PROJECTS
The design of the restaurant sought to marry the chef’s cooking style.
W
ith breath-taking views of the
Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest
building and the tallest free-
standing structure in the world, the Sean
Connolly at Dubai Opera restaurant is the
only restaurant in the newly-opened Dubai
Opera space, a multi-format, performing
arts centre.
The venue includes Raw bar, Fire bar, a
brasserie, main bar, dining areas, private
dining, chef’s table, external bar and
courtyard and dining areas.
The restaurant was inspired by the
highly irregular shape and scale of the
building and its tenancy and drew upon
global multidisciplinary design practice
Alexander &CO’s personal interest in 20th-
century classic design and architecture,
combined with the oceanic Australian / New
Zealand influences of Sean Connolly’s
cooking. Each design element within the
venue explores ideas of the sea, from the
oyster with its combination of smooth
sensual surfaces and textured outer
surfaces, to the oceanic tones and colours
of corals and pearlescent hues.
Vaulted ceiling tiles, which reference
both the inside of an oyster and the iconic
geometries of the Sydney Opera House, are
jewel like and reflective.
The interior
The main spaces are focused upon the
central cocktail Pearl Bar, constructed from
grey leather, walnut timber and yellow
marble. The grey marble banquettes with
their pink leather are reminders of the
delicate contrasts of the ocean corals and
sea creatures while the raw and fire bars
remind us of the outer edges of
blackened seashells.
In keeping with the Antipodean theme,
Jacqueline Fink, an international pioneer of
‘extreme knitting’ created a custom 6m high
merino wool hanging artwork (one of her
largest commissions to date) as a nod to the
tentacles of sea creatures, delicate
and mystical.
Similarly, local Sydney artist Tracey
Deep, known for her floral installations
using found and native flora, created three
RESIDENTIAL // COMMERCIAL // INDUSTRIAL
JUNE 2018
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