Custom yachts bear the DNA of their owners, activated by designers, engineers, naval architects and builders. Some owners take a lighter touch, leaving the project more in the hands of the talent they hire to interpret their visions. Others assume greater degrees of involvement. The owner of the 246-foot (75-meter) Admiral Kenshō drove the shape of his custom project from the outset, in great detail, challenging the team to break with convention on many levels, inside and out. The result is a striking example of what a custom yacht can and should be.

“Basically, the client … while he liked boats, was always a bit disappointed with what he found,” says Sanjit Manku, co-founder of the Paris design and architecture firm Jouin Manku. “He thought that while it was a beautiful industry, it could use a bit of a push, and there are different things that we could do on boats that haven’t been done before. So he really kind of pushed to re-look at the layouts, the interior architecture and how things can work.”

Kenshō began her journey from conception to the sea with extensive research by her owner and his broker. They scoured yacht shows and visited new and brokerage boats, with the owner examining what he thought worked and what didn’t. A team was assembled that included the Netherlands-based naval architecture and engineering firm Azure, which, along with the German architecture firm archineers.berlin, was responsible for the exteriors, the general arrangement and exterior furniture; Jouin Manku for the interiors; and builders The Italian Sea Group. Neither Jouin Manku nor archineers.berlin had done a boat before.

During the owner’s early research with his broker, one of the first things he noticed was the height of the overheads he saw on the boats he inspected.

“This gentleman wanted to develop something new, and the design development process would require more than the industry standard,” says Azure’s director, Onne Logger. “The design needed to be groundbreaking, fresh and feasible.”

The owner’s ultimate goal, Logger says, was to have 8-foot, 10-inch (2.7-meter) ceilings and sailing-yacht views, “a luxurious feeling of height and optimized views in all guest accommodations.”

Azure began by creating a one-tier engine room spread out over the bottom deck, to gain accommodations space on the lower deck and to create the guest connection directly to the swim platform and pool. By introducing a diesel-electric propulsion system with pods, the shipyard was able to keep all technical installations in the bottom of the yacht, and mitigate noise, another concern of the owner.

The owner also questioned the traditional location of salons on the main deck aft. “He wanted to look forward while underway, allowing beautiful views ahead during his journeys,” Logger says. “By breaking with all the traditional locations for the wheelhouse, we found ways to merge the wheelhouse in between decks without obstructing the views of the newly introduced living area facing forward.”

Aboard Kenshō, the main salon is on the upper deck, which, along with the sundeck, offers elevated, sweeping views.

“We were having daily contact, showing him the design ideas and progress on the design work,” Logger says. “In an intense and great collaboration, we studied all kinds of shapes and functions. No compromises were allowed. Form and function needed to be in perfect balance.”

Challenging norms also extended to other spaces on the boat, including the traditional gangways along either side of the main deck that crew typically use. Installing just one crew corridor parallel to the guest corridor on the lower deck opened up more luxury interior space.

Azure suggested the inverted bow to give the yacht a modern look, Logger says: “We wanted Kenshō to merge into her oceanic surroundings and [cut] smoothly through the water whilst sailing. It was a process of several design iterations, and we also used CFD calculations by the shipyard which led to her final shape.”

Archineers.berlin and its founder and principal, Holger Schulze- Seeger, who had worked on some of the owner’s land-based projects, collaborated with Azure on many aspects of Kenshō’s exterior.

“Holger helped us by pushing the design to the extreme to break with the traditional solutions and to set that extra step to come to new design insights for the project,” Logger says. “He helped to brainstorm on the overall shape. It was a dynamic play of throwing ideas back and forth to come to great design solutions. The exterior stairs are really his creation. He was the one to create something so out of the ordinary, but still functional. We had to model the stairs more than 20 times, but in the end, we must admit they are very special.”

Schulze-Seeger also was responsible for Kenshō’s arresting, custom metallic-green exterior color. The inspiration for it came from a 1968 Mustang that Schulze-Seeger spotted on a motorway.

Manku’s interior design house dealt with some of the more abstract issues in translating the owner’s vision with the interior décor and fit-out.

