Jon Bannenberg

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jon Bannenberg
Royal Designer for Industry
(1978)
One of Bannenberg's Yachts, Kingdom 5KR

Jon Bannenberg,

RDI (1929 – 26 May 2002) was an Australian-English yacht designer.[1][2]

Biography

Bannenberg was born in Sydney, Australia, and educated at

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

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.

Limitless (Mallorca, 2006)

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.

Recognition

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.

Death

Bannenberg died of an inoperable

Brain tumour
at his home in London on 26 May 2002.

Legacy

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.

References

Footnotes
  1. ^ Byrne, Diane M. "Jon Bannenberg: 1929-2002". powerandmotoryacht.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  2. ^ Forbes, Miguel (7 May 2015). "Jon Bannenberg Legacy Captured In Recent Book". Forbes. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  3. ^ BYRNE, DIANE M. (30 March 2015). "Jon Bannenberg: A Life of Design—Book on Yachting's Great Rule-Breaker". megayachtnews.com. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. Boat International
    . boatinternational.com. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
Sources

Jon Bannenberg: A Life of Design (Julian Calder Publishing, 2015. Author: Dickie Bannenberg)

External links