Relais de Chambord
Renaissance legacy,
contemporary soul
Context, challenge and objectives
History always gives us almost all the answers. Let us travel back to the first half of 16th century France, specifically to 1515. King Francis I came to the throne after the death of the heirless Louis XII. He received a deeply rooted education, inspired and influenced by the Italian Renaissance thought during the period. Through his reign, he brought about the French Renaissance, an era in which all disciplines related to the arts and literature flourished in France.
In 1519, he decided to build a royal hunting lodge in France’s Loire Valley region, which became the largest and most impressive Renaissance castle in the Château de Chambord area.
The Château is set in stunning natural surroundings on the Le Cosson river banks and enclosed by a garden and more than 5,400 hectares of “Domaine National” forest. Deer, mouflon, wild boar, pheasants and other animals can be seen in what is the largest walled nature reserve in Europe. In 2018, architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte completed restoration of the château’s former farm and opened the Relais de Chambord hotel, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
Despite all this history, the Relais de Chambord experience is a far cry from pure historicism. The hotel’s interior perfectly combines a precise balance between the delicacy of meticulously restored antique furniture and décor with signature furnishings that create a minimalist and sophisticated ambience. Time travel through interior design and totem pieces such as the original gardening tools from the private collection of Guillaume Pellerin, ceramics by Ettore Sottsass, lightning by Marcel Wanders and Johanna Grawunder or the antique engraving courtesy of the Château de Chambord. An extremely sophisticated atmosphere where art and culture have an undisputed presence, combined with a service based on excellence.
This is the level of finesse that we have tried to transfer to the brand’s web experience, placing it in the privileged natural environment surrounding the castle. The greens, ochres and browns of the leaves are the inspiration for the colour palette that takes us back to that walled estate full of flora and fauna during Francis I’s autumn hunting days.
The interface is built from dynamic modules with a very editorial style that, combined with elegant and subtle parallax animations, tells us about the refinement, calm and tranquillity that reign over Chambord. These elements come together perfectly to create an exciting design and navigation that automatically transports us to the château’s grounds.
The typographic design is dominated by the Canela family used in capitals, which stands out with the same elegance and majesty as the castle itself. These shapes are caught somewhere between sans and serif, soft and sharp, modern but with classical roots. Its restrained elegance, coupled with motifs taken from the construction of the logo’s isotype, made it the perfect typeface to speak to these two sides of the Relais de Chambord experience.
Our web project for Relais de Chambord has been recognised with an honourable mention and a Mobile Excellence certificate in the prestigious Awwwards directory.