Solène 40 under way through a mountain fjord

İpek Yağcı

Yacht Designer · Interior Architect

On the cover: Solène 40 ↓

Interiors and exteriors for yachts, drawn by an architect.

I trained in interior architecture in Türkiye and Portugal, and I am completing a Master's in Yacht Design at IED Torino. I work where exterior styling, deck layout and interior space meet.

Solène 40

40 m motor yacht · IED Torino, Design II · 2026

I / IV
Solène 40 at anchor off a limestone coast

Monolith. Solid architecture on fluid water.

A year-round residence at sea for a Madrid-based collector of art and classic cars, his wife and three children. Rectilinear volumes, matte finishes and warm natural materials, with quiet references to 1950s design.

A 9.11 m beam, wider than the Benetti Oasis 40M, Riva 130' Bellissima and Sunseeker 131 it was benchmarked against, buys volume for four large guest cabins and a full wellness level.

  • Beach terrace with pool
  • Owner's spa
  • Sauna and cold plunge
  • Children's play room
  • Private owner's terrace
Team
Jumana Hamu, Raya Pavlova, Doruk Şahin, İpek Yağcı
Professor
Stefano D'Adamo
My role
To be added
Full presentation ↗
LOA
40.00m
Beam
9.11m
Draft
2.30m
Guests
8in 4 cabins
Speed
12 / 16kn cruise / max

Studies & arrangement

Not to scale
Hand sketches of the Solène 40 profile
Profile studies
Solène 40 upper deck general arrangement
General arrangement · Upper deck
Aft beach terrace lit at dusk
Beach terrace at dusk
Solène 40 at night with underwater lights
Night
Main saloon in ivory and burgundy
Main saloon
Upper deck dining under the hardtop
Upper deck dining
Owner's cabin with onyx wall
Owner's cabin
Aerial view of Solène 40 under way
From above

Sei Oltre

24 m explorer yacht · IED Torino · 2026

II / IV
Sei Oltre at sunset off the Amalfi coast

A floating study for a writer. Every turn of the stair changes the view.

Written around Georges Simenon: a slow 24 m explorer for reading, writing and hosting creative friends.

Circulation borrows from M. C. Escher. A spiral stair threads three decks with three moods: Mediterranean and social on the main deck, dark and private in the master cabin, quiet and fresh below.

  • Spiral staircase
  • Rotating wine cellar
  • Glass hardtop
  • Opacmare fold-out balcony
  • Hydraulic tender launch
  • Connecting VIP cabins
Team
Ella Hakimi, Sarah Halawa, Jumana Hamu, Nishant Hazarika, Regina Vanner, İpek Yağcı
My role
To be added
LOA
24.09m
Beam
7.24m
Draft
1.20m
Guest cabins
5
Crew cabins
2
Sei Oltre final side profile
Side profile

Studies & arrangement

Not to scale
Sei Oltre main deck general arrangement
General arrangement · Main deck
Exterior styling sketches
Exterior sketches
Sei Oltre under way
Under way
Sei Oltre at dusk with deck lights
Dusk
Main deck lounge around the spiral stair
Lounge
Rotating wine cellar from above
Wine cellar
Master cabin facing the sea
Master cabin
Upper deck lounge under the hardtop at golden hour
Upper deck

Āveris

12.8 m sailing yacht · IED Torino × IED Barcelona workshop · 2026

III / IV
Āveris sailing at golden hour
Under sail
Saloon in pale oak
Saloon

Five days, sketch to presentation.

A performance cruiser developed in a joint IED Torino and IED Barcelona workshop and benchmarked against the Sly 43. A dark, faceted hull with balanced proportions outside; pale oak, soft light and a skylight cabin inside.

Team
İpek Yağcı, Marco Bonfiglio, Vincenzo Ramondino
Professors
Michele Alberia, Nicola Scopelliti
Full presentation ↗
LOA
12.80m
Beam
4.10m
Draft
2.42m
Displacement
8,000kg
Sail area
108m²

Benetti Sales Office

Academic concept for Benetti, not commissioned · Eskişehir Technical University

IV / IV
Reception with sculpted desk
Reception
VR room with starfield ceiling and helm seats
VR room

Selling a superyacht before it exists.

The brief asked for a new kind of sales office for a real brand. I chose Benetti and contacted its European sales team in Livorno, who shared reference material. Clients move through the plan in sequence and finish in a VR room, where they board their yacht before the first steel is cut.

  1. 01Entrance
  2. 02Welcome
  3. 03Management
  4. 04Meeting
  5. 05Office
  6. 06VR
Designer
İpek Yağcı · Individual project
Full presentation ↗

Industry · 2026

Shows & shipyards

Time spent where yachts are built, sold and argued over.

Background

Architecture

Five years of interior architecture and office practice in Türkiye and Portugal before yachts.

About

Interior architect by training. Yacht designer by choice.

I graduated in Interior Architecture from Eskişehir Technical University and moved to Italy for the Master's in Yacht Design at Istituto Europeo di Design, Torino. Seven internships in Türkiye and Portugal taught me to carry a project from concept to construction drawings.

On a yacht I care most about how the exterior line, the deck plan and the interior read as one design.

Education

  • Master in Yacht Design · IED Torino
  • BSc Interior Architecture · Eskişehir Technical University, 2025
  • Yacht Design, Basic & Advanced · Yale University (online)

Practice

  • ATA Atelier · Évora
  • PROMET Spa & Design, Tiny Resort · Porto
  • EG Mimarlık · Istanbul
  • Arfa Mimarlık, NOARQ, Peker Atölye · Eskişehir

Yacht design tools

  • Rhinoceros
  • 3ds Max
  • V-Ray
  • AutoCAD
  • Photoshop

Architecture tools

  • ArchiCAD
  • Revit
  • SketchUp
  • Lumion
  • Enscape

Contact

For studio and shipyard enquiries.

Emailyagcipek0303@gmail.com LinkedIn ↗in/yagcipek0303 Instagram ↗@ipekways