform. It influences circulation, the perception of volume and the way guests move through the yacht.

A performance yacht without sacrificing social living

In contemporary yachting, performance is often associated primarily with aggressive lines and speed. MOBU broadens that interpretation.

The project retains a clean and balanced exterior identity while giving priority to social living and continuity between different spaces. BAZ Yacht Design describes the concept through three defining qualities: social living, seamless spatial flow and a strong architectural identity.

That balance is what makes MOBU particularly interesting. Performance does not have to compete with comfort or hospitality, but becomes part of a yacht where the quality of the experience is also defined by how naturally people can spend time together.

Designing for the people who will live on board

Looking at MOBU alongside the studio’s broader portfolio reveals a clear principle: begin with life on board, then use architecture and engineering to give it a coherent form.

It reflects a wider transformation in contemporary yachting. Owners increasingly seek open spaces, stronger contact with the sea, less formal environments and greater freedom in the way a yacht can be used.

For BAZ Yacht Design, this does not mean giving up visual identity. It means allowing that identity to emerge from the way the yacht is crossed, used and experienced.

MOBU 33 therefore becomes more than a concept to admire from the outside. It is a tangible example of how a yacht can be designed around the relationship between people, space and the sea, allowing that relationship to define its architecture.

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BAZ Yacht Design

08 September 2026
© Y-MAG Editorial Team
BAZ Yacht Design, designing yachts around life on board
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