Feadship’s HIVE Concept Has an Underwater Lounge—and a New Idea of Life on a Superyacht

Feadship’s latest yacht concept asks an unusually domestic question: where does everyone naturally gather? At 115 metres, HIVE has plenty of room to accommodate the answer, but its interest lies in how that space would be used.

Unveiled during the Monaco Yacht Show on 24 September 2026, HIVE is the Dutch builder’s largest concept design to date. Studio De Voogt, led on the project by senior designer Jan Schaffers, began with an imagined family of four and built the proposal around their lives.

The result includes an underwater lounge, a garden library and a spectacular pool. Yet the central idea is more relatable than any of those facilities: giving people somewhere to come together without requiring them to spend the entire day doing the same thing.

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A shared space across four decks

At HIVE’s centre is an open volume spanning four decks, with a main-deck space that could serve as a saloon, stage or auditorium. Terraces open on either side, while curved staircases connect the levels above.

It is a compelling response to the challenge of entertaining at this scale. A large room can be impressive and still feel strangely underused. Give it several purposes and it has a reason to change through the day.

We can see the appeal of a family gathering that turns into a performance or a talk, rather than everyone disappearing into separate lounges. Equally important are the smaller places around the main space: a successful social room needs somewhere to step away from it.

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A library with a garden, and a view beneath the water

The proposal includes a circular glazed library opening onto a secluded garden, a two-storey beach lounge with waterside dining for at least 24, and a 20-metre pool on the owner’s deck that extends indoors.

The quieter invitation is the library. Among all the options a yacht of this size can provide, somewhere to sit with a book remains one of the most appealing. A garden gives that room a different atmosphere from the surrounding sea.

HIVE also proposes an underwater lounge and an observation lounge with a retractable glass roof. Together, they suggest two very different ways to spend an unhurried evening: looking below the surface or up into the night.

Those spaces would make the setting part of the entertainment. The question becomes less what to add to the itinerary and more how to enjoy where the yacht already is.

How close is HIVE to becoming a real yacht?

Feadship presents HIVE as a concept, developed with its naval architects and engineers. It is not an announced delivery or a vessel available to charter.

The builder specifies a proposed electrical system combining HVO-capable generators, fuel cells and a 5 MWh battery bank. These are design specifications, rather than independently demonstrated performance results for a completed yacht.

That distinction leaves room to appreciate the ambition without confusing a proposal with a finished product. The value of a concept is partly in the questions it makes a future owner ask.

The luxury of choosing your own pace

HIVE is especially interesting as a study in how to share a holiday. Some guests want activity and company; others want somewhere quiet until dinner. A generous boat is only useful if its arrangement allows those preferences to coexist.

There is an appealing generosity in designing for both. The underwater lounge will attract attention, but the more lasting idea may be the freedom to gather, separate and return without anyone having to organise the whole day.

For all its extraordinary dimensions, that is a recognisable ambition for a home at sea.