Jean-Michel Gathy Is Tackling A New Challenge: Creating Exclusive Residences At Sea

Belgian architect and renowned hotel designer Jean-Michel Gathy is tackling a new challenge: creating exclusive residences at sea

- Dan Stapleton

Few people understand luxury travellers like Jean-Michel Gathy does. In fact, fulfilling the needs of the world’s most discerning jet-setters has been this architect’s lifelong mission. Since he founded the Kuala Lumpur-based design firm Denniston in 1983, Gathy has helmed revolutionary developments for every five-star hotel brand worth mentioning.

A quick look at his current and forthcoming projects demonstrates the esteem in which he is held. Highlights include Four Seasons hotels in Bangkok and Tokyo, Aman properties in New York and Miami, as well as One&Only resorts in Montenegro and Dubai. So it makes sense that Gathy has been appointed one of the two lead interior designers for M/Y Njord, a first-of-its-kind residential superyacht that will sail around the world, providing owners with a holiday experience at sea.

The vessel will feature over 100 residences in 21 configurations, from compact two-bedroom apartments to sprawling triplexes with private elevators. Pricing remains confidential, but it’s safe to assume that securing a place aboard the superyacht will not be cheap. So, how is Gathy planning to create a sense of genuine luxury for residents? “Luxury is not necessarily linked to hardware,” he says. “Having a gold faucet doesn’t make it a luxurious environment. For the world’s most successful people, luxury means comfort, and by that I mean what is reassuring. No one becomes successful without suffering so for these people, that feeling of comfort is the truest (sense of) luxury.”