The Babylon dining concept was born from the idea of feasting among the sumptuous ruins of a lost and ancient city. Authentic middle eastern cuisine is enabled by traditional cooking techniques supported by contemporary facilities. The kitchen and bar are themselves discreet works of architecture, deployed to spatially divide the large tenancy into smaller neighbourhoods. Streetscape buildings address the shopping mall defining the restaurant edge while providing a permeable facade with multiple entry points. Dispersed across the tenancy are archways, colonnades and travertine plinths forming a sequence of interconnected rooms. These recall the spatial qualities of a bazaar where patrons are drawn to discover various settings over multiple return journeys. Hanging gardens bring a verdant quality, ensuring rooms are visually evolving. The contrast of historical archetypal references juxtaposed against refined and luxurious finishes further enriches the patrons’ experience, delivering a feast for the eyes and the appetite. 800 covers are distributed across a collection of rooms, varying in scale and spatial quality, delivering an authentic dining experience. Settings are embellished through tonal and tactile variations achieved by a material palette referencing ancient Babylonian times; clay block, masonry, natural stone, lime render, solid timbers, metals and soft fabrics. The extensive material palette was realised through collaboration with artisan builders.