from NYC’s waterfront park, 1 hotel frames monumental brooklyn bridge

an oasis within brooklyn bridge park

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge may be the best stay in New York if views are the main priority. With the monumental Brooklyn Bridge as its immediate next-door neighbor, the hotel overlooks the meadows and wetlands of its namesake park, the unobstructed lower Manhattan skyline, and even the Statue of Liberty beyond.

This outpost of 1 Hotel marks the first of the hospitality brand’s locations to be purpose-built from the ground up. It stands at the head of Brooklyn Bridge Park, an elongated, once-industrial stretch of the East River waterfront. What was once abandoned piers and disused infrastructure is now an array of picturesque rambles, meadows overgrown with native flowers, and wetlands home to ducks and turtles.

The hotel itself was designed by Marvel Architects and New York-based interiors firm INC to be an active part of the park. Every part of the hotel is planned around it, from its views and natural material palette to its sustainable operations. Read more about Brooklyn Bridge Park here!

Harriet’s Rooftop Lounge | image © Ashley Sears

1 hotel cultivates its lobby as a lush landscape

The 1 Hotel lobby opens directly from the park as a double-height room with a dramatic, framed view of the Brooklyn Bridge. A 25-foot green wall rises along one edge, dense with living plants held in a lightweight metal framework. Warm daylight floods the space and catches on stone floors, reclaimed wood beams, and steel columns. The interior design is curated to echo the atmosphere of the park outside, which is defined by its industrial heritage together with its picturesque, overgrown nature.

Artworks can be discovered throughout the hotel‘s lobby. Sculptural pieces made from rope, stone, and timber — reclaimed from the park’s construction — pile upward along the staircase, itself designed with wires in tension as a nod to suspension bridge logic. Mycelium-based light fixtures hover overhead with a soft, matte glow, and behind the front desk, a textured wall work is crafted from salvaged materials. The artworks together read as part of the building’s history and relationship to its context.

exterior entrance | image courtesy 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

guest rooms for larger-than-life views

Each guest room at 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge continues the same material logic at a more intimate scale. Wood floors run throughout, balanced by board-formed concrete surfaces that carry the imprint of timber grain. Bathrooms wear solid stone and dark metal fixtures, with deep soaking tubs angled to catch daylight from floor-to-ceiling windows, which can slide open to bring in fresh air and further connect guests to the city and the park.

Here, the view leads the experience. Beds align toward the bridges and skyline which tower over the East River with its ferries and sailboats below. The rooms, all home to live plantings, feel quiet and composed. Small details such as built-in filtered water taps and glassware made from recycled bottles subtly demonstrate the sustainable goals of the hotel’s team.

lobby green wall | image courtesy 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Operations Tied to the Park

Sustainable operations connect this 1 Hotel location directly to its setting within Brooklyn Bridge Park. Rainwater collected on the roof travels through colossal exposed pipes in the lobby to an underground tank, then feeds irrigation systems throughout the park. This same water supports the park’s shallow wetlands with their native flora and fauna right outside the hotel.

The relationship works in both directions. The hotel contributes funding and ongoing support to the park’s maintenance, reinforcing its role as part of the public landscape rather than a private enclave. From guest rooms and public spaces, views across these ecosystems make these operations visible through experience, not just through explanation.

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, lobby | image © studiocrow for designboom

harriet’s Rooftop & Barbuto’s brooklyn

At the top of the building, Harriet’s Rooftop & Lounge opens onto a terrace with wide views across the East River. The Brooklyn Bridge rises close by, with the lower Manhattan skyline extending beyond it. Seating stays low and dispersed, keeping sightlines open to the water and sky. The nearby rooftop pool sits just below the horizon line, its edge aligning with the river beyond.

Meanwhile, back on the ground floor, a newly-opened restaurant Barbuto Brooklyn opens toward the park. The restaurant operates with an open kitchen and is wrapped in full-height glazing which frames the looming Brooklyn Bridge. Here, natural materials paired with industrial detailing echo the rest of the building, keeping the focus on the view beyond the tables. With its backdrop of passing walkers, cyclists, and shifting river light, the connection to the park remains constant.

lobby staircase | image © studiocrow for designboom