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When guests leave reviews of the Quality Hotel Toulouse Sud on TripAdvisor they invariably use a single word to describe the interior design: “Wow!” Located on the campus of the Oncopole cancer research facility in the city of Toulouse, the 90-room hotel, designed by Jean-Paul Viguier Architecture, is six storeys high and offers 360 degree views of the grounds of the Oncopole campus.
“Neon orange, purple, pink or blue lines used for wayfinding around the circular hallways and as accents in guest rooms, meeting rooms, reception and the spectacular lounge area at the base of the central void.”
The circular building is composed of a base level pedestal that houses the ground floor, reception and other hotel services, a six-storey high cylinder that houses all 90 hotel rooms and is comprised of a radius span of about 15 metres, and a soaring atrium that marks the centre of the building, allowing maximum natural light into the hallways on all levels. The central void allows ample interior air circulation, which the structural mass utilises for the air-conditioning system. This feature has allowed the building to meet high environmental standards, requirements and certifications. The interiors, designed by Atelier Benoit Fazan, are bold, bright and colourful, with wall to wall carpet as the flooring choice throughout. For the lounge area, a custom soft ‘colour washed’ design has been used for the carpeting, inset with curved lines accentuating the curved seating arrangements lit by clusters of lamps on poles inset into the seating.
The truly eye-catching detail, though, are the neon orange, purple, pink or blue lines used for wayfinding around the circular hallways and as accents in guest rooms, meeting rooms, reception and the spectacular lounge area at the base of the central void. This linear treatment gives a rhythm and life to spaces that would be lacking with plain carpet, and lifts the otherwise neutral carpet design on the guest room floors with its softer pattern of broken parallel lines. The four-star hotel is spectacularly designed throughout. And the both aesthetically pleasing and functionally effective little details in the carpet, as well as their significant soundproofing, is no doubt part of this overall impression, which has caused so many to enter and leave the beautiful hotel muttering the same single word: “Wow”.
Key takeaways from this amazing design:
- Use bold coloured lines on the carpets to assist with wayfinding – or opt for more subtle hints, that help visitors of a large hotel or office find their way to the reception, lobby, restaurant or to the colour-coded area in which their room is.
- The same coloured lines can further be used to delineate seating areas and give rhythm and life to the various spaces.
- Wall to wall carpet’s superior acoustic properties ensure privacy and soundproofing not only between guest rooms but also between floors in multi-storey hotels.
