Alexandre Danan
the decorator of Maison Mère

Alexandre Danan has imagined the decor of Maison Mère in adequation with the personality of its founder, Aziz Temimi, and with his human conception of architecture and design.

Alexandre Danan ©Alexandre Danan Life@MM

EDO
and the Temimi family

EDO : three letters standing for “European Design Office” but which also remind of Japan. This country fascinates Alexandre Danan, the founder of this Interior Architecture and Design agency. After graduating from the Ecole Camondo and the Superior School of Arts and Techniques, Alexandre completed his training by building a house in Ouarzazate, at the edge of the Moroccan desert.

Since the creation of EDO in 2000, Alexandre has worked for prestigious hotel establishments. To him, Maison Mère stands out by the originality of the project and by his long-established relationship with the family of the founder Aziz Temimi. Alexandre values the high degree of trust established between them, which allows them “to go beyond matters of ego and genuinely deal with the psychology and evolution of the project”.

Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan at work ©Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan at work

One hotel,
two working sites

Through his experience, Alexandre has witnessed that many hotels are built or renovated without a true human and long-term vision. To him, the perenniality of a hotel is guaranteed by its daily functioning, which he calls “the second working site”.

Ask Alexandre what makes the potential of a project, he will answer : the client. The founder of a hotel must know what he or she wants, because an authentic project is one that resembles them. In Aziz’s case, the dual thematic of the house and the mother appeared with such obviousness that everyone will truly feel at home.

Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan and his vision of architecture ©Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan and his vision of architecture

Architecture
in the service of mankind

Architecture is infused with psychology… As Alexandre sees things, it even is the starting point. There we find the influence of Bauhaus which has also influenced the artistic director of Maison Mère. 

The arrangements of space, the ratios of height, colours and materials have all been thought to place the visitor in a perfect psychological conditioning. This complexity is not meant to impress, but to surprise and thrill down to the smallest details. Senses are solicited in different ways along each step of the journey, from the ground floor flowing with energy to the arrival in the intimate cocoon of the room, without forgetting the transitional spaces in the corridors or the elevator.

Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan and the identity of Maison Mère ©Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan and the identity of Maison Mère

Movement,
contrasts and harmony

Alexandre has thought about everything to translate into space the identity of Maison Mère, whose strength lies in its perpetual motion. Responsive to the renewal of society, Maison Mère refuses to sectorize things, spaces and personalities. In that respect, the thematic of sliding introduced by Alexandre is discrete but omnipresent. As the floor sliding between tiles and wood parquet, as the transition from classic and familiar materials to contemporary and surprising ones...

Keep your eyes open to identify all the slidings around you… optimizing at the same time your chances to win the treasure hunt proposed during your stay.

 

© Leticia Zica

Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan and the beehive ©Maison Mère - Alexandre Danan and the beehive

Maison Mère
imagined as a beehive

For the architecture of Maison Mère to represent the spirit of the project, it had to give rise to a hybrid, versatile and evolutive space where everybody can take ownership : guests from all horizons, artists, creators, neighbors.

This is how the idea of the beehive came to Alexandre. In a beehive, all bees find their place and importance. Their diversity of functions and personalities create a vivifying ecosystem where every individual completes the others in a harmonious simplicity.

 

 

In harmony, certain things exist only by their opposite : the notion of isolating goes with that of gathering. Choice has a special place at Maison Mère. At all times we are free to seek refuge in our room, have a drink or share a meal at Hey Honey, experience one of the 36 scenarios created by the combinations between spaces, soundscapes and lighting atmospheres. Which is going to be your favorite scenario ? Come at Maison Mère to discover it !