The yacht club is the symbolic centrepiece of Monaco’s remodelled harbour front. Celebrating the principality’s spectacular coastline and its nautical heritage, its series of deck-like terraces that step up along the harbour to offer unrivalled views out to races at sea, or inland over the course of the renowned Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit. The building is located on an area of reclaimed land, which extends the city’s existing marina eastwards and can accommodate a range of craft, from sailing boats to 100-metre super yachts.

The club is entered via a glazed atrium that frames views out over the harbour to the palace. On the first floor are a clubroom, bar and restaurant. Above is a double-height function space, and above that an apartment for the club secretary and a series of ‘cabins’ for visiting guests. The uppermost floors accommodate a range of event spaces. The observation decks are shaded by retractable fabric screens supported by a mast and booms. The harbour elevations are fully glazed and shaded by louvres, and can be opened up to provide uninterrupted views. Photovoltaic cells, solar thermal panels and sea-water cooling systems have all been integrated to ensure the building sets new sustainability standards.

Designed in response to the local climate, the new clubhouse sets high standards for sustainable design – the building is powered by renewable energy and incorporates photovoltaic cells, solar thermal panels and sea water cooling systems to take advantage of the sun and waterfront site. The architecture is a celebration of sailing – its large, deck-like terraces step up along the harbour to offer unrivalled views out to races at sea, as well as views inland over the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit.

Lord Foster: “The building is a little like a city in microcosm, with schools, parks, offices, restaurants, a network of interior circulation ‘streets’ and a hierarchy of public and private, social and functional spaces. It is a continuation of Monaco’s dense urban fabric, as well as the Yacht Club’s traditions and will be an important part of civic life. Every child in Monaco learns sailing at some stage during their education and those lessons will be in the new building – as a result, the Yacht Club will become even more rooted, in a public sense, in the Principality and part of its cultural and urban fabric.” Nigel Dancey, Senior Partner at Foster + Partners: “With all of our projects, our approach to sustainability is to maximise the natural advantages of the local climate, while mitigating its extremes. We have also used locally sourced or recycled materials. Our starting point for the Yacht Club was extensive analysis of the climate and the way that the different spaces are used. Photovoltaic cells and solar thermal panels convert Monaco’s sunshine to energy, while the sea water is used for cooling and the facades can open completely to allow natural ventilation. To provide shade in the summer, there are sail-like canopies – a reference to the nautical traditions that Monaco is famous for.”