Sneak peek: Château d’Eau from Touriste

Set on Rue du Château d’Eau near the Gard du Nord, this latest opening from Touriste is set in a seven-storey, 36-room former hotel, which has been transformed by French design duo Necchi Architecture to encapsulate the spirit of the Château d’Eau area. The hotel follows quick on the heels of Hotel Beauregard and Hotel de la Boetie which both opened in Paris earlier this year and share Touriste’s tongue in cheek design vision which encourages visitors to embrace the fun of being a tourist in a new city.

Image credit: Ludovic Balay

Touriste’s Founder, Adrien Gloaguen has garnered a reputation for giving interior designers their first hotel project breaks – from Luke Edward Hall’s Hotel Les Deux Gares to Beata Heuman’s Hôtel de la Boétie, which opened this September. Each Touriste hotel feels distinct and offers guests a fresh experience. For Hotel
Château d’Eau, Gloaguen chose interior design studio Necchi Architecture to transform the former hotel in their own vision.

Despite their distinctive style, Necchi’s co-founders, Alexis Lamesta and Charlotte Albert have not designed with touristic Instagram moments in mind, but they rather aimed for a balance between elegance and functionalism to create comfortable and compact, yet impactful bedrooms. For Hotel Château d’Eau, Lamesta and Albert were strongly influenced by the disco scene and artistic communities of Paris in the early 1980’s, with nods found throughout to iconic night clubs such as the neighbouring Le Palace, and New York’s Studio 54.

Image credit: Ludovic Balay

“We were drawn to this quirky family of neighbourhood hotels and have been given free rein to transform this former hotel in our own vision,” commented Alexis Lamesta, co-founder of Necchi Architecture. “We wanted to reflect an attitude, rather than a particular décor; one that is reflective of the Château d’Eau area’s recent history and character. Functionalism interests us enormously – sometimes even before aesthetics – and above all we want the space to feel comfortable.”

Necchi drew from other Eighties cultural references too, such as American Psycho and the Fantômas trilogy by Louis de Funès as well as from real Parisian legends from the period such as Serge Gainsbourg, Marc Cerrone and Ward Bennett. Serge Gainsbourg’s Parisian home was a particular source of inspiration – and guests to Hotel Château d’Eau can complement their stay with a visit to the Maison Gainsbourg Experience which sees his home open as a museum and a tour for the first time this September.

The bedrooms are ultra-functional – taking inspiration from furniture designer René Herbst. Meanwhile bathrooms have been designed in a very graphic way, with chequered tiles in the showers and custom designed basins in polished stainless steel inspired by train cabins. The hotel has been filled with handpicked
flea market and antique finds such as a pair of vintage Italian ceramic panthers who welcome guests at the door and also also make an appearance on the hotel’s signage. Necchi have also collaborated with Paris-based artist Géraldine Roussel on a series of geometric artworks which are made from clear glass without frames, inspired by Op Art. On the first floor, guests will also find an intimate “fumoir” and a lounge area which will double up as a breakfast room. On the ground floor, guests will be able to enjoy a fitness room.

Main image credit: Ludovic Balay