Toronto, Canada
“Our intention with Ace Hotel Toronto was to make a positive contribution to our city, a welcoming civic space where life happens and memories are made, and where both locals and their guests feel equally at home,” claims Brigitte Shim from Shim-Sutcliffe Architects.
Designed by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects and Atelier Ace’s interior design team and developed in partnership with Zinc Developments and Alterra Group, the Ace Hotel Toronto is an homage to the rich history of industrial buildings in this former warehouse neighborhood featuring architectural elements that include exposed joints, knuckles, and red bricks reflecting the architects’ deep respect on the local architectural tradition.
Overlooking a public park, the hotel’s elevated lobby, suspended from huge concrete arches, is a local cultural hub, decorated with original artworks by mostly local artists—what Shim-Sutcliffe calls a “truly civic” space.
The featured artworks include Horizon Line, a three-storey, site-specific installation in the lobby designed by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects’ other co-founder, Howard Sutcliffe.
All furnishings and luminaires are custom-designed by Atelier Ace and Shim-Sutcliffe Architects in order to bring tangible comfort to the building’s design, and a playfully eclectic mix with vintage furniture sourced locally in Toronto.
“They have built an inherently civic space that respects the neighborhood’s storied past while nurturing its future,” states Brad Wilson, CEO of the Ace Hotel Group.
The building is clad in red bricks laid in various patterns across the facades, which were designed to recall “the important role bricks pressed from Don Valley clay played in forming the city’s visual identity,” according to the hotel’s team.
On the same level, a bar and lounge seating area are occupying this elevated space, which is decorated with shades of green and warm red oak.
As in every Ace Hotel, this area is intended as a community meeting space, serving coffee and pastries in the morning and drinks and small plates later on.
On a lower level, underneath the lobby, there is the hotel’s restaurant decorated in darker tones creating a more intimate atmosphere.
Project: Ace Hotel Toronto
Architects: Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc. and Atelier Ace Design Team
Developers: Zinc Developments and Altera Development Company LLC
Investors: ProWinko Canada Ltd. and Finer Space/B-Right Corporation Ltd.
Client: Atelier Ace Ltd
Photographers: Shim-Sutcliffe Architects Inc.
