Al Mamlaka Social Dining is a new multi-cuisine food experience in the Saudi Arabian capital, located inside the Kingdom Tower, forming part of the shopping mall housed within the striking skyscraper. This is the first restaurant in Riyadh where diners can experience high-quality food from all over the world, open for nearly 24 hours each day.
Lighting Design International was chosen to deliver the lighting scheme for the dining hall. This new offering is a sophisticated space, and the lighting needed to mirror this. The first attention-grabbing feature in the establishment is the coffee and cocktails station. As it is the first sight guests see when they enter the restaurant, it had to draw people into the space and deliver an ultimate first impression. The LDI team used linear lighting around the canopy of the coffee counter, which offers a continuous ray of light, creating an impressive and stunning scene.
LDI has created a multi-layered canopy by introducing plinth-level lighting alongside the front of the panelling to the counter. Pendants provide an accent on the backstone, while task lights have been added at either side of the counter for baristas to safely carry out their work.
The deli station has a completely different canopy and a unique interior approach, with a beautiful display. LDI has placed the lighting at the back of the pods, spices and books, to create a silhouette element at the front. The team specified the lighting in the fridges so that the colour is harmonious throughout, with a consistent quality too.
The dining counters feature decorative lights around the signages and concealed linear lighting to uplight the menus. Ceramic pendants also drop around the counters, and in between these sit mini downlights. While the pendants give a glow, LDI wanted to add a pool of light onto the countertops, so the downlights have been used to provide an additional accent.
The same approach has been reflected in the dining area, with the decorative lights made of fabric, partnered with rattan pendants. Track lights pin spot the tables, which was an important part of the lighting design. A notable detail is the glowing light under the banquette and counter, radiating into the floor.
All of the linear lighting was set to a warm 2400K, the architectural lighting to 2700K, and the lamps inside the pendants at 2200K. It was important for LDI to create warmth from the pendant, coupled with the accent lighting on the tables.
Lighting has also been integrated between the banquette, uplighting the green features in the planters to throw patterns onto the columns and make the accents very visible to the guests.
Another important element of the design is to use light to guide guests to their desired location. Pools of light on the floor invite people to follow them from the coffee and cocktails, all the way to the patisserie at the very back of the dining space, acting as a key tool to help guests to fully experience the entire venue.
