Hospitality Design - July 2009 - 40

news Left, from top: The new Eiffel Suite at the Plaza Athénée; a redesigned suite at Le Meurice. Right: The bright and airy new generation lobby of SpringHill Suites. into a new ‘part’ of the hotel, which is quite different!” The end result is the Eiffel Suite, where silky pink hues play off subtle pearl and silver tones. Cushions by Lesage, pink bergères, reproduction furniture, dark custom-made to “maintain the ‘Meurice spirit’” as a typical Parisian Palace while enhancing the general look. (He collaborated with designer Sandrine Chollet.) The design was inspired by two strong references of the French XVIII century: the Camondo spirit, a renowned Parisian “hôtel particulier” or private residence, which inspired the furniture and lighting, and paintings from Ingres, a neoclassical painter who inspired the selection of fabrics. “The idea was to f ind soft and harmonious designs with some punctual lighter touches, as is the case in Ingres paintings,” notes Jouffre. Philippe Starck’s design for the common areas became “a logical and evident source of inspiration,” for Jouffre’s design. “We were lucky to benefit from the nice spacious size of the rooms. It helped us to integrate Marriott. “Marriott’s goal of this new generation is to enrich the travel experience…‘to blend smart, striking design with essential comforts and service excellence,’” says Charles Schreckenberger, president of Braun & Steidl Architects and principal-in-charge of the project. “Per the Marriott brief, this new generation hotel should evoke ‘an experience based on a breath of fresh air.’” To achieve this look Schreckenberger used materials, finishes, a distinct color palette, and exterior massing to create a sense of openness and lightness both inside and outside of the building. “The design uses straightforward detailing with bold colors to highlight the major building masses,” the designer says. “For example, guestrooms on the second through fourth floors project out and over the first floor creating a floating element on the building’s front façade.” The open lobby is broken into more intimate areas through changes in f looring materials, ceiling shapes and levels, and fabric/mesh “softwalls”. And for the guestrooms, the designer created separate compartments for the shower and water closet, divided from the main room by sliding doors. Marriott will be rolling out a similar design to its existing stock and new builds. www.bsa-net.com; marriott.com/springhill-suites Parisian Makeovers Two Parisian palaces, the Plaza Athénée and Le Meurice, both members of the Dorchester Collection, recently refreshed their look. Plaza Athénée added two new suites, while Le Meurice redesigned its guestrooms. The Plaza Athenee again called in Marie-José Pommereau, co-founder of Architectural Digest in France, who had redecorated and designed many rooms at the hotel before. Though Pommereau notes this was nothing like her previous work: “transforming an old hausmannesque apartment gray velvet sofas, and a chandelier decorated with black tassels fill the space. One of the major challenges, according to Pommereau, was what to do with a simple window that was unchangeable since it was part of the façade. The elegant solution: transform the window into a silvered frame that reveals the Eiffel tower in “a living picture that changes with the time of day and the seasons,” providing the suite’s main attraction and namesake. For Le Meurice, designer Charles Jouffre had to find a way nice furniture, deep sofas, and large armchairs, for some of the suites we even displayed some long desks in the with style of Louis XVI but with the twist of Starck’s work totally disproportional sizes.” www.plaza-athenee-paris.com; www.lemeurice.com Breath of Fresh Air Braun & Steidl Architects recently brought a breath of fresh air to Waukegan, Illinois, with its design of the 120-room SpringHill Suites hotel, a new generation of the select service brand by 40 hospitalitydesign www.hdmag.com

http://www.plaza-athenee-paris.com http://www.lemeurice.com http://www.bsa-net.com http://www.marriott.com/springhill-suites http://www.hdmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - July 2009