1300 square meters reinvented in a bold way to offer unexpected emotions for travelers. The new departures lounge of Terminal 2G at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport welcomes passengers on a level of hospitality never reached before. The French designer Dorothée Meilichzon has updated and transformed the site with a totally unconventional, playful spirit, creating soft, harmonious atmospheres. A sort of ‘cocoon’ in which to pass the time before takeoff (maximum estimated stay: 2.5 hours).
Meilichzon pays homage to French know-how and crafts with references to the 1960s and 1970s, while taking inspiration for the theme of the air, delving into a dreamy imaginary. The range of fabrics covering the upholstered furnishings, created for the occasion by Maison Thévenon, relies on a pied-de-poule transformed into ‘Plane Poule,’ where minute repeated designs reproduce a stylized airplane, incorporated in an extremely strong jacquard weave, with dominant shades of emerald green, slate or brass.
There are reclining chairs, like the ones on airplanes; the use of aluminium, typical of the plane interiors of the past, extends to the creation of mushroom lamps reminiscent of the 1920s; the reutilization of the classic carts used by flight crews, now transformed into trash bins. One of the most evocative features runs along the entire length of the space: a fresco showing a runway and its components seen from above.
Visitors also see a tribute to the city of Paris and its extraordinary art de vivre, a must for travelers even if they are only passing through. Dorothée Meilichzon offers re-imagined settings of gardens, fountains, monuments and colors of the Ville Lumière. A fountain at the center of the hall suggests that of the Luxembourg Gardens with its original round form, replaced in 1635 by an octagonal pool by the landscape designer André Le Nôtre. All around, a circle of metal chairs takes a wink at the typical urban furnishings of the French capital.
A series of columns, a symbol of the great Parisian avenues, adorn the space in hues of gray-green oxidized copper, referencing the roofs of major Parisian monuments like the Grand Palais and the Opéra Garnier. The famous flea market of Saint-Ouen is called into play by aluminium awnings, while a giant applique of the Ecole Nationale de l’Aviation Civile (ENAC) is joined by suspension lamps in the form of airplane engines.
Of course there are also connections with art. Under the plastic sculpture À l’ombre des arbres by the French artists Jean-Marie and Marthe Simonnet (known as Les Simonnet), lovers of board games can play chess or checkers. The invitation was extended to the sculpture duo by Gilbert Kann, a specialist in 20th-century decorative arts. The refurbished lounge in Terminal 2G also marks the debut of Extime, a new hospitality brand of Groupe ADP, created to offer all travelers a timeless experience through service, design and shopping.
Photo © Karel Balas
