Sean Connolly at Dubai Opera is a 350-person restaurant and bar featuring an external bar and sky garden.

The restaurant is moulded from the highly irregular shape and scale of the building and its tenancy. Inspired by the oceanic Australian/New Zealand influences of Sean Connolly’s cooking, Alexander & Co combined it with their personal interest in 20th Century design and architecture.

The venue’s design elements explore ideas of the sea, using oceanic tones, coral colours, and pearlescent finishes. Vaulted ceiling tiles emulate the Sydney Opera House sails as well as an oyster’s smooth sensual interior, its exterior manifesting in walnut timber, grey leather, and yellow marble that makes up the central cocktail Pearl Bar. The delicate contrasts of ocean corals and sea creatures are embodied in the grey marble banquettes with their pink leather, whilst the raw and fire bars evoke images of the outer edges of blackened seashells.

To align with the oceanic vision, contemporary Sydney artist Tracey Deep produced three hanging floral sculptures, using found objects that celebrate Australia’s native flora, complimenting the handmade, woollen carpet custom designed by Alexander & Co.

Jacqui Fink, an international pioneer of ‘extreme knitting’ developed a custom hanging Merino Wool artpiece with wool sourced from Australia and New Zealand. The piece echoes the sensation of sea creature tentacles, delicate and otherworldly.