John Pawson was commissioned to design the lobby and meeting rooms. He has attempted to create “a space to encounter peace and quiet in the heart of the hotel”. He achieves this through the use of wood and a design that harbours the reception area in a semi-circle, thus sheltering the guests from the constant motion passing through the area.
‘LG HI-MACS is a new material to us as we generally use more natural materials, but the juxtaposition of it against timber, such as soaped (waxed) ash that we use, plays on its properties. We like the way it acts as contrast to the other materials. The other beauty of the material is that you can weld it seamlessly with imperceptible joints’.
Pawson conceived the lobby as a free and calm space, back lit, with a travertine marble floor and an off-white mar Marino plaster wall – ‘an oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city’. It features a mix of furniture: revived designs by the distinguished Danish designer Hans Wegner were commissioned alongside new designs by Pawson. The mezzanine links bridges over the reception area offering double height views of Christian Liaigre’s restaurant and Marc Newson’s bar. Here, Pawson has used LG HI-MACS to create two wide landscape format windows, 5 metreswide x 1 metre long, like slots, with hidden lights. The material lines this portal, giving the visitor a sense of looking through a deep framed space. Pawson asked for an LG HI-MACS custom colour to match the off-white mar Marino plaster walls, and the result, with its honed satin finish, is the closest approximation of a slab of ivory.
