TOURING LYLE WASHINGTON DC WITH CREATIVE DIRECTOR JACU STRAUSS

Earlier this year, boutique hotel brand Lore Group opened its second property in the US capital. Designed as the antithesis to its more serious sister, Riggs (named for the bank that funded many political campaigns and Washington socialites since the turn of the century), Lyle is set on a tree-lined street in the city’s tony Dupont Circle neighborhood.

“The whole narrative here is about capturing a residential feel with the rooms and the food and beverage offering,” explains Jacu Strauss, Lore Group’s creative director and the brains (and, in some cases, braun) behind the hotel. Born and raised in South Africa, Strauss came into his own in the design profession when he worked with British design icon Tom Dixon on London's Sea Containers hotel, also owned by Lore Group. He made such an impression on his client that they offered him a job as the group’s creative director. Strauss took this new appointment as a chance to unleash multifaceted creativity as a furniture designer, artist and architect.