Embassy Club, Grosvenor House, Dubai, UAE

The acclaimed Embassy Dubai is the latest edition of the legendary London Venue that has rapidly become one of the most chic hotspots in town. Situated on three floors at the top of the new Grosvenor House Hotel Tower 2, the venue dubbed as a supper and members club has spectacular 360º views of the Dubai Marina and Arabian Gulf and is a regular haunt of celebrities and the Dubai elite.

In collaboration with renowned interior designers, LW Design Group, dpa helped to create a lighting design befitting of the club’s clientele and pedigree. From the glitter and sparkle of artwork display cases to the intimate and stylish private rooms, the rich variety of materials and finishes are accentuated with light to reinforce the luxurious and fashionable interiors. Upon arriving to the club in the exclusive elevator, the journey of light and texture is followed through to every space and detail, with deliberate varying atmospheres and ambience for the dining, dancing, social, and private areas. The lighting techniques used are designed not to overpower the interiors in their own right, but to provide contrast and excitement in an environment where you want to be and be seen.

 

The Buddha Bar, Dubai, UAE

dpa lighting consultants provided illumination advice for the interior lighting of the themed Buddha Bar / Restaurant.

Carefully concealed light sources graze across rich fabrics exposing their texture and form and enhancing each area. The Buddha Bar has a major central space with incredible chandeliers floating in the volume that are appreciated from two levels. The surrounding areas provide a variety of intimate spaces where people can relax. One of the great joys is the multitude of locations where you can choose to linger and enjoy the resulting variety of views. The lighting chooses carefully the elements that the eye sees from each position.

The Bar itself is vibrant but understated with illumination gently enhancing the theatre behind. All the lighting is controlled on a pre-set system to provide exactly the right ambience in each and every location.

Using light of the correct intensity, direction and distribution ensures that the spatial hierarchy created by the Interior Designers is maintained and reinforced during the hours of darkness. Warm, low voltage tungsten halogen light sources provide excellent rendering of the rich textures and colours of the suspended fabrics within the restaurant.

Narrow beam downlights located between suspended fabric panels serve two purposes – illumination to the fabric themselves together with focused lighting to seating areas and tables. Wall lights and artwork lighting maintain visual interest to the periphery by providing a degree of contrast.

Within the Dining Area, close offset lighting reveals the texture of the stone wall behind the bar area. Uniformity has been deliberately avoided so that the eye is gently drawn to individual points or areas of interest.

The lighting of the dining areas was designed so as to ensure that the correct balance was achieved between the illumination of tables (and the food to be consumed) and the other surfaces forming the boundaries of the space. In the Buddha Bar/Restaurant, the richly coloured materials and objects respond to light whilst the dark wall surfaces provide a counterbalance. In situations like these, less light often means “more”.

 

Amaya Restaurant, London, UK

Masala World Ltd, who own several Indian restaurants such as Chutney Mary, Veeraswamy, and Masala Zone approached dpa to design the interior and exterior lighting to Masala World’s most notable restaurant to date. The name Amaya means without boundaries, which is intended to be reflected in the cuisine whose influences are gathered throughout the length and breadth of India.

The main emphasis of the restaurant is the open show kitchen to the far end. The brief was to make this the jewel of the restaurant, where theatre would take place from the chef’s various tandoor ovens, grills, fresh seafood and vegetable displays, and wonderful backlit oil wall display as a backdrop to the kitchen.

The challenge for dpa was to adopt a broad thinking approach to the design with lighting components coordinated into this rich interior. The interior is complemented by its variety of materials and textures which are further accentuate by what we feel is a vital ingredient, light.

Client: MW Eat
Interior Designer: Design Wilkes
Architect: Crispin Wrig

 

AKA Restaurant, Japan

The interior of this restaurant is designed in a traditional Japanese style. The main table is constructed of real Japanese maple, highlighted with narrow beam tungsten halogen spotlights.

Each private room is separated by a mosquito net; a suitable material to let light pass through and keep the light from glaring people at the dining table.

‘Hanare’ is the Japanese tea room, where light comes from the lower part of a paper sliding door, which creates a calming atmosphere.

1707 Wine Bar, Fortnum and Mason,
Piccadilly, London, UK

In 2005, the Fortnum and Mason department store in London underwent a complete refurbishment. The famous food court is located on the lower ground floor, and central to this area was installed a high-end wine bar designed by David Collins Studio. Gary Campbell, London partner at dpa, was commissioned to design the lighting for all areas of the refurbishment including the wine bar. In keeping with DCS usual projects, the interior design was very high-quality while,  in this concept, retaining an impression of a traditional bodega or wine cellar. Indirect concealed lighting illuminated the vaulted ceiling with custom hand-blown glass pendants providing ambient illumination. The focal point of the wine bar was a large wine display case with all the necessary environmental controls for expensive wines. To this end, fibre-optic lighting was discreetly detailed into the cabinetry to illuminate each bottle. A scene set dimming system controlled all lighting and a warm ambient appearance was provided at all times.

The Connaught Bar, Connaught Hotel, London

The Connaught in London is one of the city’s ‘elder statesman’ hotels and is a favourite for many for its discreet location and very high quality service. The hotel underwent a complete refurbishment in phases in the early 2000’s and Gary Campbell, London partner at dpa was commissioned to provide lighting design services to the ground floor public areas. One of these areas is the Connaught Bar, previously the famous old ‘American Bar’. David Collins Studio was commissioned to develop a unique luxurious interior design. The interior lighting has a high degree of decorative luminaires, pendants and wall lights, and these are complemented with very discreet downlighting to provide accent. Fibre-optics are integrated into the wine display cases.

Client and Operator: Maybourne Hotel Group
Project Manager: Rainey and Best
Architect: Blair Associates Architects
Interior Designers: David Collins, India Madhavi & Sills Huniford Associates
M&E Consultant: Lehding Services Design