Why did you want to work together?
Therese Virserius: I had my firm out of New York for almost a decade and wanted to have more influence in the European market by having a presence in Paris. Regina and I had talked about doing something together since we are both creative, and this was the ideal opportunity.
Regina Virserius: For me, I wanted to be part of the mission bringing to life all aspects of culture and values through design.
TS: There wasn’t a better partner to have than my sister, especially since we have a very close relationship.
Early memories of working together?
TV: It was a rough start, as we had to learn each other’s respective working styles. Regina is more research and academia based. I am more business and execution oriented. We needed to understand each other in this working context at first. But now we complement each other very well and fundamentally understand each other. After all, we are sisters.
The locally informed Big Easy restaurant in Durban, South Africa.
Big break?
TV: Le Campus [meeting space] at the Hyatt Regency Charles de Gaulle in Paris. It was the first project that fully leveraged our strengths. In addition, we had a wonderful client, the Blackstone Group, that supported our vision and allowed us to truly push the envelope. They wanted something they hadn’t seen before, and they chose us because we are very good at creating not just projects but guest lifestyles that elicit a reaction. Le Campus has since become the Hyatt brand standard.
RV: Also, we worked just as strongly on the design as on the art and on the graphics, including inviting renowned artists to lend their talents to the project.
Rows of Fornasetti plates back the geoemtric reception desk at the Hyatt Regency Montreal.
What are each other’s strengths and weaknesses?
RV: I get stuff done, I’m very action-driven. However, I can be impatient for things to happen; I need a lot of exactitude that is sometimes not possible, and I need to let it go.
TV: My strength is that I make very fast decisions. My weakness is that I make very fast decisions.
Tell us about your design process.
TV: Our process begins with extensive research on the country where the project is located. What worked for our DoubleTree project in London, wouldn’t work for Hotel Bloom in Brussels, which differs from our work on Hotel Berlin or Le Campus in Paris, despite their relative geographical proximity.
RV: We learn about everything—the city, local geography, topography, language, culture, history, customs, religion, foods—to get a better understanding of the place’s essence, what makes it tick, and share that knowledge with the team. It’s from there that we can work on several scales and dimensions, crafting a story with substance and authenticity. It allows us to better understand the client, which allows the client to better understand us. This was particularly exciting and important when we expanded to Africa with Big Easy in Durban, South Africa.
The energetic Le Campus meeting area at the Hyatt Regency Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Project that showcases your firm?
TV: The Hyatt Regency Montreal showcases how we made a business hotel feel like a lifestyle hotel, conveying very specific artistic sentiments within the public spaces. Renaissance Paris La Defense shows our strengths with working with several entities (owners, operators, etc.) in realizing a project. The event spaces at Marriott Charles de Gaulle and Le Campus are both very flexible and showcase understated elegance and playfulness, respectively.
RV: Hotel Bloom in Brussels with its very short timeline tested our capacity to work fast from concept to realization. Finally, our work on the Big Easy restaurants in Durban and Miami showcase our attention to detail, seamlessly tying elements together like using the wine corks from Ernie Els’ vineyards in the art in both locations.
The foyer leading to Marriott Charles de Gaulle’s meeting rooms.
Project you are looking forward to?
RV: We just began work on a rebrand for the Hotel Africa in Tunis, Tunisia, our second project on the continent, and we are immersed in the culture and heritage while learning how to push a more contemporary way of traveling and working.
Biggest challenge of owning your firm?
TV: Disconnecting and keeping balance. There is that ongoing passion of having your own business that makes you think of it day in and day out, but it is also important to have some distance so that it doesn’t completely absorb your life.
White and yellow accents define the Renaissance Paris La Defense guestrooms.
Biggest challenge about your partnership?
RV: Working with the constant change in time zones.
TV: Being present in both offices, not just physically but mentally as well. It’s tough—our attention is constantly being pulled in different directions. That is why communication and honesty are paramount.
