Creating a functional, attractive living space is hard enough on terra firma. So when a former client approached Mojo Stumer Associates Architects to provide the interiors of a new, 165-foot yacht, the firm, which frequently does high-end residential work, knew it would face a unique challenge. Add to that the client’s desire for an open, Modernist aesthetic in their four-bedroom, four-bathroom retreat on the high seas, and you have a veritable architectural koan.

According to the architects, weight and size restrictions, and a need for things to be safely secured, presented major challenges in the project’s planning stage. “Everything had to have a home, so to speak, where it could be safely stored while the boat was moving from port to port,” says firm cofounder Mark Stumer.