The Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace and the Indigo Hotel – Brussels City have a shared sales and bookings department that dovetails perfectly with the Art Nouveau ambience of the former and the plant-inspired decoration of the latter.
This new project, orchestrated by Alternativ on behalf of the Pandox AB hotel company, involved the design and fit-out of a sales and bookings department shared by the Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace and the Indigo Hotel – Brussels City, located within the walls of the Indigo.
For Frédéric Bouchacourt, Project Manager at Alternativ, it was a question of designing a warm, welcoming workspace inspired by the codes of operating within what is a usually cold, service-based space – but a place that is also productive and helps support identity. “Our client wanted a workspace that reflected the overall atmosphere of the hotel,” recounts Frédéric, recalling the great synergy generated by the team. “So we responded accordingly. I say ‘we’, because this project is the overall outcome of a team effort at Alternativ. My architect colleague, Pedro Rodrigues, was also involved in the initial briefing sessions with the client, which led to the development of a concept featuring a very specific visual identity. We then modelled the projects, added the decorative elements and colours, and my colleagues Lydia Simons and Guillaume Duquesne produced the 3D mock-up of the project.”
Absorbent acoustic materials
“The largish room of 120 square metres that we had to revamp had a few surprises in store for us – which is often the case when working with old buildings,” continues Frédéric, who is never over-awed by the size of the job to be done. Quite the contrary, in fact: Alternativ just loves a challenge. So everything was rethought and renovated, from floor to ceiling, including full electrics and bespoke joinery. The aim was to create a versatile working environment for a rotating team of 24 employees. Personal storage spaces were designed in the form of cabinets, plus the installation of non-personalised seating and a ‘Silent Box’, which provides the perfect antidote to the hustle and bustle of the office when a quiet place to work is required.
Alternativ also worked with absorbent acoustic materials (for the ceilings, partition walls, panels, etc.) to cut down the noise created in a small, crowded area dedicated to office work frequently interrupted by telephone calls and so on. Providing staff and other visitors with the ideal level of working comfort and convenience was an essential requirement for Alternativ.
A single place with a single identity
Frédéric Bouchacourt also produced and polished the visual identity of the offices used for the sales and bookings department, drawing creativity from the Art Nouveau atmosphere of the Crowne Plaza Brussels – Le Palace and, in particular, from the plant-inspired ambience of the Indigo Hotel – Brussels City, imbued with the calm of its near neighbour, the Botanic Gardens. “We opted for a very feminine and flower-based effect, using touches of natural wood, with notes of green generated by a warm floral wallpaper and pastel seating,” he says, concluding with, “The decorative effect evokes gentleness and harmony, breathing a zen breeze into the sales and bookings department, where the atmosphere has a tendency to become very heated!”
