Maison&Objet selected the “out-of-the-box”, undefinable, and non-commercial Lionel Jado as its designer of the year for this edition. Tasked with creating an installation that reimagines hospitality, Jadot’s innovative portfolio makes this challenge a natural fit.
Celebrated Belgian designer Lionel Jadot has always pushed the boundaries of design, and his latest project at Maison&Objet continues that trend. Named Designer of the Year – Hospitality, Jadot was given carte blanche to create a pavilion that encapsulates his unique vision of what hospitality should be in the modern world. True to form, Jadot’s installation is more than a design showcase; it’s a bold statement on sustainability, creativity, and the industry’s future.
Jadot emphasizes using local materials and designers, minimizing waste, and focusing on sustainability. He often works with leftover materials and bio-based products, collaborating with nearby designers and artisans. Many of his projects involve reusing waste materials, like fabric scraps, plastic, wood, and metal, to create new functional designs. He collaborates with various studios to upcycle materials into scalable products. He collaborates with a wide range of craftsmen, pushing the boundaries of traditional materials and methods, experimenting with elements like mycelium, eggplant leather, and papier-mâché.
His designs are intended to be scalable and adaptable. He strives to create unique, project-specific designs rather than mass-produced items, ensuring each project stands out. Jadot promotes transparency and fairness in project costs, advocating for direct collaboration without middlemen, where designers and artisans invoice directly for their work.
During a press tour, he discussed the creation of residency spaces for designers to come together and collaborate, with projects like Zaventem Atelier in Belgium and a new project in Portugal.
With this installation, he hopes to inspire the hospitality industry to adopt more sustainable and responsible practices, prioritizing local production and reducing waste.
A Pavilion Grown from Nature and Leftovers
For Maison&Objet, Jadot has crafted a pavilion that highlights his signature approach of upcycling and collaboration. He worked with a diverse group of artists to transform recycled and natural materials into works of art.
One of the standout features of the pavilion is a table grown from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms. The table, with a top made of mycelium and a base crafted from locally sourced beechwood, exemplifies Jadot’s belief in the potential of sustainable materials to shape the future of design.
“It’s alive. The mycelium grows and forms a network, binding everything naturally without the need for glue or artificial binders,” Jadot explained during a press conference tour of his installation. “Over time, the structure strengthens, almost like it has a life of its own, creating a solid and organic form. Once the growth process is complete, we stop it, and the material hardens into a durable, functional surface.”
The installation showcases a series of interconnected rooms, each created in collaboration with different designers who share his ethos of reuse and reinvention. For instance, one room features wall coverings made from leftover eggplant skins, while another displays a chandelier constructed from discarded wood and cardboard. Each room in the pavilion tells a story, not just about beauty or craftsmanship, but about the importance of thinking locally and minimizing waste.
Here are a few of the many incredible designs on display and the materials used to make them:
1. Lamp by Xavier Servaz – Made from animal intestines, sewn together with a small ventilator creating a poetic, flowing effect.
2. Curtains by Emma Cognier – Crafted from plastic tubes salvaged from electric cables, woven together to create room separations.
3. Furniture by Duplex Studio – Constructed from leftover wooden flooring and metal profiles, repurposed from industrial waste.
4. Wall Covering by Papier Boulette – Made using papier-mâché from discarded cardboard found in the streets.
5. Chair made with Asphalt by Lionel Jadot – Created using collected asphalt from roads, with a metal structure built around it.
A Childhood Shaped by Design and the Next Gen
Jadot’s remarkable journey into the world of design began in the most natural of ways. Born in Brussels in 1969, he grew up in a family of master craftsmen. The Van Hamme workshop, established in 1895, was home to generations of chair-makers, and it became Jadot’s creative playground. As a child, he spent countless hours in the family’s 3,000-square-meter workshop, experimenting with wood scraps and building his first stool at just six years old.
In keeping with his family’s deep-rooted connection to craftsmanship, Lionel Jadot’s daughter, now in her mid-twenties and trained as a jewelry craftswoman, contributed a personal piece to the Maison&Objet installation. She crafted a delicate metal rose, placed at one of the pavilion’s entrances on a beautifully crafted wooden table with a top resembling the texture of a sandy desert.
When asked to choose his favorite piece from the installation, Jadot selected this rose, placed thoughtfully beside a small gray stone with traces of white matter. The rose itself was adorned with subtle light markings, symbolizing both tradition and the future of craftsmanship, continuing the legacy of creativity that runs in the family.
The Mix Brussels Hotel: A Radical Example
Jadot’s installation at Maison&Objet is a reflection of the radical design philosophy he has applied to his many projects, including the Mix Brussels Hotel. This project is a concrete example of Jadot’s groundbreaking approach to hospitality. Located in the iconic **Royale Belge** building, the 180-room hotel is a mix of raw materials, locally sourced designs, and bespoke furniture that tells the story of the building’s past while embracing modern sustainability.
For this project, Jadot collaborated with 52 designers, all of whom worked within a 50-mile radius of the site, creating a deeply local and eco-conscious space. The hotel interiors are crafted from upcycled materials, from furniture made with discarded wooden floors to curtains woven from electric cable tubing. Every design decision speaks to Jadot’s belief that luxury does not have to come at the expense of the environment.
The Maison&Objet installation, much like Mix Brussels, is designed to challenge the traditional notions of what a hotel or hospitality space should be.
A Future Built on Collaboration and Innovation
Jadot’s work is defined by his collaborative spirit. Whether it’s his long-standing Ateliers Zaventem project—an innovative 6,000-square-meter space where 32 independent designer-makers work side by side—or his hotel designs, Jadot always seeks to bring people together to create something unique.
At Maison&Objet, this collaborative ethos is on full display. His pavilion includes contributions from designers working with materials as diverse as papier-mâché, bamboo, and metal scraps, showing that creativity and sustainability can coexist beautifully.
“Everything can work together,” he often says, believing that the world of design is an endless puzzle of possibilities waiting to be explored.
Lionel Jadot’s installation is a reminder that the future of hospitality—and design more broadly—lies in the hands of those willing to think differently, reuse creatively, and embrace the locals.
With his vision now on display at one of the world’s most prestigious design events, Lionel Jadot continues to prove that the future of design is not just about innovation, but about reinvention.
