KOI Restaurant, St. Regis Saadiyat Island

Located in The Collection right across from The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Hotel entrance, KOI is in one of the most prestigious, sought-after areas in Abu Dhabi. Bishop Design was appointed to design the restaurant by TDIC.

The Client brief required for the creation of a restaurant/lounge concept to be located at ‘the Collection’ Saadiyat Island. The focus upon the Food & Beverage offering was to be of Japanese fusion cuisine incorporating a dedicated independent sushi counter. The space and identity was to reflect a contemporary stylish interior yet in addition an urban understated elegance with defined Asian narratives.

The venue was to accommodate both lunch and dinner sittings and was to offer versatile seating configurations in order to allow various dining scenarios from formal/relaxed to business/pleasure. The space was to be visually stimulating and inviting to all, whatever the dining preference required, and to incorporate a depth of differing surface textures and material finishes animated by the innovative bespoke decorative light fittings and feature light installations as well as the fluid organic ceilings and floor dynamics.

The desired design direction was to be a combination of natural, urban and understated materials with a contemporary Asian influence, however establishing an equilibrium between the organic lines created and the inherited abstracted linear geometrics within. The seating configurations were required to be flexible not only for table groupings but also for the creation of separate zonal autonomy’s adapted to suit the desired operational and functional requirements.
The client desired the venue to be stylish yet comfortable whilst taking into consideration the use of locally and regionally sourced materials, and in particular the use of energy efficient lighting allowing for a reduction in electrical and mechanical loads.