Ace Hotel Brooklyn has officially opened its doors, bringing 287 guestrooms, an immersive art programme and a public lobby with multiple bars – there’s more to come – and a gallery to the district’s Boerum Hill.

Designed by Roman and Williams, its unique façade blends seamlessly with interiors that take cues from the raw artist studio spaces of the European modernists, with bespoke furnishings outfitting its every alcove.

“We see Brooklyn as its own city, filled with so much hope, possibility and excitement for the future,” says Brad Wilson, President of Ace Hotel Group. “Ace Brooklyn has been a labour of love – a gorgeous building, in many ways a reunion and a reinvention, and one we’re delighted to share with our guests and neighbours. We’re proud to have filled its spaces with the many talents of collaborators across art, design and culture; it’s a testament to the irrepressible creative energy of the borough, and a firm investment in its future.”

A 13-storey construction in raw concrete, Ace Brooklyn was designed from the ground up by Roman and Williams along with Stonehill Taylor, who worked alongside as the architects for the project. Made up of metal, glass and precast concrete elements, the building’s rough-edged façade celebrates the natural beauty of its materials, along with the rugged handiwork of the builders who brought them together.

The façade’s dramatic centrepiece is a custom ceramic mural crafted by iconic modernist Stan Bitters, coupled with a sculptural light installation designed by Roman and Williams in homage to the Hotel Okura in Tokyo – a beacon of modernist hospitality designed by Yoshiro Taniguchi, which was sadly demolished in 2015. Inside, interiors marry exposed concrete with other naturally textural elements – surfaces of Douglas fir, oak, plywoods and leathers – to form organic, open shapes throughout. The lobby features vintage and bespoke seating too, with half moon windows illuminating the lobby bar in natural light. The bar is finished with an original wall sculpture from RW Guild artist Verdan Jakšić, and a discreet, large-scale drawing by Tara Geer.

Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, founders and Principals of Roman and Williams, comment: “After seven years, we are proud to unveil one of our most comprehensive architectural and interior commissions to date in Ace Hotel Brooklyn, our third collaboration with Ace Hotel. We aimed to embrace a solid muscular design vocabulary, employing confident lasting construction methods and materials, ones with gravity and strength. A primitive modernist philosophy guided us, it is expressed in the tactile spirit of the design. From the building’s strong and unadorned façade, to the celebration of raw old-growth timber in the public screens, to the plywood furniture collection in the rooms, we aspire to be as energetic and untamed as Brooklyn itself.”

Drawing inspiration from Le Corbusier’s workspace retreat Le Cabanon, guestrooms were imagined as cabins of creative refuge: elegant and efficient yet with a good deal of breathing room. The furnishings are handcrafted from raw, understated materials – including custom sofas and chairs, classically-loomed cotton bedding and purpose-built, minimalist fixtures. Bespoke bed covers were crafted by Maine Heritage Weavers; bath products are from Uka; in select rooms, acoustic guitars are provided by D’Angelico Guitars; and turntables are made by Music Hall, with vinyl record selections courtesy of our friends at Rough Trade. Ace Brooklyn’s in-room art programme meanwhile was curated by artist Niki Tsukamoto and brings together original textile and fibre pieces from roughly two dozen artists, many of whom are based in the borough.

Throughout the rest of 2021, The Gallery at Ace Hotel Brooklyn will showcase works by artists featured in the guestrooms, starting with a show of textile works by Cynthia Alberto and Weaving Hand in July and August 2021. The lobby’s Ace Shop will also be stocked with home goods and jewellery from a number of the artists.

Ace Hotel Brooklyn is the newest member of the Ace family, joining a portfolio of existing properties in Seattle, Portland, New York, Palm Springs, Downtown LA, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Chicago and Kyoto.