East meets west inside the Ace Hotel Kyoto – the brand’s first Japanese outpost opening in April, designed by man of the moment Kengo Kuma.

Ace Hotel Kyoto takes over the city’s former Kyoto Central Telephone Company, built by architect Tetsuro Yoshida in the 1920s, and interiors have been transformed by Kuma in collaboration with Los Angeles-based design studio Commune.

The nearly century-old building has been expanded with a new annex, and the structure converted into a 213-room hotel by Kuma. Its gridded facade references the traditional machiya houses found in Kyoto and their courtyard gardens.

Interiors feature bespoke wooden furniture designed by Kyoto-based craftspeople, while textiles and furnishings fuse Japanese and American aesthetics. As well as the classic King and double rooms, traditional tatami suites are also available.

More images of the interiors will be available when Ace Hotel Koyoto welcomes its first guests this spring, including its three onsite restaurants.

Meanwhile, Kuma is finishing up work on the 2020 Toyko Olympic Stadium.

245-2 Kurumayacho, Nakagyo Ward, Kyoto, 604-8185, Japan