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June 26, 2016

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Home » Sunday » Home and Design

Classic hospitality with modern French twist

Source: Shanghai Daily | June 26, 2016, Sunday | Print Edition

WHO is he?

Marc Hertrich is an interior designer. He has run STUDIOMHNA for over 25 years with his partner Nicolas Adnet. STUDIOMHNA is a team of 25 people, including specialists like landscape designers, lighting designers and architects. They primarily work on projects in the hospitality industry. The first project Hertrich designed some 25 years ago was for the Richemond, a famous and very beautiful palace in Geneva.

Tell us some of your works, and name the one you are most proud of.

We are very proud of the projects which have allowed us to work in amazing places such as the Hotel Martinez on the Croisette in Cannes, South of France, and the Constances Moofushi Resort in the Maldives, but also projects with Club Med, with whom we work all around the world. In China we designed the Club Med Guilin and most recently, the Club Med Sanya.

We also work with the Accor group, and have done so on some of their hotels such as the Sofitel Tour Blanche in Casablanca and the soon-to-come Sofitel Frankfurt Opera.

We are also very proud of the little family groups which are less well-known, with whom we create very interesting boutique hotels: Eastwest in Geneva, Jardins de la Villa in Paris, Swiss Night Hotel and Swiss Wine Hotel in Lausanne and the Domaine deVerchant in Montpellier.

Are you currently involved with any project?

We are always working on an average of over twenty projects at the same time. At the moment we are currently working for the Constance Group to renovate the famous Lemuria Hotel in the Seychelles and Le Belle Mare Plage in Mauritius — which will reopen this fall. There’s also the Movenpick Mansour Eddahbi Hotel, a huge hotel and garden, attached to the Palais de Congres in Marrakech, Morocco... followed by a private luxury clinic in Frankfurt, Germany.

We are also working on the Astor Hotel, the next Hilton Hotel which will be in a beautiful classical building on the rued’Astorgin Paris. We also recently opened CUP restaurant at Orly Airport, one of the two airports in Paris. The design of the restaurant was inspired by the quintessential Parisian markets.

Describe your design style.

What characterizes our style is that we bring a very personalized response to each project. What interests us is working on different scales: from small projects with very strong concepts to huge projects with hotels and resorts. We like to draw inspiration from the history and culture of cities, regions and countries where we operate and then give a contemporary reinterpretation in French style. We love working with the best materials, techniques, know-how, designs and colors that we discover in every region and every country. We’re passionate about opportunities in new and different ways.

Where are you most creative?

In the studio, surrounded by our entire team — but if not, everywhere and anywhere! In airplanes, wandering around Paris, in the countryside, traveling, etc. It’s journeys, change and discovery which stimulate our creativity.

What does your home mean to you?

A place where we relax, that signifies well-being, comfort, warmth and happiness!

What do you collect?

We have a beautiful collection of Rhinos, in extremely varied materials from all around the whole world. We also love paintings and contemporary photography.

Where would you like to go most in Shanghai?

There are many bars and amazing restaurants on the Bund I like discovering, but I also love the less well-known restaurants where only my Chinese or French friends (who live in Shanghai) can take me. Otherwise I can spend hours in fine art shops choosing Chinese brushes, inks, fine papers, books on calligraphy and Chinese drawing techniques.

What will be the next big design trend?

For us, the true strength... is escaping from fashion and trends, and giving something its own personality, with plenty of style and elegance.

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