location: Paris, France
year: 2008
We live in a world where everything seems to have a price. Every social, racial, religious or sexual group is placed in a particular category that can be assessed in terms of how muchrevenue they can bring to a particular industry branch. We are also subject to incessant judgment anywhere we go. Paris, the premier tourist destination, is not an exception. Its variety of hotels still segregates tourists placing them in an array of separate categories. In this world of division and exclusion, however, there are a few districts that dare not to mind what “other people will say”. Mama Shelter’s goal is to take into consideration the person and not the social constraints by which he is bound. We have created a “shelter”, which as opposed to locking one out from the outside world provides him with food for thought, an ambience in which he is able to think freely and discover the Paris known to locals by experiencing the French capital’s urban and cosmopolitan side. On November 22nd, 2001 we (Serge Trigano, former president of Club Med; Cyril Aouizerate, philosopher and expert on urban development; Benjamin Trigano, a partner in the US constantly in search of what’s “new”; Jérémie Trigano, the realist who pinpoints problems) discovered a picturesque spot in the 20th arrondissement, in the heart of the Village Saint Blaise. It was here, in this old garage “adorned” with graffiti by 109 rue de Bagnolet that we decided to drop anchor. Excited to start working on our new project, we began cooperating with Roland Castro on the architecture and Philippe Starck on the design, which, 7 years later, resulted in the materialization of Mama Shelter. In September of 2008 Mama Shelter will open its doors to the public revealing the 172 rooms on 7 floors in 5 color schemes. Each room is equipped with a kitchenette and was designed in collaboration with the famous designer, Philippe Starck, who made sure the hotel guests felt comfortable, as if they were staying in a sensual refuge with luxurious bedding, coffee machines, microwaves, 24 inch IMacs everything adorned with an urban twist. Our ambition was to create not only a place to spend the night, but to establish a modern kibbutz, a laic monastery, a place where friends can gather around the table to share a meal prepared by our chef or to visit the nearby “Fleche D’Or”, the popular Parisian electro-indie rock club. On the main floor of Mama Shelter guests will be greeted from across an enormous table with built-in screens in front of which cold cabinets will hold meals available to the guests 24/7.
designer: Philippe Starck Network
location: 109, rue de Bagnolet, Paris
year of completion: September 2008
photo: Ricardo Labougle, Cosmic Carrot Group
