Pedrali dresses Kenshō – the prestigious nautical design project by Jouin Manku studio.
“Can yachts be designed differently?” the answer to this question is encapsulated in a single word: Kenshō. A vessel of majestic dimensions that came to life thanks to a revolutionary design that transcended the common industry standards of reference and whose interiors were actively designed by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku – founders of the Jouin Manku studio – who challenged themselves to create a truly unique and stunning layout.
Awarded Best Interior Design, Motor Yachts 500GT and Above in 2023, the realization of the luxury super yacht was secured thanks to a group of industry professionals enlisted to help the client design the yacht of his dreams.
The design team consisted of Azure Yacht Design and Archineers.berlin, accompanied for technical aspects by Technical Marine UK and Trappmann Consulting. Finally, Admiral Shipyard, part of The Italian Sea Group, was appointed to make these ideas a reality.
Kenshō-which according to the Japanese Zen tradition means to see one’s true nature-embodies a philosophy that rethinks the status quo of residential and naval architecture, writing a new way of experiencing the sea that blends aesthetics and technical feasibility.
With the aim of pursuing this desire, the Jouin Manku studio totally moved away from the idea of wanting to transfer typical “land” design elements to the water, to embrace at 360° all the opportunities and facets offered by the naval world, such as brightness and wide sea views, characters possible thanks to the important windows that define the various areas of the vessel.
Three years of work, 75 square meters of surface area, a pool of more than 22 meters at sea level, 7-meter deep guest cabins, spacious 13-meter master, 2.7-meter high ceilings. These are just some of the numbers that made the Admiral fleet component a project with a revolutionary architectural configuration.
In Kenshō, high and generous ceilings, panoramic views, intelligent and modular configurations are adapted to enhance space, intimacy and comfort. Noble materials are artfully transformed into rounded, organic forms, including teak, marble, onyx, silk, wool, bronze, and glass-a diverse palette deployed in a deeply personal and poetic expression of design. Spaces are designed to flow naturally into one another, like brushstrokes in a painting.
In this refined context finds its natural place Ester by Patrick Jouin, in the chair and armchair version, which materializes, starting in 2013, the beginning of a partnership resulting from the union between the designer’s creative expression and Pedrali‘s know-how. In addition to working on interior projects with the Jouin Manku studio, the designer is also involved in industrial design with the Patrick Jouin ID studio founded in 1998.
The evolution of his path was celebrated in 2009 by a monographic exhibition at the Centre Pompidou and in 2011 with the awarding of the ADI Compasso d’Oro. It was on this occasion that the foundations of the collaboration with the 100% Made in Italy company were laid, as the designer himself recalls, “During the ADI Compasso d’Oro celebrations in Rome, I had met Monica and Giuseppe Pedrali.
A short time later, we met to start thinking about the creation of an upholstered, elegant and super comfortable seat for Alain Ducasse’s Dorchester restaurant in London. That was how Ester was born.” The name of the collection takes inspiration from the very place for which it was created.
From the first small armchair, a full-fledged collection was then born, representing the perfect synthesis of elegance, ergonomics and functionality. The sinuous, soft forms and absolute comfort of Ester’s seat, characterized by its upholstered polyurethane foam shell with elastic straps and die-cast aluminum legs, contribute to characterizing the interior spaces of some of the most representative restaurants and hotels on the international scene.
Photo Credits: Eric Laignel