Editor Hamish Kilburn brought with him a video crew to review Shoreditch’s latest hotel arrival. Now open, One Hundred Shoreditch, designed by Jacu Strauss, Creative Director of Lore Group, aptly reflects a matured neighbourhood, with various nods to its unforgettable past (scroll down for full video review)…
Following much anticipation, One Hundred Shoreditch has opened its doors to rave reviews all-round. Lore Group’s second hotel in London, designed by its Creative Director, Jacu Strauss, is a coming-of-age story, to reflect how a culture and neighbourhood has grown-up in the last decade.
One Hundred Shoreditch takes over from what was the Ace Hotel London Shoreditch, which, when it opened in 2013, was among the cluster of hotels that became a new generation of luxury-lifestyle hospitality in East London.
Seven year’s later, though, when Ace Hotels bid farewell to London in 2020, Strauss, began planning his latest masterpiece. His concept for the new 258-key hotel was not to do a sharp 180-degrees turn on its existing style, but instead to use local craftsmen, women and the creative people within his own team to delicately give the building a new lease of life and meaning. “The true spirit of Shoreditch historically has been about welcoming new visitors and celebrating what they bring and leave behind,” Strauss told Hotel Designs. “I feel One Hundred Shoreditch is a hotel that welcomes a diverse crowd, and that to me is the essence of Shoreditch.”
To understand more about the hotel’s unique design narrative, I brought with me a video crew from CUBE to review the hotel, and while there be given a guided tour by Strauss.
As you can see, the new hotel, which has in just a few weeks become a cornerstone in the area, is all about contrasts. The lobby and lounge, which shelter a vibrant arrival experience, capture the energy of Shoreditch, but in a muted and sophisticated manner.
Image credit: Lore Group
The F&B areas, including Goddard and Gibbs, the new restaurant that has been ingeniously reinvented to put the dining experience at the heart of the hotel, have been opened up to street level.
Image credit: Lore Group
Meanwhile, the guestrooms and suites have been tweaked and designed to become tranquil spaces. “I opted for neutral base palettes and textures: white upholstery, natural tones, soft berber carpets, which is something you would expect in a great apartment, not a hotel and generous oversized bedding,” explained Strauss. To create texture and added layers, the rooms feature accents of colour and quirky furniture to cut through the neutrals, and a compelling art collection. “We have used custom tapestries with geometric patterns, and large hand painted artworks by myself and huge oversized white pottery vases, which I also designed.”
Image credit: Lore Group
In fact, all the artwork around the hotel was created in-house. The team are personally invested in each property they curate and there is an artisanal and sculptured touch in several pieces including the totems you have already seen; the tapestries; beaded blankets and tiles found in seed library. “Throughout the property we have used craft ware lamps and vases,” added Strauss. “Everything is very tactile, and we want you touch it and connect with it.” He even hand-painted the side plates and egg cups in Goddard and Gibbs.
Image credit: Lore Group
As I check out of One Hundred Shoreditch, I am impressed with how a hotel can, as well as sensitively reflect a destination’s tone, also subtly help to usher territories into new chapters. With statement hotels emerging in all pockets of London, it will be interesting to see if this approach to hotel design becomes one that is adopted further afield, and explored in new ways. One thing is certain: Strauss is a visionary, and I cannot wait to see what’s next from him and the team at Lore Group.
> Since you’re here, why not read our review of Riggs Washington D.C., which was also designed by Jacu Strauss?
Main image credit: Lore Group
