3 questions to Christophe Pillet, interior designer and architect

Is the hotel industry of tomorrow already on the move?

In a way, yes. Hotels are adapting to the changing needs of their clientele. Before, you had two types of hotel, purely business establishments, with every possible service to satisfy business travellers, and leisure establishments, highly decorated and dreamlike. Today, the boundary between business and private life is no longer so marked. Customers will not accept not finding all the services they need in a hotel that, at the same time, has to offer a change of scenery. The fusion of genres must be complete. Public spaces become living spaces in their own right, while adapting to those who want to chat in complete privacy or, on the contrary, party. In the same way, meeting rooms combine the formal and the informal, with sofas for moments of relaxation, for example.

What role does technology play in this development?

A hotel has to be extremely technological. That doesn't mean it has to have a plethora of buttons, the outward signs of overdone modernity. Everything has to be simple. The proof is in the intuitiveness of Apple's tools or the world of cars. Today, a car runs by itself and no one asks how it works. The hotel industry is at the dawn of a new era. Take reception, for example. You queue up, go through the formalities, and all the while you're not enjoying the hotel experience. Now, all this can be handled technologically, using a complex back office management system, but one that would offer absolute efficiency.

Beyond technology, what about design?

A hotel has to have character. It's like in fashion. We choose a brand - Gucci or Gap - based on our inspirations, because they reflect a world. Hotels used to play to the lowest common denominator in order to reach the greatest number of customers. These days, however, we need something strong, something that may not appeal to everyone, but which offers moments that are not neutral. This work on experience is never-ending. Design is part of this, but it shouldn't just have a visual dimension, the wow effect. It must be functional, or create an intimate, sensual relationship through materials and colours. Perhaps we need less design, but better design.