“He wanted things to be open, to breathe,” Manku says, “and he named the boat before we ever got to the interiors. Kenshō means you have seen the essence of one’s own nature and seen the essence of nature. Given that, he came to us in Paris. After giving it a couple of shots, he’d never quite found the right feeling for his interiors. After speaking to him, we found a gentleman who was really ambitious, and he was searching for something.

“I think he was searching for a balance,” Manku continues. “A boat has to exude a certain amount of, let’s say, power. They’re not meant to be demure. But at the same time, I think he was trying to figure out, how does he mix that with the idea of really personal comfort? How do I find a cocoon and grace in the same place? How do I find softness and strength in the same place?”

The Jouin Manku team set out to create a sensuous, almost edibly rich décor comprising woods, stone, paper, silk and leather, meant to evoke Asia and the West. The firm started with a series of delicate watercolor sketches, then worked up a detailed interior that gently recalls the culture and the look of the sea, blending the Asian and European approaches to living space. The key to their success, they say, lay not just in impeccable luxury styling, but also in teasing out the owner’s true wishes.

“A volume or space can evoke a complex feeling, and that is the heart of our work,” Manku says. “We are able to translate a feeling using materials, proportions, light and texture, using interior design to deliver a state of mind or an emotion. The owner of Kenshō understood this. By listening closely to him, we identified that serenity and comfort were his two priorities. Introverted relaxation punctuated with parties—the primal joys of life.”

For all of this yacht’s understated colors and sumptuous textures, and its many unconventional spaces, the standout space may be the bathroom in the owner’s suite. Positioned in the center of a space big enough for at least a dozen people, the tub is a sublime, yet commanding presence. It’s carved from a block of delicately veined white Carrara marble, from whence the sinks were also taken. The tub is a cocoon, one you’d be tempted to spend an evening in rather than just bathe.

I first laid eyes on the tub during the interior fit-out at The Italian Sea Group shipyard in Carrara, Italy, at the foot of the mountains where the stone was sourced. Even then, the piece and the space it occupies were arresting. Seeing it in full bloom several months later again stopped me in my tracks.

Kenshō’s interior spaces are designed to flow naturally into one another, with consistent use of soft-colored woods, delicate leather paneling and textured silks.

“What I love the most is the continuity of the experience generated by our use of a limited palette,” Manku says. “When you try to make each room more powerful than the previous one, it just produces a cacophony. We decided to play with just three chords, but by varying the pace, we have created a symphony.

“Our clients choose us because of our design philosophy,” Manku adds. “Of course, every design must be technically perfect, but our strength lies in using ordinary materials to create incredible objects that evoke the specific energy and atmosphere sought by the client. That is why we designed and custom-built everything on Kenshō, from the tables to the lamps.”

Eric LaignelThe list of artisans and materials suppliers contributing to the project is extensive. For its part, The Italian Sea Group and its teams executed an extremely complicated project with aplomb.

“As an innovative luxury shipyard, we knew that the owner had ambitious plans and would present us with a variety of design challenges, from the propulsion systems to the interiors and exteriors,” says Giovanni Costantino, founder and CEO of The Italian Sea Group. “Because of our constant drive for innovation, know-how, masterfully skilled teams, and passion for art and beauty, we were able to say yes to the owner and reach this significant milestone for both our company and the nautical industry as a whole. It has been a wonderful experience for all of us, but more importantly, it is proof that her owner’s vision has come true.”

Logger says the marriage of form and function is one of the more appealing features of the yacht and her design.

“I personally love the fact that the owner’s vision of optimizing form and functionality has been pushed to a new standard,” he says. “The idea that the complete design was developed without any compromises is amazing.

“The owner and archineers.berlin never stopped asking for alternative solutions, which pushed Kenshō’s design where his vision always strived for the best,” he adds. “All decks have their own functionality in how Kenshō is intended to be used. From the top to the bottom, Kenshō is designed within a single design philosophy which makes her a unique creature.”

Whether Kenshō changes the way yachts are configured doesn’t matter. Schulze-Seeger says the owner and his family are enjoying cruising on their yacht, which is all that really matters. 

For more information: azure-na.com, archineers.berlin, jouinmanku.com, theitalianseagroup.com

This article was originally published in the Summer 2023 issue.