Engineering culture at Ace Hotel

Been to a mind-blowing talk at Ace Hotel London Shoreditch? Has an exhibition in the windows or its front lobby caught your eye? Or have you spent the early hours dancing to the next big thing in basement club Miranda? If so then you’ve got Tas Elias to thank. In his role cultural engineer, Tas makes Ace Hotel more than just a place to rest your weary head but a hip location to hang out – for those from out of town and switched-on Londoners alike.

To give just a brief example of Tas’ super powers, in the coming month alone visitors can look forward to sessions from Peckham and Lower East Side-based online radio station Balamii, a ‘cycle geography’ bike ride, a talk about the importance of diversity in the restaurant industry, a jazz marbling workshop with PATTERNITY, a daytime rooftop rave, doom-soundtracked yoga, an evening of neuroscience and soundscapes with neurophysiologist Dr Simon Jones, and a make your own ProbeTools camera workshop with Interaction Research Studio. You almost don’t need to leave the hotel.

Tas has also been instrumental in the success of Ready Made Go, an annual London Design Festival project by Modern Design Review’s Laura Houseley that sees London-based designers create objects for Ace Hotel. From cutlery to door knobs, ash trays to a climbing wall, all of the designs get absorbed into the fabric of the hotel, under Tas’ watchful eye. Ahead of this year’s edition, which includes Laetitia de Allegri and William Drye, we wanted to find out a little more about Tas and how he landed such an exciting role…

‘Cultural engineer’ is one of the best job titles we’ve ever heard. What does it mean in practice?

It's all about partnerships. I'm responsible for public-facing events (which we often do with partners), local brand partnerships and working alongside our PR agency. My focus is inclusion, amplifying voices and welcoming communities into the hotel, which I see as a platform for cultural engagement between local, national and international friends, guests and visitors. We find most of our partners organically through relationships that we've already established locally and we grow our connections in the same way.

How did you get into cultural engineering? (it’d be cool to know a little bit about your work history here)

I studied Music Technology at university after DJing for around five years. Not fancying being cooped up in a recording studio every day, I worked behind the counter at a record shop called Pure Groove in Archway, which I loved. I then started doing their live events with some other friends that worked in the shop, and soon after I was overseeing live shows, club nights, festivals, artist management and cultural events for other people that I'd met through Pure Groove. After a stint at a creative agency, marketing a 20,000-capacity cultural destination and then a music and content agency, I was recommended for the role at Ace and was lucky enough to land the job.

Why is culture important to a hotel and what role does design have in that?

Culture is important to Ace Hotel because there is no better way to welcome and support artists, musicians, designers and technologists than providing a space that feels like home, has events that inspire and educate and where they can meet and make new friends every day. By doing this we hope to become a reliable part of the local community and keep partners, guests and visitors coming back. Design runs through every aspect of Ace Hotel, from the way things look, to the way they work, to how we communicate with our audience. Good design is timeless and the starting point for everything we create.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your job?

Coordinating with lots of people to meet a deadline, but I guess it's the same everywhere. Always have an alternative in your back pocket.

What are you most excited about for this year’s Ready Made Go show?

Using the pieces for the first time when they arrive at the hotel, seeing reactions to the pieces at the exhibition and working with all of the social enterprises throughout the week. And the launch party of course.

Want to know why Ace Hotel is one of our favourite haunts? Find what we do for them and why here.