Andromeda lights up the Trianon Palace Hotel, Versailles.

In the places of history, the design and creativity of the leading hand-made Murano glass lighting company

Andromeda has created the decorative lighting for the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles.
Opened in 1910, the Hotel is 500 m from Louis 14th’s royal residence with a splendid view of the Palace. It is not just any old hotel, but a historic location... the Treaty of Versailles was in fact signed in one of its rooms, the Clémenceau.

As part of a major renovation project covering the entire structure, the interior designer Fiona Thompson in collaboration with the London based Richmond International studio asked Andromeda to create decorative elements able to make a stay in the hotel a unique experience between aesthetics and design, fascination and atmosphere.

This was the starting point for a decorative lighting project covering the building’s most important areas - the Main Entrance, the Gallery, the Fine Dining Restaurant and the Brasserie. Custom made solutions able to bring out the best of the architectural and functional context were designed for each room.


To underline the extraordinary nature of the place, it was decided to use for the first time the Knit element, designed by Karim Rashid, in a structural and decorative concept developed by Michela Vianello, Andromeda Art Director, due to be completed in 2009 with presentation of a new series of structures with a fluid dynamic surface, introducing a new type of artistic element on the lighting scene.
Starting from the main entrance and along the more than 30 m. of the Gallery, four indefinable structures suspended at a height of 2 m. and weighing 150 kg represent a source of diffuse energy and light.

Consisting of 1300 Knit elements, the particular colour combination - from smoke grey to light grey, from transparent glass to an exclusive aged mirror effect - each element is characterised by a decorative motif... a spiral, a vertical stripe, or leopard's spots.
The Trianon Palace restaurant has been entrusted to Gordon Ramsay who is opening his first restaurant in France. The Fine Dining Restaurant is characterised by a simple intimate atmosphere, decorated by Andromeda with a preview of the "Pearls" collection.
Designed by Michela Vianello for Andromeda, it consists of six 4 m. high custom made structures each with 220 transparent glass spheres. Arranged in two different configurations - a descending spiral and on irregular levels - the spheres are handmade in three different sizes and decorated with three different relief patterns - the ballottòn effect (a dotted web pattern), striped and ribbed. Diameter, decoration and distribution create a complex movement over which the light flows, creating an appearance of great aesthetic lightness. A complex light control and supply system enables the atmosphere to be changed according to the needs of the room.

Gordon Ramsay also wanted a second less formal room, for which Fiona Thompson has designed a more casual relaxed atmosphere. The la Veranda brasserie looks out over the magnificent garden in front of the Versailles palace. Characterised by the geometric patterns of the window and the formal simplicity of the décor, the contrast between light and dark tones suggested the use of elements from the Soirée collection.
This is a reinterpretation of the Venetian chandelier brought up to date in Andromeda taste. With an evocative name, the five Le Roi c’est moi chandeliers are an active presence in the long room, softening the rigorous profile of the interiors with their gentle shapes.

Built in 1909 by architect René Sergent on the site of an old monastery, the Trianon Palace looks out over the royal gardens of the Castle of Versailles. Immediately a favourite haunt of Parisian high society, the beauty of the building and legendary gardens attracted guests of the calibre of Marcel Proust, Sarah Bernhardt and René Lacoste. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor chose to spend their honeymoon there and in 1919 it hosted work to draw up the Treaty of Versailles.
Less than 30 minutes from Paris, the Trianon Palace is a magnificent synthesis of history, elegance, excellent services and natural enchantment.
The hotel is part of the Starwood Westin Group; Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant and brasserie are run by an Italian chef: Simone Zanoni; the Trianon also boasts one of France's top Spas.

Photograph: Giovanni Cecchinato