Imperator Hotel
Renovating L’Imperator meant introducing a contemporary hospitality experience without erasing the character of a Nîmes landmark. At Naço, I worked within a three-designer team on bespoke furniture and interior elements across the hotel. My responsibility was to carry the design from sketches and 3D studies into technical drawings, manufacturing coordination and on-site installation.
My contribution
Industrial design · Bespoke furniture · 3D development · Site supervision
The team
3 industrial designers
Year
2019
Design for a place with a memory
The challenge was not to imitate the past or impose a disconnected new style. Each custom element needed to belong to the renovated hotel while respecting the scale, atmosphere and Art Deco character of the existing building.
Resolve a family of objects, not isolated pieces
Furniture appeared across rooms and shared spaces. I used shared proportions, details and material relationships to maintain coherence while adapting pieces to different functions and architectural constraints.
Turn concepts into manufacturing information
I developed 3D models and detailed drawings to resolve dimensions, assemblies and interfaces with the building. These documents translated the creative direction into information manufacturers could price, test and produce.
Close the gap on site
Production and installation inevitably revealed constraints that drawings could not anticipate. On-site supervision allowed us to resolve those details while protecting the original intent.
Outcome
L’Imperator reopened in 2019 after a major renovation. The completed hotel includes rooms, villas, restaurants, a spa and shared hospitality spaces.
The public project belongs to a large team of architects, designers, craftspeople and manufacturers. My contribution was specific: helping bespoke furniture move reliably from design intent to built detail across that wider environment.