When asked to design the restaurant and bar spaces in the new 138-room Mandarin Oriental in Paris, Patrick Jouin and Sanjit Manku of the firm Agence Jouin Manku looked for inspiration far removed from the contemporary: Versailles. “At the time, the palaces were cutting-edge,” says Manku. “They pushed the boundary in what you could do with material and craft.” For the Mandarin, the firm focused on materials, using stone and wood for the bar, plaster for the Camélia restaurant, and cotton fabric and wool carpet for the Sur Mesure restaurant. Of the last space, says Manku, “Your eyes get so used to [the white walls] that when the food comes on your plate, with the rich colors—the green of the asparagus or the red of the tomato—the food itself becomes the main experience.” There is, however, a shot of color in the restroom, which the firm covered in red resin scales. Visually, says Manku, it’s like “having a sorbet to cleanse your palate.”

Jouin Manku
The Mandarin Oriental Paris
Photos: Hélène Hilaire