Jon Bannenberg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1929 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 26 May 2002 (aged 72–73) London, England |
| Nationality | Australian British |
| Alma mater | Canterbury High School Sydney Conservatorium of Music |
| Occupation | Yacht designer |
| Awards | Royal Designer for Industry (1978) |
Jon Bannenberg, RDI (1929 – 26 May 2002) was an Australian-English yacht designer. [1] [2]
Bannenberg was born in Sydney, Australia, and educated at Canterbury Boys High School and later at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. In the early 1950s, he moved to London, by way of New Zealand and the Pitcairn Islands, during which time he worked briefly for Ngaio Marsh's theatre company. From initially earning a living by playing the piano in bars and clubs (he was briefly Noël Coward's rehearsal pianist), he developed an interest in design, establishing the fledgling Marble & Lemon decorative arts business in Cheval Place, Knightsbridge. This led to a partnership with the long-established New Bond Street dealer—Partridge Fine Arts—which began in 1957 and lasted well into the next decade. Bannenberg created the setting for the 3rd International Art Treasures exhibitions at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1962—the design of which was described by The Times on 2 March 1962 as "well adapted to facilitate appreciation by the planning of its series of compartments". [3]
His profile continued to rise and, in 1965, he was selected by Cunard as one of the interior designers for their new liner—known initially as Q4, but later to be the Queen Elizabeth 2 —under construction at the John Brown Shipyard in Glasgow. Bannenberg was allocated to design the Double Room, the Card Room, and some of the First Class suites. His first yacht commission was the sailing yacht Tiawana, built by the Camper & Nicholsons in Southampton and delivered in 1968. Shortly thereafter, he was commissioned to design a large motor yacht, Carinthia V, by German retail magnate Helmut Horten. She was shortly followed by the almost identical Carinthia VI, described as an icon of 20th century yacht design. In a career, which was to extend a further thirty years, Bannenberg designed almost two hundred yacht projects, as well as working on residential projects, aircraft interiors, car interiors, furniture design and hotels. [4]
His clients included Larry Ellison, Malcolm Forbes, Alan Bond, Bennett S. LeBow, Adnan Khashoggi, and Robert Maxwell.
Bannenberg would design both the exterior and interior of all his yacht projects. Once referred to as a 'stylist' by Yachting Magazine, he was quick to write to the editor in trenchant terms: "Either one is a designer or not. The word 'stylist' to me conjures up some kind of flimsy tweaking of a structure, whereas quite the opposite is true, at least in our own case. Could you do me a great personal favour, either when compiling a new directory or when mentioning my name (should you ever do so after receiving this letter) and refer to me as what I am: a designer—perhaps a nitpicking, irritating one, but nevertheless not a stylist. That is a title I gratefully concede to Vidal Sassoon." He likened himself to the conductor of an orchestra: someone who could not play all the instruments, but knew exactly the sound they should all be producing.
Bannenberg worked with shipyards in the Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and England. He rekindled the connection with the country of his birth with a collaboration with the Oceanfast yard in Perth, Australia. On two separate occasions he produced designs for a successor to HMY Britannia.
He was appointed a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) in 1978, the first yacht designer to be so honoured since Charles E. Nicholson in 1934.
Bannenberg died of an inoperable Brain tumour at his home in London on 26 May 2002.
Bannenberg & Rowell Design continues to design yachts, under the direction of Jon's son Dickie Bannenberg and Creative Director Simon Rowell.
Jon's son Cam Bannenberg is a sustainable investor, primarily in the food and travel sectors, through investment company Bannenberg Invests.
Australia II is an Australian 12-metre-class America's Cup challenge racing yacht that was launched in 1982 and won the 1983 America's Cup for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Skippered by John Bertrand, she was the first successful Cup challenger, ending a 132-year tenure by the New York Yacht Club.
William Fife Jr., also known as William Fife III, was the third generation of a family of Scottish yacht designers and builders. In his time, William Fife designed around 600 yachts, including two contenders for the America's Cup. The Royal Yachting Association was formed in 1875 to standardise rules, and Fife and his rival G.L. Watson, were instrumental in these rule changes. Around one third of Fife's yachts still exist. His last designs were built in 1938.
Rising Sun is a motor yacht designed by Jon Bannenberg, and built in 2004 by Germany's Lürssen at their Bremen shipyard for Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, and last refitted in 2007. Rising Sun has been owned since 2010 by David Geffen, who had bought a half share of the yacht initially in late 2006.
Ronald John Holland is a yacht designer, who came to prominence in the 1970s with his successful racing designs, and is now best known for his superyachts such as Mirabella V and Ethereal. He is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Limitless is one of the world's largest private superyachts. She was built in 1997 by German shipmaker Lürssen, with exterior design by the noted Jon Bannenberg and collaborator Jonathan Quinn Barnett, and interior design by François Catroux. The overall length is 96.25 m, the width 12.50 m (41 ft.). She is powered by two engines of 5,420 kW each, reaching a speed of 25 knots, and was the first yacht to feature a combination of diesel and diesel-electric propulsion. Limitless is owned by Les Wexner, an American businessman who is currently chairman and former CEO of the L Brands corporation.
