Sean Connolly at Dubai Opera — Dubai, UAE
When tasked with creating chef Sean Connolly’s brasserie in the expansive top floor of architect Janus Rostock’s dhow-shaped Dubai Opera masterpiece, Jeremy Bull, founder of Alexander & Co, made a calculated decision: sink it.
Designed in partnership with fellow Australian multi-disciplinary practice, Tribe Studio, aquatic themes flow between the conjoined main restaurant, bar areas and outdoor rooftop terrace serving premium grills and global seafood delicacies. ‘The experience is like floating through an ocean sea bed; unusual and surreal, with shards of daylight falling upon the corals of the furniture and reflecting from the scales of the enormous vaulted ceiling tiles,’ explains Bull.
Referencing the soft pink banquette leathers and faint pearl grey matt and glazed finishes of the oyster shell-like sails above, textures, colours and patinas were considered with exacting precision.
Sea kelp-green velveteen lounges and an immersive dappled blue wool carpet float atop sandy-hued marble floors upon which curvilinear cult 20th-Century furniture originals are poised. Custom-designed masterpieces include a brass mobile light batten with disc nodules inspired by floating driftwood and a suspended Merino wool tentacle sculpture.
ADDRESS
Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Eight questions for Bianca Censori, as she unveils her debut performanceBianca Censori has presented her first exhibition and performance, BIO POP, in Seoul, South Korea
-
How to elevate a rental with minimal interventions? Charu Gandhi has nailed it with her London homeFocus on key spaces, work with inherited details, and go big on colour and texture, says Gandhi, an interior designer set on beautifying her tired rental
-
These fashion books, all released in 2025, are the perfect gift for style fansChosen by the Wallpaper* style editors to inspire, intrigue and delight, these visually enticing tomes for your fashion library span from lush surveys on Loewe and Louis Vuitton to the rebellious style of Rick Owens and Jean Paul Gaultier
-
The best new hotels to love without reservationExplore the best new openings in the world, from a ‘Japandi’ spa hotel in Finland to a modernist-inspired bolthole in South Africa
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Delano Dubai, a fresh chapter for a design iconDelano Dubai lands on Bluewaters Island, bringing Miami cool, Mediterranean flair, and a dose of design-forward glamour to the city’s shoreline
-
One&Only’s portfolio of ultra-luxury escapes reaches out to new horizonsFrom the Maldives to Mexico, One&Only’s resorts and private homes around the world offer exceptional stays in idyllic locations, soon to include a first USA property, designed by Olson Kundig
-
The Dorchester Collection boosts Dubai’s hospitality scene with The Lana hotelThe Lana is the latest opening from The Dorchester Collection with interior design by Gilles & Boissier
-
The Serai Wing launches its minimalist architecture in SharjahThe Serai Wing opens in Sharjah to a design by Dubai-based studio Anarchitect
-
Abu Dhabi travel guide: 8 cultural must-sees in the UAE capitalAs the Louvre Abu Dhabi celebrates its fifth anniversary, we spotlight the UAE capital city’s cultural highlights, from contemporary art in historical sites to an architectural Apple Store, and a waterside wellness ecosystem
-
Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Sixties sci-fi meets Dali at ‘Secret Room’ speakeasy in Dubai