Silvio d'Ascia Architecture just delivered the Hôtel Wallace, member of the Orso Hotels group, in 15th arrondissement Paris. Distributed between two buildings - one facing the street and the other at the back of the courtyard - the project involved upgrading the hotel to current standards and the addition of two floors atop the existing structure facing the street and two part of and attic level, now refurbished into ten additional guestrooms.
The beautifully refurbished Hôtel Wallace is nestled in the north side of the 15th arrondissement of Paris – in the area bounded by Les Invalides, the Eiffel Tower and the Beaugrenelle district. This project involved raising the height of the hotel with 4 additional levels, built with setbacks - highlighted by standing seam, midnight blue zinc cladding, gently sloping inward on the interior façade overlooking the courtyard - ensuring the visual urban continuity with the façade on the Rue Fondary and more broadly with its entire suburban-like environment.
The additional floors catch one’s gaze gradually through the buildings enlarged windows, now framed by midnight blue metal, strengthening the visual impact of the façade facing the street, which is further enhanced by the interplay of light and shadow from the awnings and the greenery… The hotel draws its identity from the reinterpretation of the window theme, highlighted by a large metal frame integrating a jardinière planted with flowers and an awning, all in the same midnight blue color. The jardinière also serves as the backseat of a banquette inside the guestrooms.
The hotel contains 48 new guestrooms organized around an interior courtyard whose glass roof floods the lounge bar area and the breakfast room with natural light. The hotel’s roof has a lovely terrace – a poetic area designed for daydreaming and relaxation – with a view of the mythical Dame de Fer (or Iron Lady, aka: the Eiffel Tower) whose slender upper structure soars above the surrounding Paris rooftops.
Project Sheets
Client: Orso Hôtels - Solanet SAS Gestion Hôtelière
Project management: Silvio d’Ascia Architecture
Project team: Hauvette & Madani - Interior designer, Make Ingénierie - Structure, Pinard Ingénierie - Fluids/Economy/operational project manager, Venatech - Acoustics
Program: refurbishing and raising the height of a hotel
Surface: 1,370 m² (14,746 sq ft)
Cost: €5,000,000 excl. VAT
Calendar: delivered in 2020
