2022 Eat Drink Design Awards: Best Hotel Design

Jury comment

The jury members were all impressed by the overall qualities of the interior of the Ace Hotel by Flack Studio. We particularly noted how integral the mix of food and beverage options, including the lobby bar, were to the overall experience. Simultaneously a combination of art, architecture and interiors, the hotel shows the skill of the design team to create a place that seems already worn-in. Both the hotel and its food and beverage venues convey the sense that they have somehow always been there, despite being brand new; this is a palpable strength of the combination of interior experiences. Hotel food and beverage venues need to operate smoothly as all-day offerings, but it’s a design challenge to make a space as well suited to breakfast and mid-morning coffee as to dinner and late-night cocktails. This seems like a venue that will be embraced by locals as a breakfast spot, as well as by guests and travellers from far and wide enjoying these versatile spaces late into the evening – an excellent outcome for residents and visitors alike.

Design statement

Ace Hotel Sydney is home to vibrant public food and beverage spaces, marking Ace’s first home in the Southern Hemisphere. Rooted in community, and retaining the distinctively modernist aesthetic of Ace Hotels with a uniquely Australian twist, the hotel welcomes discovery by its Surry Hills neighbours as well as by trav-ellers from further afield. The 18-storey hotel was built on the site of a former brick factory. The facade remains, encompassing 257 rooms, and a restaurant, bar and cafe in the communal lobby. Ace Sydney is fuelled by a love of the hyperlocal, marrying the pragmatic with the romantic, the private with the collective and the past with the future. When visiting, a juxtaposition between feeling at home and a sense of discovery arises as each space holds a cross-representation of cultures and mediums. The expansive art collection domesticates food and beverage areas, celebrating First Nations artists, and a range of stories and histories. There’s a subtle level of insertion to consciously blur the lines between old and new, making it hard to timestamp the design. Using materials from the Australian landscape, this purposely nostalgic space creates a sense of place for visitors.

Ace Hotel Sydney is built on the land of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation.

Project credits

Designer Flack Studio Project team David Flack, Mark Robinson

See the whole gallery of images at the Eat Drink Design Awards website.

The 2022 Eat Drink Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media and supported by principal partner James Richardson Furniture, major partner Blind Corner, supporting partners Roca, No Rock and Latitude, and event partner Stomping Ground.

The Eat Drink Design Awards are endorsed by the Australian Institute of Architects and the Design Institute of Australia.