Staying Power in Shoreditch: With an array of sophisticated bars and public spaces, Lore Group’s stylish One Hundred Shoreditch is set to be as much of a local landmark as its predecessor Ace Hotel
Swathed in greenery and soft pink hues, The Rooftop at One Hundred Shoreditch channels midcentury Palm Springs, epitomising the sophistication with which Jacu Strauss aimed to imbue the 258-room hotel.
Throughout his design of One Hundred Shoreditch, Strauss – who serves as creative director of Lore Group, which encompasses sister properties Pulitzer Amsterdam, Sea Containers London, Riggs Washington DC and Lyle Washington DC – was eager to reveal how east London’s bustling Shoreditch district has developed over the last decade.
Crammed with restaurants and bars and upmarket galleries and boutiques, the area emits an even more stylish vibe than it did back in 2013, when Ace Hotel debuted its London outpost in the location that now houses One Hundred Shoreditch.
The Ace shuttered during the height of the pandemic, saddening the abundance of loyal locals who frequented it. Strauss, however, is appreciative of those connections, and desired for One Hundred Shoreditch to remain firmly embedded in the community. “Ace instantly became an institution for the neighbourhood and we wanted to retain elements of that legacy we felt were important. Many of these were more cultural than physical,” he explains.
Ace Hotel was especially renowned for its high-energy public spaces, and One Hundred Shoreditch maintains that momentum. “The hotel is large, with several places to eat and drink, so I wanted to ensure that each felt unique but at the same time there was a common thread that tied them all together,” adds Strauss.
Along with the breezy California-inspired hotspot crowning the roof, there is the Coffee Shop, a daytime go-to, as well as the intimate Lobby Bar, where cocktails are prepared against the backdrop of ethereal crimson-hued paper blooms, an installation designed by Strauss and crafted by Antwerp-based Mio Gallery (the studio also lent its savvy to Riggs Washington DC).
Seed Library, meanwhile, a project from famed bartender Ryan ‘Mr Lyan’ Chetiyawardana, has sprouted in the former basement-level nightclub, and Strauss describes the atmosphere upon arrival as magical – “the journey down what almost seems like a secret passage to a subterranean bar that delights everyone and makes you feel instantly at home”. Awash in burnished orange, Seed Library has a welcoming retro aura. Strauss embraced its quirky underground setting, “but injected a series of seating types, our own handmade tapestries, wood panelling, and dim lighting to create a lounge that is warm and comfortable,” he points out.
In contrast to Seed Library are the guest rooms filled with natural light. The accommodation consists of studios, some of them lined with wall-to-wall sofas, some adorned with commodious private terraces, that are brightened with Strauss’s hand-painted artworks and a mix of bespoke and vintage furnishings.
The hotel’s signature soothing white upholstery also makes appearances here. “White is normally a bad idea in a hospitality environment,” Strauss admits, “but ours is covered in new, innovative fabrics and the covers are swapped out when needed.”
Now capped by a timber ceiling and showcasing arresting sculptural totems that Strauss conceived in collaboration with local furniture maker Jan Hendzel Studio from reclaimed wood found on the streets of London, the One Hundred Shoreditch lobby flaunts a decidedly fresh look.
This is hinted at by the revamped facade that Strauss dressed in awnings and oriel windows, so that it piques the interest of passersby and feels “more harmonious on Shoreditch High Street”, he says. “We made a conscious effort to humanise the exterior.”
Images by One Hundred Shoreditch / Caitlin Isola
As featured in OnOffice 161, Winter 2022. Read a digital version of the issue for free here
