http://www.boatinternational.com | June 2018ARCHITECT DANTE BENINI LAUGHS WHEN HE RECALLS HOW HIS INVOLVEMENT INSEVEN BEGAN.
“I had just delivered a lecture at an economic conference in Italy. My talk was on the value of making an investment in quality architecture.
The chairman of the session came on stage after my talk and said ‘well, now I have found the architect for my next project’. He said that in
front of about 1,000 people! I had no idea what he was talking about.”
When the conference concluded, Benini hurried to find the chairman to thank him. “I thought perhaps it was just a casual remark, but he
said he was serious. I stood there waiting for him to say he was making a building or something but he said ‘I want you to design my boat’.”
Benini was ecstatic. “For me, a boat is life! In my life, I have had just a few times with this kind of emotion.”
While Dante O Benini & Partners Architects is best known for commercial buildings and large-scale urban planning, it has also worked
on the interiors of residences and cosy restaurants, designed furniture and a few yachts, such as Sanlorenzo’s 25 metre series in 2000 and the
Spider Special Edition for Cantieri di Sarnico in 2010. Its first custom yacht was the 50 metre CRN Jameel, formerly Eastern Star, the royal
yacht of Bahrain – not a bad start.
The aft main deck cockpit is designed
as a welcoming spot for guests arriving
or gathering to depart by tender,
complete with bar and backlit top177