DESIGN
The courtyard garden is the new heart of the hotel .
Frescos and ornaments were restored for the Bar Joséphine .
Le Saint-Germain features a skylight fresco .
Louis-Hippolyte Boileau complemented our contemporary vision ,” Andrieu says . “ We call it ‘ architectural grafting ’: blending old and new architectural and interior design elements without pastiche . Grafting helps the old live better .”
Modern glazing updated the exterior , whose Art Nouveau ornamentation is repeated within . Patterns were applied to glass light fixtures and murals in guestroom corridor lift lobbies , while a motif of overlapping circles from the tympanum reappears in bathrooms and guestroom wall sconces . The façade ’ s French blue , sand and bronze accents informed the interior palette , while varnished eucalyptus tree paneling in corridors and guestrooms suggest the feel of a sleek yacht .
HISTORIC PRESERVATION Updates to the building include infrastructure , two new lifts and a rationalized layout reintroducing some of the original horizontal and vertical axis for traffic flow . A significant intervention – and the idea that won Wilmotte the commission – was the removal of a central salon to create a garden courtyard open to sunlight . As Andrieu says : “ Light is omnipresent .”
The garden is the hotel ’ s new heart . To one side is L ’ Orangerie , which functions as either a breakfast or conference room ,
and opposite is dining room Le Saint- Germain , where artist Fabrice Hyber created a colorful , transparent fresco for the skylight . Adjacent is the library , with Gio Ponti-designed seating . Almost all other furniture was designed by Wilmotte and made by Poltrona Frau as a contemporary reimagining of traditional materials and shapes . The project is characterized by extreme attention to detail – according to Andrieu , the door handles have finger ridges molded to the shape of Wilmotte ’ s hand .
A stunning discovery was made in the lobby and the space that is now Bar Joséphine , named after jazz singer Joséphine Baker , who called Hôtel Lutetia
November 2018 hotelsmag . com 45