Contract Magazine - April 2019 - 22

Designer
You
Should
Know
Dorothée
Meilichzon

After working at agencies for six years, Dorothée
Meilichzon set out to launch her own firm that
would focus on hotels, bars, and restaurants.
In 2009, she founded global design agency Chzon
and has since worked on more than 30 projects
in Paris, London, Ibiza, Basel, Monaco, and New
York, and has received numerous accolades,
including being named Maison & Objet Designer
of the Year in 2015 and one of the top 20 interior
designers as part of Wallpaper's Power 200 in 2015.

How does your background inform your design
practice and approach?
I studied industrial design and learned a lot about how
to create a new concept. This approach helps me to
create new hotel experiences today. I worked at agencies
for six years before I decided I wanted to work on my
own and design only bars, hotels, and restaurants.
What is your design philosophy?
Focus on the consumer-the person who will sleep
in the hotel is the only one that matters.
Never do the same thing twice. Innovate. Also,
I like to work on bringing people together in restaurant
and bars. The layout has to help them interact with
each other. I don't like the idea of having everyone
alone in a corner.
What is unique about your overall design approach?
What about your work in hospitality?
I don't have a magic wand. I work a lot, take lessons
from the past, am constantly learning, and want to get
better. We focus on one industry: hospitality. We try
to create new experiences, new concepts. I hope our
projects don't look alike-they are each adapted to
their neighborhood, the shape and history of the
building, and the era in which the building was built.
My work is very 'drawn.' We are designing as much
elements as possible-bedheads, sofas, lights, armchairs,
tables-so it is easy to recognize my hand in the
projects. Also, I think my work is comfy and joyful.
Where do you see hospitality going? What
are your hopes for the future of this industry?
The hospitality industry is evolving a lot, which
is good for us! Companies like Airbnb forced hotels
22

Chzon's portfolio boasts a
range of hospitality projects,
including The Shell (bottom),
a cocktail bar inside The Hotel
Des Grands Boulevards in
Paris, and Henrietta Hotel (top
left and right), located in Covent Garden, London.

to question themselves and to innovate, especially
in regard to services and overall experiences. The
balance between rooms and public spaces is shifting
constantly, as are the bathrooms sizes, whether
people work in their rooms or elsewhere, and the
importance of room service.
What, in your opinion, is important in design today?
Innovation and to be user-focused. People are
focusing a lot on 'style' and forget that design has
to be useful and have meaning. Interior architects
designing hotels, in particular are paying a lot of
attention to style. We try to make it different, focusing
also on the services, on how hotels are evolving-
how people work in hotels, how they eat, how much
time they stay in their room, what they need, etc.
We do a lot of brainstorming and travel around
the world to see new hotel concepts. We try to create
spaces that are more than just a place to sleep.
What are you working on now?
I feel really lucky. We're working on an "agroturismo,"
or farm stay, in Menorca. Opening this summer, it is
a big hotel with 43 rooms, 10 swimming pools, a huge
garden, orchards, and horses. We are also working
on a completely different project-a hotel in Venezia
in an ancient Palazzo-as well as the extension
of Henrietta hotel in London.

contractdesign.com

APRIL 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY: THEODORA RICHTER (PORTRAIT); KAREL BALAS (ALL OTHERS)

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Contract Magazine - April 2019

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