A contemporary book-focused restaurant, Al Rawi (“the one who tells stories” in English). Designed to be the new hub for Sharjah’s creative community, it caters to professional writers, artists and designers, and young children who can enjoy creative play in the dedicated kids’ zone. The design is full of literary inspiration, but in a subtle and abstract way - the woven texture of the hand rails and space dividers, for example, is based on the stitching that binds books. It’s those kind of playful literary references that we think gives Al Rawi its personality and character. Al Rawi is designed to be a flexibe, agile space. A quiet place where people can read and work in the morning; a bustling restaurant at lunch-time; and a space for hosting events such as book launches and talks in the evening. One example of this is the floor-to-ceiling library shelves which rotate, so they can form either a continuous wall to divide the space, or piv-ot 90 degrees to open the space up. While their primary function is to display books that are for sale, they’re designed to be flexible to display accessories and other mechandise. The stitch detail from book spines is a recurring theme. We used it on a large scale as space dividers, and on a more intimate scale as a handrail detail. The tactile rubber material invites visitors to touch and feel the physical space, as they would a book. Continuing the literary theme, they created custom sculptures and light mobiles inspired by books.
Al rawi
Roar (pallavi dean interiors)

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Designer
Roar (pallavi dean interiors)
Client
Tetra Holding
Floor area
815.00 ㎡
Completion
2018