Jon Bannenberg’s 138m RISING SUN connects a dramatic glazed exterior with an engineering approach intended to reduce heat entering the yacht.
The 138-metre RISING SUN makes expansive glazing central to her exterior rather than hiding the guest accommodation behind small openings. Built by Lürssen in 2004 to Jon Bannenberg’s design, she brings a modern architectural approach to a yacht intended to travel quickly and comfortably over long distances.
Windows designed as architecture
Lürssen says the extensive glass panels required an international search for suitable materials before the final specification was chosen. The glazing is one of the defining elements of the silhouette, giving the yacht a strong horizontal rhythm and a direct connection between her enclosed spaces and the horizon.
For guests, larger windows can change the emotional character of time inside, especially on an ocean passage when the view is constantly moving. Their placement also requires consideration of heat, weather and structure; a generous view is the result of engineering as well as styling.
Keeping the sun outside
The builder states that the purpose-made glass incorporates a heat-insulating film to reduce solar heat gain and therefore ease the demand on air-conditioning. This is a specific design measure, not evidence that the yacht operates without mechanical cooling or has a published zero-emissions rating.
Lürssen also notes a bespoke soot-particle filter in the exhaust system. That equipment forms part of the yacht’s original environmental engineering, but it should not be confused with newer fuel or propulsion technologies that have not been documented for this vessel.
Performance without losing scale
The original propulsion specification lists 12,230 horsepower, a stated maximum of 28 knots and a cruising speed of 26 knots. These are yard-published figures for RISING SUN, not measured results for a newly completed sea trial this September.
Moving a yacht of this size at such speeds makes the balance of hull form, machinery and onboard comfort especially important. The profile therefore represents both the design ambitions of the early 2000s and the technical decisions made to support them.
A lasting Bannenberg project
RISING SUN was the final project drawn by the late Jon Bannenberg for the yard, which had also built one of his earliest large-yacht designs. That connection makes her relevant to a longer history of how bespoke yacht architecture developed into its present form.
The official Lürssen image depicts RISING SUN herself and has not been assigned to another article. This is an original yacht-design feature concerning a 2004 vessel, not an announcement of a new launch, sale or delivery today.
Official sources: www.lurssen.com. Historical delivery milestones and existing yacht-design features are identified as such, not presented as new events today.