According to Japanese Zen tradition, Kenshō means to see one’s true nature. It is very significant that this name has been given to the majestically sized vessel that has come to life thanks to the revolutionary interior design by Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku. The founders of the Jouin Manku studio decided to abandon the idea of wanting to transfer elements typical of “terrestrial” design onto the water, in order to investigate with their project the true nature of the naval world with all its facets and opportunities, such as brightness and broad sea views. Common industry standards have been transcended to achieve a point of view that combines aesthetics and technical feasibility.
The realisation of Kenshō, awarded in 2023 as Best Interior Design, Motor Yachts 500GT and Above, took three years of work and the participation of a large working group of industry professionals: the design team consisted of Azure Yacht Design and Archineers.berlin, accompanied for the technical aspects by Technical Marine UK and Trappmann Consulting. The Admiral shipyard (part of The Italian Sea Group) was appointed to realise these ideas.
This 75-square-metre luxury super yacht features a pool of over 22 metres at sea level, 7-metre deep guest cabins, a spacious 13-metre master, and 2.7-metre high ceilings. Noble materials are artfully transformed into rounded, organic shapes, 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 the brushstrokes of a painting. With the same naturalness with which these precious materials intersect, Pedrali’s Ester chair and armchair is placed within the project. The line perfectly matches Kenshō’s philosophy thanks to the elegance and sinuosity of its lines, as well as the absolute comfort of the seat, which features an upholstered polyurethane foam shell with elastic straps and die-cast aluminium legs.
Ester is the result of the union between Patrick Jouin’s creative expression and Pedrali’s know-how, which met in 2011 during the ceremony that awarded the Compasso d’Oro ADI to the French designer himself, who recalls of that meeting: “During the Compasso d’Oro ADI celebrations in Rome, I had met Monica and Giuseppe Pedrali. A short time later, we met to start thinking about creating 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 was inspired by the very place for which it was created at the time. This project then led to the creation of a full-fledged collection, synonymous with elegance, ergonomics and functionality, which today includes chairs, armchairs and stools.
Ph. credit: Eric Laignel
