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Last but not least, a very fascinating aspect is art. The hotel was
built in 1910, a period when art and architecture were transitioning
from Art Nouveau to Art Deco.
The façade has windows and balusters decorated with impressive
angels, trellises and grapes, while the walls of the ground floor
feature high quality frescoes, friezes and bas-reliefs.
What is the main concept behind the new Hotel Lutetia?
Our goal was to recreate the atmosphere of the original Lutetia for
today’s requirements. We didn’t want to do a pastiche, nor a copy
of what the Lutetia was before: it was more about our interpreta-
tion. Our challenge was to create a dialogue between the existing
building and the refurbishment we had in mind, balancing contem-
porary elements with classical ones and cleaning up everything
that was out of memory.
How did you transform a hotel from the 1910s into a hotel for
2019?
We realized almost immediately that the existing building already
contained the vocabulary for the new building. Therefore, we bor-
rowed some details and developed them. For instance, the over-
lapping circles that were featured on the tympanum of the main
building were replicated on the floor of the bathrooms. We also
completely remodelled the layout by creating larger rooms and
reducing their number: all the bathrooms now have a window and
are lit by natural light. We took all the partitions out because of
their bad quality, upgrading the hotel’s acoustics, electricity, air
conditioning, etc. And finally, we added a 17-meters-long swimming
pool and a SPA.
How did you redesign the ground floor?
One of the most important things we created on the ground
floor is the patio. What was previously a windowless salon, with
a low ceiling and heavy curtains, is now an open-air garden that
brings daylight everywhere! Further, there is an axis that didn’t
exist before: now, from the Orangerie you can see the entrance
on Boulevard Raspail.
Then we completely reorganized the spaces. Salon Saint-Germain
was too small to host a bar, so we decided to move the bar on
the Boulevard Raspail side, while Café Saint-Germain is now a
restaurant with a new skylight by contemporary artist Fabrice
Hyber, that brings happiness in with its colours. The library, Salon
Ernest – which is an engaging room for book lovers – also opens
onto the garden.
How has the past remained visible?
I must say that when we arrived we couldn’t see any original decor
or furniture, which had totally disappeared during the successive
refurbishments in the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. We only chose to
maintain the sculptures of Cesar and Hiquily. I would rather say that
we uncovered the past, that is now visible again. Under layers of
paint, we came across original frescoes that we brought back to life.
What was Poliform’s contribution to the overall project?
Poliform Contract was contracted for the public areas. It made
the Conciergerie, the lobby, the entire jazz bar – with the counter-
top in curved bronzed mirror, the “lustre” and the furnishings, the
salon Saint-Germain, the Orangerie, the library, the Brasserie, the
bathrooms and all the details of the ground floor.
We designed things that were very difficult to produce and it always
found the appropriate solution. The piece I am most proud of is the
masterful “lustre” (19,5 meters long !) of Bar Joséphine, made by
Poliform. It is particularly interesting as it reflects the space, the
frescoes and the light, and constitutes an extraordinary contem-
porary object on the ceiling.
How do you imagine life in this new hotel?
Life at the Lutetia is a unique experience. Let yourself be guided
to your room, eat in Saint-Germain, relax on the patio or, if it’s cold
outside, near the chimneys in the library.
Smoke a cigar, then go down to relax in the SPA or in the swimming
pool before having dinner and listening to jazz in the bar or joining
a party in Salon Cristal.
The Lutetia is really the best place to live the Left Bank way of life.
