Erth is an immersive dining experience of Emirati Cuisine located in Qasr Al Hosn. It pays homage to the humility and generosity of old Emirati culinary and cultural practices. Emirati cooking processes played a significant role in influencing the design direction of the space as it helped reinterpret the conventional restaurant typology into one that accommodates for the dynamic nature of Emirati cooking.
The approach was to create a space that celebrates cooking as a performance and the restaurant’s eclectic take on traditional Emirati cooking. The kitchen is introduced into the space as a volume with pockets revealing the workings of the kitchen and framing moments of food preparation. The intention behind the dining area was to revisit the traditional majlis seating and reintroduce it in an elevated dining context. Spaces are carved out of a raised floor to contain seating areas, creating an experience reminiscent of the old majlis seating typology.
Given the approach to tie the space back to the origins of Emirati culture, the choice of materials celebrates the natural and the raw. The material intervention remained minimal by maintaining the site’s original concrete skeleton in the interior. The raised floor was treated as a thickened slab finished with natural clay from which seating spaces were carved out of. The kitchen volume was made with acid washed steel and natural cut travertine; further enhancing the raw approach of composing the space. Softer elements such as fabric and plants were utilized to augment the intimacy of the space by creating areas of enclosure.
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