Architects:Shim-Sutcliffe Architects

Area:7089 m²

Year:2023

Photographs:Scott Norseworthy

Main Contractor:Alterra

Principals In Charge: Brigitte Shim, Howard Sutcliffe

Project Architects: Narsi Naghikhani, Blaine Lepp

Project Team: Zack Glennon, Design Workshop Architects

Interior Design: Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, Atelier Ace

Owners: Alterra, B-right, Finer Space Corporation, Prowinko and Zinc Developments

Management Company: Ace Hotel Group

City: Toronto

Country: Canada

The Ace Hotel brand is developed with the goal of creating places that feel simultaneously immersed in local culture, while also maintaining a global connection. A lot is guided by intuition and experimentation – foregoing formulas to create places for the community. Each property has its own soul and energy, while also evoking a universal ethos of empathy, creativity, curiosity, and of course, hospitality

Shim Sutcliffe worked closely with Atelier Ace to design Ace Hotel Toronto, from conception to the realization of interior spaces. Before starting to design, we visited several Ace properties to immerse ourselves in the Ace brand experience. These properties were exemplary models of adaptive reuse, breathing new life into the buildings and their surrounding neighborhoods. They were also hubs that help both travelers and locals to feel at home.

For the brand’s first Canadian property, we wanted the building to feel particularly Canadian. Like the other Ace properties around the world, we hoped to create a welcoming civic space where life happens and memories are made. We also wanted to build time into the building so that instead of expressing newness, the building would feel as though it had always been there — like a noteworthy industrial building — with new layers added over time to facilitate its conversion into a hotel. And we wanted it to be a destination for both Torontonians and visitors.

As architects, we are very deliberate about our materials, which we select to elicit intuitive and sensory experiences. We chose each element with the intention of orchestrating a harmony that echoes the city itself and developing an environment that offers a fresh perspective, a richness of experiences, and a sensual spirit.

We have always been interested in architecture and design of all scales and, therefore, our architecture includes custom furniture, lighting, hardware and fittings to ensure a fully integrated experience. We believe that well-conceived lighting has a critical role to play in ensuring rich and tactile experiences in the spaces we design.