San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Designer Profile
Marin-based Amalfi West builds high-end estates along the California coast.
Despite his penchant for building multimillion-dollar dream estates, Lowell Strauss likes to keep a low profile. The business he runs with his wife, Jacqueline, Amalfi West, has no website, and Strauss sidesteps social media.
“In a past life, I was a software architect, so I am supposed to love technology,” he said. “The truth is I don’t. I would prefer to live a more holistic life without social media and the like.”
Strauss hails from Waterloo, an Ontario town about 90 minutes from Toronto. He worked in construction during high school and college and grew up in a house his father designed. Strauss’ father ultimately became a commercial real estate developer and builder, after dropping out of high school to run his parent’s press shop.
“I have an appreciation of design and architecture in my blood,” Strauss said. “And my wife is multitalented and we really complement each other when we do one of these projects.”
That connection to nature and the elements drives his design philosophy.
He credits this appreciation to his interactions with the Anishinaabe and Ojibwe, indigenous peoples found in Northwestern Ontario.
“When I was younger, I spent months each year planting trees and living deep in the northwestern Ontario wilderness. I lived in a tent, and worked alongside native people, who had this otherworldly contentedness to nature. Indigenous people have a connection to the Earth that we have lost,” he said. “It may sound ridiculous, a guy building multimillion-dollar homes talking about these things, but this is what inspires my wife and I.”
In this interview with The Chronicle, Strauss talks about how he and his wife select building sites, the biggest hurdles he faces and an engineering advancement that’s fundamentally changed the way they design.
Q: How do you select sites for development?
A: We invest in real estate all along the coast. We look for unique and spectacular natural settings. We are very selective about the properties we purchase. Every property has to speak to us for some reason or another. We trend toward spectacular views, oceanfront homes or land with a natural element that sets them apart. Topography is very important since we look for sites that allow for indoor/outdoor living. Having the topography that allows for easy access to the outdoors without much effort but still allows for privacy, expansive outdoor spaces and best views is very challenging.
Q: What’s the most challenging part of your job?
A: Usually it’s the design review process, and sometimes dealing with unfriendly neighbors. It’s very hard not to take it personally when you are so passionate about what you are doing. I
Details: Builder/developer of high-end estates along the California coast. Portfolio includes 10 Margarita Drive in San Rafael; 9 Woodside Way in Ross and 460 Ridge Road in Tiburon. Owned by Lowell and Jacqueline Strauss, the firm’s next project, 135 Belvedere Ave. in Tiburon, is a $65 million estate with more than 12,000 square feet of living space, a private pier and sweeping views from the Golden Gate Bridge to downtown San Francisco. The Strausses also operate Oceanfront Retreats, a separate but related business focused on vacation rental properties.
Email: lowelljstrauss@ gmail.com.