A collaboration with architect Marie Deroudilhe for the Lobby Suite at EquipHotel 2024 has been one of our highlights and immensely happy moments this last year.
EquipHotel dared to welcome differently and give free rein to the imagination of architect Marie Deroudilhe to transform the reception hall of EquipHotel Paris 2024, into a lobby and hotel suite.
This new experiential space made it possible to welcome visitors to Pavilion 7, as if they were entering a hotel. SET. was asked to co-create with Marie, custom furniture for the immersive space, along with some of the most renown design brands worldlwide.
In a 150 m2 space that she wanted to be immersive and disconnected, Marie Deroudilhe delivered her unique approach to hospitality and imagined her dream lobby & hotel suite.
Three draped and felted alcoves, which combine softness and theatricality, and cross the eras to immerse the visitor and surprise them…
For EquipHotel 2024, Marie wanted to be theatrical.
With the theme of collective audacity as the common thread of this 2024 edition, the EquipHotel show was multiplying surprises, new features, and curiosities. Like its new reception area, entrusted to the architect. Her idea: “ Integrate a bedroom area and a bathroom area, to enter the hotel world without transition ,” she explains.
Béatrice Gravier , the director of EquipHotel, said “ yes” for this Lobby Suite. An original approach, a source of many tips to glean.
-> Create a theatrical effect : Marie Deroudilhe created a 150 m2 lobby that she wanted to be theatrical. This all-textile marquee combines hangings and drapes, “ like a bivouac in the Empire” , and gives the space “ an immersive, disconnected dimension” , explains the architect. “ We have left the very standardized world of the hotel industry and its codes” , she adds.
-> Dare to use alcoves : In terms of layout, this Lobby Suite takes the form of three alcoves in a row, like three atmospheres, three eras that coexist. A way of creating a rhythm, a progression, a dynamic. The largest alcove, the one through which the visitor arrives, is adorned with silver tones and is structured around a monumental chandelier, to dress the volume of the marquee. Then, a game of diverting function: tablecloth-covered pedestal tables serve as desks, where each visitor comes to collect their badge. Platforms and armchairs complete this “ transition space” , both warm and “ an invitation to think outside the box” .
-> Mixing styles : After the first alcove , the visitor passes through two other, smaller ones. Namely a bedroom with shimmering hues and a pop atmosphere, with a round bed placed on a platform, a round mirror, turntable and vinyl records… Then, the last alcove embodies a bathroom “ with the old-fashioned charm of the past ”, explains Marie Deroudilhe. A mix of genres to “ surprise visitors” . “ If, usually, sobriety is the order of the day in our residential projects, the hotel industry is the perfect playground to experiment with atmospheres, staging, telling a story, taking the visitor out of the daily grind, particularly in common areas” , explains the architect.
-> Staying intuitive : Accustomed to traveling – to supervise a construction site, she lived for 7 months in a hotel in Las Vegas… -, Marie Deroudilhe keeps in mind the importance of the little attentions that make the quality of a hotel service, the relevance of simplicity and intuitiveness in a room. “ There is nothing worse ,” she says, “than not finding the switches!” So, even if she invites you to escape through a decor or decoration, she remains practical and easy to use for everything that is electricity or other taps.
Lobby Suite: EquipHotel Paris 2024 – Hall 7.3
Project Manager: Maxime Perron
Partners:
Art & Floritude • Atelier Luxus • Balsan • Bergan Delorme • BM Production • Bonacina • Créalumin • Dedar • Devon & Devon • Ethnicraft • LA Bruket • La Romaine Edition • Les Jardins de Gally • Ombres et Facettes • Orfevrerie Royale • Passementerie Verrier • Repérages Conseil Design • Serralunga • Set • Siam Agencement • Solutions Parfums • Spectre Music • Talka • Vismes