Despite the limitations of growing up “in the middle of nowhere in South Africa,” Jacu Strauss, creative director at Lore Group, always had an appreciation for design, spending ample time painting, drawing up dream house plans, and building cities out of sand. After studying at University College London’s Bartlett School of Architecture, Strauss shunned the idea of a job at a straightforward architectural practice and sought out a position with the multifaceted Tom Dixon instead. “I was a bit rebellious at that stage because my interests were broad,” he recalls.
Beginning with a Jamie Oliver restaurant, Strauss handled interiors for Dixon and learned the art of storytelling along the way, he says, “making sure that everything has a purpose and not treating furniture like precious objects.” One of these projects was the Sea Containers London hotel (then branded as a Mondrian), a gamechanger for Strauss. Impressed by his design, the owners, now recognized as the London-based Lore Group—which designs, revitalizes, manages, and operates hotel and F&B concepts in Europe and the U.S.—hired Strauss to work on additional properties, including the historic Pulitzer in Amsterdam.
Views of canal houses are savored on the glass-fronted terrace at Pause at Pulitzer inside the Pulitzer Amsterdam
Unlike hotels that embrace a home-away-from-home aesthetic, Strauss prefers those that push limits, allowing guests to enjoy something different for a moment, “like finding a jewelry box that you didn’t know you had, opening it up, and then discovering there’s something surprising in there,” he says.
The Pulitzer, set within 25 canal houses dating back to the 17th and 18th century, is beloved by locals, and Strauss was eager to keep them pleased when the renovation was unveiled in 2016. He succeeded by balancing familiarity with imagination. “Every single room there was something consistent, because that’s important for a hotel, but every room felt like it was designed individually and with care,” he explains. “It’s a bit of art and science. You need to understand the practical challenges; you can’t just mask it all with design.”
The Pulitzer Amsterdam’s upscale all-day restaurant, Jansz
When the Riggs Washington DC beckoned, Strauss moved to the nation’s capital (he also lived in Amsterdam during the Pulitzer’s overhaul) to immerse himself in the surroundings and better understand the community. “The joy—and trauma—of how I prefer to do things is that we start from scratch every time, and the results speak for themselves. People walk in [to our hotels] and they think that it’s always been that way, because it feels so natural,” says Strauss.
Housed in a one-time iconic bank that debuted its new form earlier this year, Strauss describes Riggs’ structure as overpowering, and he wanted to tap into a contrasting softness through features like a quartet of First Ladies’ suites that celebrate DC’s abundance of strong women, a centerpiece floral sculpture playing with austere ceilings, and a color palette of plum red, ochre, and pale blue. Although “wrinkles of the old building,” such as cracks on the floor, remain intact to pay homage to the Riggs legacy, it feels decidedly fresh. “I had no interest in creating a museum,” Strauss points out.
The bar at Café Riggs, a European-inspired brasserie at the Riggs Hotel Washington DC
Following the recently refurbished lobby and golden-hued restaurant Celia at the Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam, Strauss is currently tackling new hotels in London and DC, the latter of which will feature guestroom sofas with removable covers as a hygienic design upgrade for the COVID-19 era. “We don’t walk away from our hotels as designers. We have to live with our decisions,” says Strauss. “Hotels are alive. There’s always work to be done.”
The Riggs Hotel Washington DC’s namesake suite, situated in the bank’s former boardroom, features a living room lounge and bar
This article originally appeared in HD’s December 2020 issue.
