Alfred Hitchcock, the grand master of suspense, had a profound effect not only on story telling and filming techniques but also on film sets, aesthetics and use of space. French architect and designer Morgane Roux of design studio Atelier Avéus has drawn on Hitchcockian tropes to build a series of mesmerising virtual interiors.

Inspired by the look, atmosphere and dialogue of Hitchcock movies, Roux designed a set of theatrical interiors to showcase three main protagonists that happen to be her own furniture designs: An armchair, a suspension light, and a console and mirror set.

Why Hitchcock? “Hitchcock often represented the physical world as a projection of a disturbed person shown through striking set design and lighting effects” she tells us.

Cultivating the dramatic potential of the domestic sphere, Roux (in collaboration with with 3D artist Ergun Ayral) has staged the furniture almost as a short storyboard. From the private environment of a bedroom to the public space of a hotel lobby, each environment has been designed as a narrative scene, incorporating visual hints to some of the director’s most famous movies such as Vertigo, Rebecca, Rear Window.

Roux says “Architectural elements such as doors, windows or staircases are central to each composition, encouraging architecture itself to play a big role in each visual. The resulting scenes reinforce a feeling of anxiety and suspense within the interior configurations”.

The visuals push the boundaries between fiction and reality, and mix architecture and furniture with accessories, colours and even dialogues which Roux has been inspired by.

Here’s how she describes each scene:-

“The Secret Hotel Room is a place of concealment. The night setting and the dark environment of the room describe a type of temporary space out of the ordinary world and everyday life, made to receive secrets and lust.”

The slither of white light through the open door invites us into the bathroom beyond. We sense what we find might not be altogether positive.

“The Uncanny Lobby is built around a gigantic spooky staircase often seen in movies as a physical and also narrative crossing point. The curiosity moves the character upstairs where other rooms contain mystery and secrets as opposed to downstairs, where the space is usually brighter, wider, more open to visitors, and linked to the outside world.”

“The suspense inherent to the stairs is proportionally linked to the speed the character walks them.”

The red carpet invites us to venture up the stairs, step by step, into the next scene.

“The Confinement Room plays with the complementary themes of voyeurism and confinement within a restricted space.”

“The architecture of the room is an instrument of gaze that becomes gradually more efficient as darkness increases. The huge window provides a visual escape to the public realm reinforcing, by contrast, the isolation of the character inhabiting the room.”

The angular sculptural chair invites us sit and stare into the windows beyond.

We love this use of props and furniture to create virtual set design with a strong narrative. Which room will you venture into?