Ace Hotel, New York
Much like its counterpart in Oregon, Ace New York is a mix of styles, historical periods and objects that come together in layers.
Formerly the Breslin Hotel, the historic property that houses Ace Hotel New York was built in 1904 as part of what would become an avenue of hotels, the property was situated in Times Square at the turn of the century—an area full of clubs and restaurants, and New York’s first neighbourhood to be electrified with lighting and signage.
Ace collaborated with New York-based design firm Roman & Williams to create the Ace Hotel New York. The practice is known for its highly tactile, layered and resonant environments, and they’ve infused the spaces with a mix of vintage and custom furnishings and objects. They are riffing on the hotel’s intrinsic character, unconstrained by any particular time period or style, and with a sense of play.
The mélange of furnishings, objects, lighting and finishes reflects this sense of unconventionality and freedom. By layering pieces from several different periods, sources and original uses, Roman & Williams has created something that feels entirely new. A variety of vintage seating pieces with their original patinas – some recovered with modest industrial fabrics such as felt and wool and others recovered with more luxurious velvets – mixed with two ‘70s style suede sofas, custom designed by Roman & Williams. An 18 - foot laboratory table with a slate top will provide space for impromptu meetings, meals, and conversation. Custom-designed lighting fixtures, made of handblown glass globes and industrial pipes, encircle the four massive columns in the lobby.
The library is defined by custom-blackened steel shelving units, a French bakery table, school chairs and English wing chairs. For the reception desk, three steel factory tables have been fused together, with leather- covered tops. A large vintage apothecary cabinet behind the desk provides storage.
The lobby bar is constructed from a reclaimed library of a Park Avenue apartment, and installed into a stage set in the lobby. This 25-by-10-foot space operates as a found object, as a celebrated artwork, and as a focal point. Above the bar, huge 7-foot-high marquis letters spelling out ‘ACE’ fill the space between the top of the found room and the 18- foot ceilings.
In contrast to the layered and historical lobby, the rooms are more efficient. Custom-designed furnishings including a clothes rack have been made from bent plumbing pipes with hanging steel boxes replaces a closet, and references the neighbourhood’s fashion-world history. Pipes also appear in the bath accessories and desk legs, showing how stock materials can be re-appropriated to make something elegant but simple, unfussy and ultimately anti-design.
Music comes from either your iPod or a sleek turntable, made complete by a classic wire basket mounted under the desk to hold the collection of new and used records. Some of the rooms are equipped with a full-size Smeg refrigerator, stocked with food, making the rooms feel more like an apartment than a typical hotel room. Each room is individualised by Chalkboard paint on the walls and paintings by young artists.
www.romanandwilliams.com
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