Art at the heart: Ace Hotel Brooklyn
The striking lobby of Ace Hotel Brooklyn; photo by Kent Johnson, courtesy of Ace Hotel.
by Jade French
Embedded in the sleek rawness of Ace Hotel’s new Brooklyn location is a European modernist sensibility, custom-built for the thrumming energy of New York. Rearing 13-storeys into the sky like a Bauhaus campus, the space has been designed by Roman and Williams and architect Stonehill Taylor with an artist’s sensibility in mind.
The building’s façade might be all rugged concrete, glass and metal but inside takes inspiration from the artist’s studio, with spaces imagined as “cabins of creative refuge”. In particular, the design team drew on Le Corbusier's workspace retreat Le Cabanon, the only building that the architect built to use himself. On the outside, the Cabanon was built in the style of a traditional Canadian log cabin, embracing nature and texture. Inside though, modular and functional design still reigned.
Inside the Ace Hotel Brooklyn, modular and functional design reign supreme; photo by Kent Johnson, courtesy of Ace Hotel.
Similarly, the Ace Hotel has used understated, natural materials in combination with purpose-built, minimalist fixtures to craft a home-away-from-home that still embodies creative flair. Contrary to the idea that modernist design can be alienating, they use materials such as douglas fir, oak, plywood and leather — combined with natural light — to soften the edges. With public space in abundance, there are multiple bars and cafes for people to hang out in, work and meet friends.
Art is also at the heart of the interior design. Tapestries and fibre sculptures hang over the beds, referencing the likes of Anni Albers who applied modernism’s geometric patterns to the loom. The pieces in each room are curated by artist Niki Tsukamoto, who chose two dozen contemporary local textile artists to be part of an ongoing programme. In the small art gallery attached to the hotel, the opening exhibited a series of colourful textile projects made by Cynthia Alberto and Weaving Hand. Support for local fibre artists also continues throughout the year, with November’s NYC Design Week heralding a takeover by Black Folks in Design and an experimental exhibition in December by the Textile Art Center.
Materials like douglas fir, oak, plywood and leather are plentiful; photo by Kent Johnson, courtesy of Ace Hotel.
An intense attention to detail is clear throughout the open spaces; photo by Kent Johnson, courtesy of Ace Hotel.
Elsewhere in the hotel, the bar is home to an original wall sculpture from RW Guild artist Verdan Jakšic and a discreet, large-scale drawing by Tara Geer. Wander outside and you’ll find a bespoke ceramic mural by modernist sculptor Stan Bitters.
Embedding creative legacies into design is something Ace Hotel excels at — unsurprising considering the chain’s roots in Seattle’s music and arts scene. With an intense attention to detail and craftsmanship, the hotel truly is, as Brad Wilson (President of the Ace Hotel Group) puts it: “a testament and tribute to the irrepressible creative energy of the borough [of Brooklyn] and a firm investment in its future”.