The salon Chéret, is an historical private room at the heart of Paris’ City Hall. It is a majestic setting: golden coffered ceiling, herringbone parquet and tall stained-glass arched windows that were decorated in the early 19th century by the French painter and poster designer Jules Chéret. Paris’ Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, decided to subtly transform it as a coworking space dedicated to the elected representative and administrative staff. The Mayor wished for a quick and non-expensive operation that would facilitate team work, help to create new interactions and prompt creativity.

In order to do so, we submitted the idea of working with the existing human and material ressources. We thus collaborated with the various recycling center of Paris to collect pieces of old furnitures and then had the technical offices of the City Hall to fix or transform them. Except for the wall and ceiling lamps and the main table base that we had made by the City Hall locksmith, all furnitures were obtained by the re-use of materials. The low-down of the armchairs were made from re-assembled doors. The chairs, from different times and styles, were unified by a grey painting that emphasizes the diversity of their shapes. The turquoise tint areas coat and adorn the cupboards as well as the sittings of the armchairs.

The underlaying concept of this new layout was to show that wastes can be reused and find a second life, even in a building with a high historical value. Practical and open toward the unexpected, this kind of approach is an alternative to the dominant non-restorative way of consumption, and aims to promote a more circular economy.