London studio Bannenberg & Rowell reinterprets a legacy design for one of the world’s largest private vessels

The story of Renaissance, one of the largest private yachts in the world, dates from what Dickie Bannenberg calls “the last century.”

To put a finer point on it, Bannenberg, one half of London based yacht design firm Bannenberg & Rowell, is referring to the conversations his late father, Jon, founder of Bannenberg Designs and the mastermind behind some of the world’s finest yachts (including the QE2), started decades ago with the ship’s owners. “Our client still has the drawings of the boat my dad prepared all those years ago,” says Bannenberg. “They were an inspiration for a ‘someday’ boat.”

Someday turned out to be 2023, when the 112-meter Renaissance was delivered from its shipyard in Spain. “It is considerably larger than the design my dad did, which meant we were working with enormous volumes,” says Bannenberg, who today oversees the design studio alongside creative director Simon Rowell. “The challenge was to approach this seemingly unlimited space smartly to avoid those cruise ship vibes.”

In the hands of Bannenberg & Rowell, Renaissance’s 74,000 gross registered tons—that’s roughly 740,000 cubic feet—manage to feel personal, familial, and in the case of the 20-seat jazz bar, downright intimate. Adding to the difficult task was the yacht’s dual purpose: It had to be designed for client enjoyment as well as private charters. “It is perhaps the most unusual brief we’ve ever worked with,” says Bannenberg.

The clients’ extended family is not large, so the goal was to avoid cavernous cubes that can feel lonely and cold. “It had to be a completely personal boat but also accommodate 36 people. And when those people leave, it has to feel like home again,” says Bannenberg.

The designers had an excellent resource in their clients, who had chartered yachts dozens of times in the past. They preferred eating in smaller spaces and placed a premium on wellness. And for charter clients? A workout room was key. “I think the gym on Renaissance is the largest one afloat,” says Rowell. A pizza oven, cinema, multiple plunge pools, and an extensive array of options for water sports are just a few of the amenities on board. “The idea was that large numbers of people would never really exhaust the facilities,” says Bannenberg.

Among the designers’ clever solutions are the double-height main salon—a rarity on a yacht—and a bridge, or spacious mezzanine filled with sofas and chairs, that floats above it, serving as another, more intimate gathering place. Indeed, furnishing such large spaces required custom pieces, including circular sofas by Sutherland as well as custom teak and stainless-steel furniture by the brand situated throughout the yacht. Bannenberg & Rowell, in fact, created a capsule collection of fabrics for Perennials to upholster its bespoke designs and a Sutherland collection called Oceana. “Much of the boat is indoor-outdoor and these fabrics and furnishings are perfect for their multipurpose nature,” says Bannenberg. “They’re robust yet work incredibly well in a domestic interior.”

The connection to Sutherland is just one more aspect of the project that can trace its ties back to Jon Bannenberg. “We unearthed some correspondence between my dad and Sutherland, and then we started a conversation with the company about a decade ago,” says Bannenberg. Today, the studio’s range of furnishings and fabrics is a vital part of the brand story with a sentimental nod to Bannenberg’s dad and his own beloved yacht, Oceana.