At first glance, it has the familiar, generous proportions of a traditional club chair. Look a little closer, though, and its construction is anything but traditional. Instead of building that volume from layers of foam, Shrinx uses a lightweight steel frame covered by a specially made textile.

The loose, pre-sewn cover is draped over the frame and secured in place before heat is applied. As the textile contracts, it reshapes itself around the structure, creating the chair’s softly rounded form. So the name is not simply a bit of playful spelling: the chair really does shrink into shape.

The technique was developed with German textile specialist Krall+Roth. Because the fabric is shrunk rather than pulled tightly across the frame, it gives the chair a slightly translucent, almost architectural quality. From a distance it looks reassuringly substantial, but the visible structure makes it feel unexpectedly light.

It is a clever use of materials that questions whether a comfortable-looking lounge chair has to rely on conventional foam upholstery. The result is part club chair, part construction experiment, and somehow still looks rather inviting.

Originally spotted at Dezeen.

The interior is shaped almost entirely by eucalyptus, a fast-growing tree widely used in Portugal for paper production. Policrónica sourced it directly from small forest owners and gave it a far more lasting role here, using the wood for panelling, furniture, lighting and fittings throughout the hotel.

I love the honeyed colour of the wood, but it is the details that really make the place: arched windows, sculpted ceilings and pieces of furniture that seem to have their own expressions. They belong together without becoming identical, a little like a very well-behaved group of schoolchildren.

Almost everything was designed and made in Policrónica’s own workshop. Keeping the process together allowed the studio to use more of each tree, reduce repeated transport and develop new ways of working with a difficult material. Its solar vacuum dryers reduce the eucalyptus drying time from around 18 months to just six days.

For all that careful thinking, the rooms do not feel like an environmental demonstration. Warm wood, brass, plant fibres and neutral fabrics create a simple, restful interior, with a touch of the wabi-sabi appreciation for natural materials and quiet imperfection.

It may not be the most traditionally Parisian hotel interior, but perhaps that is part of its charm. Step in from the lively streets of Montmartre and the whole place seems to exhale.

Originally found at The Spaces. Photography by Julien Labrousse.