Madiz is a 57 metre twin screw steel yacht built on the River Clyde in Scotland, in 1902. In 2006, she broke a record in the shipping industry by being the only ship in the world to be in class "+100A1" with Lloyd's Register of Shipping, 100 years after the date of its building.
The Eos is a three-masted Bermuda rigged schooner. The ship is one of the largest private sailing yachts in the world, and as of 2009 was owned by movie and media billionaire Barry Diller, husband of fashion designer Diane von Fürstenberg. According to a 2007 article in Harper's Bazaar, Eos features a figurehead of von Fürstenberg sculpted by Anh Duong. Its overall length measures approximately 305 feet (92.92m).
Andrew Winch is an internationally known English yacht designer based in Barnes, London. He has been selected as one of two design teams for business jet interior development of the Boeing 787.
MY Leander G is a luxury yacht built by Peene-Werft at Wolgast in 1992. It is one of the world's largest yachts.
Endeavour is a J-class yacht built for the 1934 America's Cup by Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England. She was built for Thomas Sopwith who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day with a steel hull and mast. She was 130-foot (40 m) and launched in 1934 and won many races in her first season including against the J's Velsheda and Shamrock V. She failed in her America's Cup challenge against the American defender Rainbow but came closer to lifting the cup than any other until Australia II succeeded in 1983.
Motor Yacht A is a superyacht designed by Philippe Starck and engineered by naval architect Martin Francis. It was built by the Blohm + Voss shipyard at the HDW deepwater facility in Kiel. It was ordered in November 2004, and delivered in 2008 at a rumoured cost of US$300 million. With a length of 119 metres (390 ft) and measuring almost 6,000 tonnes, it is one of the largest motor yachts in the world. It is owned by Russian entrepreneur and industrialist Andrey Melnichenko.
Jonathan Quinn Barnett is a super yacht designer from Seattle, Washington. He apprenticed with Ron Holland and Jon Bannenberg for nearly seven years beginning in 1987, and founded Jonathan Quinn Barnett Ltd. in 1995.
Kismet is a 95.2-metre -long superyacht which was built by the Lürssen shipyard in 2014. It is managed by the Moran Yacht & Ship chartering business, and is owned by Pakistani-American billionaire Shahid Khan. The word kismet means "destiny" or "fate" in Khan’s native language Urdu and many other languages. Khan put the yacht for sale.
Heesen Yachts is a Dutch ship building company that specialises in custom built superyachts. Founded in 1978, it has launched more than 170 yachts since its inception, many of which have gone on to win awards. It is considered one of the world leaders in the design, construction and engineering of all-aluminum yachts.
Gregory C. Marshall Naval Architect Ltd. (GCMNA) of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, is a designer of international luxury yachts. The company was established in 1994 by Gregory C. Marshall and with partner Gordon Galbraith, who joined the company in 1998, currently employs a design team of 18 employees.
Hodgdon Yachts is a builder of yachts and specialized military vessels, based in East Boothbay, Maine. It is a family-run business that was founded in 1816—reputedly the oldest continuously operating family boatbuilder in the United States. Hodgdon Yachts is noted for building superyachts, both sail and power, using advanced composite materials and construction techniques. It's also noted for its ability to incorporate those advanced materials into traditional designs that employ modern electronic and mechanical marine systems. The company has several divisions—yachts, custom tenders, yacht interiors, yacht services and military composites with offices in Boothbay, Maine, Newport, Rhode Island and Monaco.
Illusion is a superyacht built in 2013 at the Dutch Heesen Yachts shipyard. The interior design of Illusion was done by Bannenberg & Rowell Design and the exterior work was done by Omega Architects. It was launched as the Galactica Star with an original sale price of €65 million.
The Benetti Fisker 50 is a 50-meter (164-foot) superyacht concept designed by Henrik Fisker in California, to be built by Italian boat building company Benetti in Livorno. Fisker and Benetti announced a partnership in 2015 to design and build a series of superyachts and revealed the design at the 2016 Singapore Yacht Show.
Edward George Dubois was a British yacht designer. He was the founder of Dubois Naval Architects and has been described as one of the foremost designers of sailing yachts.
Dennison J. Lawlor, was a 19th-century Canadian-Irish shipbuilder and yacht designer. He apprenticed under shipbuilder Whitmore & Holbrook. Lawlor had his own shipyard, building and designing for 40 years some of the finest yachts, pilot boats, and 150 merchant vessels built from his designs. The most notable were the Hesper, Florence, and D. J. Lawlor. Lawlor died in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1892.
Jon Bannenberg: A Life of Design (Julian Calder Publishing, 2015. Author: Dickie Bannenberg)
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Art research institutes | |
