THE HOTEL
Located on the border between the neighbourhoods of Montorgueil and Le Haut Marais, the Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers is the latest hotel from Clé Group, which also owns the Hôtel Bachaumont. This new establishment makes a bold statement with its timeless design, and offers a new way to experience the Parisian lifestyle.
By choosing a location next to the Centre National des Arts & Métiers, the Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers aims to pay tribute to that century-old institution devoted to engineering and the teaching of manufacturing techniques. Raphael Navot, the designer in charge of the project’s artistic direction, thus took the bold step of complementing the building’s historic character with an innovative design and exceptional craft expertise. This daring combination has created a hotel without precedent, where the work with materials and shapes is highlighted in each of the spaces. The building’s seven floors thus house some 70 rooms of various types, each one unique: with or without a terrace, overlooking the street outside or the patio, but above all boasting finishing touches - and dimensions - worthy of a bespoke Parisian apartment.
On the ground floor is a range of places to eat and drink (restaurant, bars and a cicchetteria), open to guests as well as the public, and offering a gastronomic menu where Italian cuisine meets creative mixology, and party vibes meet well-being without going over the top. Overlooking a tree-lined square with a village feel, the hotel is designed to blend in with the cityscape of the neighbourhood, with a large terrace that offers an ideal place to catch some rays as soon as the sun comes out. Reflecting the hotel’s commitment to sustainable development, an ecological policy covering the products and consumables provided for guests, and processes ranging from recycling to utilities management, was put in place at the outset in order to ensure that this initiative would be built into the project’s DNA.
RESTAURANTS AND BARS
The Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers also stands out from the crowd when it comes to the food and drink on offer, harnessing the experience of an expert trio who know how to make the most of all the delights of Italian gastronomy. To run the restaurants at the Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers, Clé Group called upon the expertise of three key players on the Parisian restaurant scene: Julien Cohen (Pizza Chic, Grazie, Il Professore, etc.) and the duo formed by Jean-Pierre Lopes and Thomas Delafon (Le Très Honoré, Bambou, La Plage Parisienne). While Julien Cohen sets the tone with his undisputed knowledge of Italian cuisine, the whole trio knows how to turn the hotel’s restaurants and bars into destinations in their own right. Delicious ingredients are transformed into sublime dishes and drinks by the talented cooks and bar staff, before being served to guests with elegance and poise by the waiters. All restaurants and bars are open 7 days a week.
Le Ristorante National
On the hotel patio beneath the retractable glass roof, Le Ristorante National welcomes up to 80 diners in a chic trattoria atmosphere. For this restaurant, which is open to the public, the trio have devised an Italian menu inspired by traditional recipes but above all by exceptional products sourced directly from the peninsula. Bathed in natural light, Le Ristorante National offers gourmet dishes in a friendly atmosphere, and attentive yet laid-back service. This is an elegant restaurant founded on the values of sharing and a love of food.
L’ Herbarium
Continuing in the same vein as Le Ristorante National, L’Herbarium offers the comfort of fifteen or so seats in the bar and around thirty seats in the lounge next door. But most importantly, this cocktail bar serves a drinks list put together by Oscar Quagliarini. The talented head barman creates mixed drinks in the style of a perfumer blending his fragrances. Each drink has a strong olfactory/gustative identity, in turns feminine and masculine, designed to awaken all the senses of the person fortunate enough to sample it.
Le bar sur le toit
The establishment’s ultimate taste destination, this bar is literally perched on top of the hotel roof. However, this panoramic viewpoint over the capital is only accessible to a privileged thirty or so guests who have made sure to book in advance in order to enjoy the luxury of a unique view over the rooftops of Paris.
ROOMS
The Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers has designed its rooms as places of sanctuary where comfort takes priority. A place of hospitality, where Parisian heritage meets architecture and innovation to create a sense of timeless charm. The 66 rooms at the Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers are spread across the six floors of the two Haussmannian buildings that make up the establishment. Overlooking a tree-lined square, Rue Réaumur or the establishment’s large inner courtyard, there are ten or so different room types ranging from Double Room (20 sqm) to Penthouse (100 sqm). The hotel therefore has a wide variety of accommodation to fulfil every need or wish, with the spaces laid out in a unique way. Each room has its own configuration, and the furniture has been carefully chosen (Moroso, Tatra), so guests feel like they are staying in an individually designed, dare we say bespoke room.
As further evidence of this interior design approach, each space features a most daring combination of materials that really carve out the room volumes: a concrete panel wall at the head of the bed, which itself is covered in elegant printed fabric, solid oak parquet in a herringbone pattern, lighting from a lamp moulded directly into the wall, electric connected devices made of Bakelite (THPG brand), or shelves and storages made in situ from heat-blackened steel. Furthermore, each room is furnished with a king size or twin bed (guest’s choice) as well as a mini-bar and a Nespresso machine for the guest to use whenever they please. Lastly, the bathrooms have been completely covered in terrazzo (mainly white or anthracite grey) and feature a black granite washbasin on a steel stand as well as taps with a matt black finish. Depending on the category, the rooms are fitted with a shower and/or bathtub directly built into the terrazzo.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNATURE
The Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers boasts a unique architectural signature based on tailor-made design combined with a consideration of function that focuses on the materials involved. The Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers is an awe-inspiring architectural endeavour that was made possible by the combined and complementary expertise of designer Raphael Navot and architect-engineer Daniel Vaniche, head of the DVVD agency.
Originally from Israel, Raphael Navot holds a degree from the Design Academy in Eindhoven (Netherlands) and now works in Paris. As an accomplished designer should be, this creative professional is just as capable of designing an object as a space, of finding usage-based solutions as matching function with emotion, and of working with the sensibility of a moment as sublimating raw materials. An expert in picking out and even imagining materials that echo unheard of situations, Raphael Navot has turned the Hôtel National des Arts & Métiers into an amazing experiment in hospitality and food service, as well as a gem of interior design.
The atmospheres in each space have been developed using carefully chosen materials that deliver a natural shade all of their own. The colours are not added on but are provided by the very essence of the material used: cut Paris stone for the lobby, oxidised copper tubes acting as cladding for the walls in La Cicchetteria, natural coatings in the corridors, terrazzo for the bathrooms, heat-blackened steel for the bookshelves, burnt wood for the bar counter… The sheets are the only white element in the whole design scheme.
For here again, the furniture and the materials used have been carefully picked or even exclusively created: vintage Tatra chairs for the restaurant, timber table tops, concrete legs, washed velvet sofas, suede curtains… while every shape conveys a sense of timelessness. The décor features an impressive catalogue of contributions by the top craftspeople and creatives in their field: Oscar Ono and Cassou for the woodwork; Rue Herold for the linen, Rubelli for the velvet; Signature Murale for the wall coatings; Moroso and Sol & Luna for selected items of furniture… Or Patrimoine Pierre de Taille for the remarkable pillars in the lobby, as well as Pierre & Granite for the marble floors (lobby) and the “sculpted” staircase leading to the gallery, and Kali Vermes for her plant arrangements in all areas of the hotel.
Lastly, the complexity of this layout would not have been possible without the support of the DVVD agency, which has entirely reworked the interior volumes of the two Haussmannian buildings that make up the establishment. From the sequence of the rooms to the creation of the retractable glass roof over the patio, from managing the various craftspeople to installing the hydraulic pump that provides autonomous cooling for the air-conditioning system. All this is obviously underpinned by a genuine commitment to the principle of sustainability.
