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• ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN

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ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN

Jean Nouvel, Paris

A small corner property built in 1907 has been transformed into designer hotel "The Hotel" by none other than French star architect Jean Nouvel, whose celebrated Lucerne Culture and Convention Centre is just a few steps away.

Owner and hotelier Urs Karli did not merely want to meet his guests’ expectations of creature comforts but rather to transcend any preconceived notions of how they should come alive in a hotel. The Hotel’s simple name is aptly chosen, seeing as it does not set out to be a "home away from home" but a place to be surprised and truly inspired. A tall order, to be sure, but one Jean Nouvel masterfully accomplished by infusing his interior design with surprise, sensuality and elegance. A familiar motif is artfully interpreted, without the crudeness this metaphor so often applies: People outside have the impression of being inside and those inside of being outside; displayed by Nouvel’s restrained yet clever interplay of mirrors which makes the tangible barrier between the pavement outside and the restaurant "Bam Bou" inside vanish in the eyes of the beholder.

Having designed every piece himself, the furnishing concept bears Nouvel’s hallmark: Vertical lines are drawn in wood, horizontal ones in stainless steel. Not one to rely on his skill alone, he chose his advisor and colour specialist, the Parisian Alain Bony, to create individual colour compositions for each of the 25 guestrooms. Perfecting the element of surprise, Nouvel selected film stills from his favourite directors, including Buñuel, Almodóvar and Greenaway, to project onto all the rooms’ ceilings. Making iconic scenes like one taken from Fellini’s "Casanova" come alive when you lie in bed.