-Q & A with Designer Jean-Phillppe Nuel

Jean-Philippe Nuel has slowly, steadily and with great flair garnered a reputation as a leading designer of luxury hotels. As well as a stylish clutch of independent Parisian hotels, he has carried out projects for Sofitel (La D-fense and Budapest), Hilton (Evian), Marriott (Marrakech) and Intercontinental (Marseille). But perhaps his most startling work to date is the conversion of the Molitor, the legendary art deco swimming pool (in later decades an underground gallery for graffiti artists) into the McGallery Hotel Molitor ’’- an astounding resort, a hotel in the 16th arrondissement.

Hotelier International: It is extremely impressive how you created a visual narrative in the Molitor's interior. Each space presents one of the hotel's back stories, either art deco or street art, and connects these wildly different cultures. Is this something you strive for, the interior telling a 'story'?

Jean-Philippe Nuel: I always base a project around a story. However, this approach is not just for the purpose of 'marketing' it should have real legitimacy to the site. The story must be expressed with a real depth and offer the visitor multiple layers of perception. For a hotel, the 'story' has the ability to open the doors of imagination. I write the first chapters; the guest will appropriate these and add their own personal story.

HI: You have stated that, 'Working in classified buildings often leads you in unexpected directions'. Can you elaborate a bit more on this?

JPN:A new building is a blank page. In contrast, a listed building already has a history, a past. Naturally these elements become sources of inspiration and set the tone. In the case of the Molitor, the exterior walls' original colours were a defining discovery. With only black and white photos to go by, their memory was completely lost, so everyone described the Molitor as a ' white ocean liner '. Learning (through scraps of old paint found on the site) that the original colors were ochre and blue allowed me to explore this chromatic scale in the interior design, a direction I would not have taken otherwise.

HI:Architects and interior designers often talk about respecting the 'memory' of a building during its transformation. How important is this for you? What if the building has a less than joyous history? Such as an old prison or hospital?

JPN:A building's new function should not be hidden or obscured by the former - if that were the case it would never be fully 'transformed'. Respect for cultural heritage should focus on its pure essence. The H-tel Dieu in Marseille was originally a hospice for the poor, but that doesn't mean to say it wasn't spectacular. The sense of luxury I created in the building wasn't ostentatious; I didn't dress the building up as a 'palace'. The hotel's elegance comes from the quality of materials used and the spaces within.

HI:Creatively speaking, is working within the parameters of heritage a hindrance or an asset?

JPN:I think it heightens creativity, as we often get too rational with contemporary architecture. In historic buildings we can work with double heights and atypical spaces, and finding solutions for them adds real personality to the project. Working with heritage properties should be considered an opportunity rather than a constraint.

HI:How difficult is it to balance the needs of the modern traveller with historic elements? Would it be true to say that rooms and suites should remain modern and functional whilst common areas are better suited to show off the historic and traditional aspects of the hotel?

JPN:You need to need to look at the property's assets as a whole in order to work out the correct programme. Renovation processes need not be inconsistent with modernity and functionality.

HI:Can you describe your dream hotel project?

JPN:Interior projects are like children; we are always more attached to the latest one that popped out. At the moment I am finishing off a 68-room boutique hotel in the 7th arrondissement. It's a conversion of a 30-year old industrial building and presented a very unique opportunity. It's a hotel that will break codes by giving guests the impression that they own their own Parisian pied---terre.

The article first appeared in the inaugural edition of BW Hotelier, JAN-FEB 2015.