The new life of Lutetia told by Jean-Michel Wilmotte

"The challenge we had was to revive a place while respecting its roots, its identity, its personality (...) We discovered all the beautiful work of ornamentation done on the windows, on the cornices, on the balusters. Really extraordinary work (...). We realized that, under dozens of layers of paint, there were frescoes of very high quality. We cleared them, scraped them, and, little by little, we made them reappear. It's as if we had found a piece of history under the layers of the 1910 building. "

"We have totally redesigned the distribution of spaces. The number of rooms went from 230 to 184. It was necessary to totally recompose all the rooms and suites by breaking down all the partitions. A few months ago, there were only large plateaus on the floors. Another very important point of the project: technology. All the technology integrated into the rooms is managed by a large dashboard placed outside. The hotel has been upgraded to control noise, electric, air conditioning—acoustic comfort, in particular, is essential. The soundproofing works as well against rooms bordering the boulevard Raspail as it does against the neighboring rooms along the inner courtyard. "

"On the ground floor, we made a big change. In the spirit of competition, we decided to create a garden in the heart of Lutetia, because it was one of the only big hotels in Paris that did not have one. For this, we decided to remove one of the existing salons (...) This garden will be the new heart of the hotel with, on one side, the Saint-Germain salon and the other the Orangerie. The Orangerie serves as a breakfast room or conference room, depending on the needs of the hotel. There will also be a small library lounge on this garden to attract book lovers, which local writers will also appreciate. As for the Salon Borghèse, it now becomes the Bar (...) The Brasserie is another important area of the hotel, which had been very damaged. We found the double height under ceiling that existed at the origin of the building. It was a stuffy place. Now, we created a generous space with high ceilings. "

"As we did when it first opened, we brought in contemporary artists for the renovation. Fabrice Hyber is working on the glass canopy of Salon Saint-Germain. The fresco he is creating at the moment is very transparent, showing the architecture of the canopy through his work. We will also have an original work by Jean Le Gac, that will tell the story of the last 100 years through frescoes that he will create on the columns supporting the Brasserie's ceilings. "

"Whether they were glass sconces, floor treatments, walls, door handles, washbasins, taps, lighting fixtures ... everything has been designed specifically for Lutetia. We fought throughout the project to not rely on standard furniture out of the catalogs. The reinterpretation of the furniture was really exciting (...) Between the traces of the past restored, the new elements created, and the new furniture (lightly inspired from the 1910s), a dialogue is established."