The LEED List No. 01 - 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

I have been to 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge more times than I can count. Often for a cocktail on the rooftop, sometimes just to curl up in the lobby with a tea and pretend, for a moment, that I live there. But this visit was different. I arrived with a sketchbook, an assignment, and a new kind of lens. I was not there simply to enjoy the space. I was there to understand it.

I have long admired the aesthetic. Moody, grounded, and textural. But this visit invited me to look closer. I began paying attention not just to how the space made me feel, but how it performed. How it lived up to its reputation as one of the most sustainability-forward hotels in New York. Overlooking the East River and the Manhattan skyline, the hotel holds a LEED Gold certification and serves as a benchmark for sustainable urban hospitality. From the filtered light to the scent of reclaimed wood, every detail felt intentional yet effortless. Rooted, but never rigid.

Designed by INC Architecture & Design with interiors by local firm Roman and Williams, and landscaping by Harrison Green, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge is a study in thoughtful restraint. The architecture is intuitive, grounding the structure in biophilic principles and material honesty. It invites calm without compromising complexity. Nothing is imposed. Everything emerges.

Opened in 2017, the hotel is situated at the edge of Brooklyn Heights, where brownstone quiet meets the industrial legacy of Dumbo and the cinematic sweep of the East River. It stands at the seam between past and present, nestled in one of the city's most historically significant neighborhoods. Brooklyn Heights was the first designated historic district in New York City, its cobbled streets and Federal-style townhouses long a haven for writers, thinkers, and quiet revolutionaries. Against this backdrop, 1 Hotel feels at once new and inevitable.

The hotel is part of the 1 Hotels portfolio, a brand founded on the principle that sustainability can be both luxurious and essential. Every element, from operations to aesthetics, is built to reflect a deeply integrated environmental ethos.

There is a cohesion to the design that feels more like an ecosystem than an interior. Reclaimed materials, more than fifty thousand integrated plants, cross-ventilation, rainwater and greywater reuse systems, and green roofs all work together in quiet harmony. More than half of the hotel’s structure and finishes are made from reclaimed and regionally sourced materials. This reduces embodied carbon and creates a tactile link to place. It is rare for a new build to feel this much of the city, not just in it.

The lobby sets the tone with its layered textures, dappled light, and a soft interplay between indoors and out. Public spaces open onto terraces with water views. Foot traffic flows naturally, like the movement of the river beyond. Timber beams and exposed joinery speak to craftsmanship and reuse. Concrete and floor-to-ceiling glass bring a refined counterbalance. Even the HVAC system, equipped with MERV-13 filtration, low-VOC materials, and daylighting integration, feels architectural, not mechanical.

Lunch at The Osprey was light and seasonal. Exactly in rhythm with the ethos of the space. The manager, upon hearing about my study, generously shared insights into the hotel’s sustainable systems and materials. That conversation added dimension to my research. It turned facts into something felt.

The guest rooms are compact and calming. Designed with reclaimed wood, organic cotton, filtered water, and smart sensors that adjust lighting and temperature when unoccupied, they are composed with care. Even the windows open into a balcony-like gesture. They let in breeze from the East River. The luxury here is not in spectacle. It is in subtlety. In the absence of plastic. In the presence of fresh air.

Many of the furnishings and fixtures are crafted by local artisans, grounding the interiors with an authenticity that mirrors the surrounding neighborhood. Natural materials, hand-finished elements, and regionally sourced pieces offer a connection to place that feels both deliberate and quietly personal.

Naturally, I returned to the rooftop. It has long been one of my favorite spots in Brooklyn, but this time I noticed more than just the view. Greenery softens every edge. It draws you outward, toward the river, toward the skyline. It does not just frame the city. It participates in it. Cocktail in hand, skyline ahead, I found myself thinking. This is biophilic design at its most intuitive. It makes you feel held.

The spa continues that story. Every gesture, from its quiet palette to its minimal acoustics, whispers calm. Nothing is performative. Everything is considered. Even the service reflects that balance. Gentle, attentive, human.

What impressed me most was the way materiality and light worked together to create a restorative environment. The sustainable systems—triple-filtered water, smart room technology, efficient lighting, hyper-local food sourcing—do not compete for attention. They are embedded. They are integral. You do not need to be told the building is sustainable. You sense it.

LEED Gold certification represents a distinguished level of performance under the U.S. Green Building Council’s framework. To achieve it, projects must secure over sixty percent of all available points across diverse categories, including energy use, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and sustainable site development. It is not simply an award. It is a signal that the building performs as beautifully as it looks. That the ethos is consistent from structure to service.

The design team approached the space less as a hotel and more as a living system. One that evolves with its guests, its climate, and its context. Sustainability here is not a checklist. It is a cadence. A confidence. A care.

You notice it in the way morning light settles into the grain of the reclaimed wood. In the hush between footsteps. In the warmth of filtered water poured into a ceramic cup. In the distant hum of the ferry. In the rustle of leaves on the promenade. In the city—just beyond—held at a softer volume.

This experience was built on research, observation, and one quiet conversation. But more than anything, it was about taking time. Slowing down to notice how design shapes feeling. This hotel does not just meet LEED standards. It embodies them. And that is the distinction.

Always, In the Details.

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge - 60 Furman St, Brooklyn, NY 11201 - 1hotels.com/brooklyn-bridge

INC Architecture & Design -150 Varick St, 5th Floor South New York, NY 10013 - inc.nyc/

Harrison Green - 60 Grattan St, Brooklyn, NY 11237 - harrisongreen.com/