Filful designed by H2R Design brings Beirut’s vibrant street food to Dubai Marina Mall

H2R DESIGN,the renowned design firm with award-winning projects across the Middle East, designed the interiors and exteriors of Filful, a Lebanese street food kiosk in Dubai Marina Mall. With a menu based on the bites that are enjoyed across Beirut's streets, the 70 square meter kiosk houses a shawarma zone, an Arabic bakery oven, a section for drinks and a kitchen area, all visible for passer-by’s to see, smell, hear and develop cravings for.

The brief for this project included packing a variety of operational functions into a relatively compact space and at the same time, creating a vibrant and loud design, highlighting authentic food, illustrating Beirut’s vibrant street food scene. An area adjacent to Filful's side wall was also a canvas for creative ideas.

H2R Design took inspiration from Beirut's famed Bliss Street, near universities where student flock to after a long day of classes or after a celebratory night out. Inspiration also came from the colourful boutiques lined one after another across the city, with different materials signs, pop-up graphics and graffiti.

Although Filful is located in a prime location, H2R Design knew that they had to create a design that drew attention to the F&B concept amidst the colourful cinema reels and a variety of illuminating stimulus near the escalators. Additionally, the aim was to create a design that captured the hungry shopper just as they ascend to the floor.

To achieve this, the overall design had to stand out with bright colours and pop art graphics positioning it as the only warm industrial structure in that zone. The design had to blend the existing brand's colour palette with Beirut’s urban cityscape while showcasing delectable dishes and treats.

"This was a very special project for us because the design was implemented was per the original pitch. Very little was changed, which reflected how we hit the soul of the brand. Filful's design is simple and honest with industrial connections keeping in with the charm of street shops. We were looking for elements that reflect an old city with a rich history, literature, and some eccentric pop culture. The design took on a lot of contrasts, such as being warm but industrial, new but timeless, and always evolving. The vibrancy of the lively city, despite its challenging past had to be translated into this funky concept. And we had to do all of that in a relatively small space," Hasan and Husain Roomi, Founders of H2R Designs said. 

The design features that have an immediate effect are the textured rough paints, dark wooden tones, glass blocks and acrylics, the neon lighting and signages. Other eye-catching features include the relief slogan side wall, the Arabic oven preparation area with flashy yellow tiles, the blue textured painted panels and the black shawarma enclosure section. There was also the use of contrasting materials reflecting the concept of merging the old and new such as black metal, terrazzo, and coloured acrylics versus the rough textured paints, dark wooden framing and smooth white marble.

The overall unit configuration is a play of volumes and translucency to ensure that the dining concept is not overlooked when walking in the area. The result of Filful's design is a harmonious combination of styles and materials where the diversifications of art, slogans and signs coalesce into a total transition from a mall dining experience to a street food corner.

Key design features include:

WALLS:  

• The walls have a textured grey concrete look, with the side tenancy walls framing engraved slogans and expressions.
• A vibrant blue textured paint covers the panelled wall where wooden framing has been added to reflect a traditional structure with a twist.
• The back walls encase a glass box with metal framing and glass doors to allow for maximum visibility and spatial integration with the hot kitchen area.

OPEN KITCHEN: WALLS & DISPLAY

• The people preparing the meals and the dishes are put ‘on display’ for shoppers to notice and grab a bite.
• The oven is clad in bright yellow with a black brick surround making it pop and highlight that it is the only oven on offer within the food hall tenancies.
• The joinery and shelving were compact and kept in ‘behind the scenes’ to allow for a clean ‘viewing’ into the kiosk.

BAR & COUNTER TOPS:

• White marble stone cladding was added to the point of sales counter allowing a clean and harmonious transition between end points and identities of the design.
• As per the chef's request, white natural stone marble was placed to allow for optimized preparation of doughs and baked goods.

ART:

• The graffiti wall was designed by the in-house graphic design team, with the theme of the pop-art culture of Lebanon in the 1960’s, as well as a spin-off on old sayings, paying tribute to the street culture.
• The art in Fiful is characterized by the retro signages, neon lights and a suspended lit acrylic cube, graphics stickers, bespoke metal plates, framed art.

LIGHTING:

• Filful is illuminated with ceiling recessed spotlights and suspended can lights in the exposed ceiling.
• The main lighting units are simple recessed spotlights that were meant to give enough functional light to the space without taking away from the pop art light installations.

FLOORING & CEILING

• These areas were kept as plain and simple as possible as the stage was the movement of the chef within the bakery and the shawarma areas.
• The ceiling holds the neon light graphics
• Attached to the ceiling are hanging elements which hold screens that display the different menu items and offers.

COLOUR PALETTE

• The prominent colours of this project are Blue and Red with Yellow as an accent colour which was used throughout to reflect the brand's lively identity.

MATERIALS

• Keeping with the simplicity of the shop fronts in urban Beirut, the materials within the dining concept were selected to support the diverse design techniques and strategy, such as:
• Black steel posts that hold up the 4 walls of the shop
• Waist high wooden and stone panels to help create a ‘window effect’ or a ‘shop front’ effect
• Glass, to enable diners to see within the concept
• Glass blocks to give a visual play between light and blurring anything that is happening behind the scenes
• A concrete effect wall, reminiscent of the stone walls of Beirut
• Graffiti and pop art – paying homage to the urban artists in the city

Challenges:
The space planning was a crucial element whereby the design had to allow an individual space for each function considering the overall size and shape of the unit. The design also had to allow a proper and functional operation between the back of the house and the front of the house areas while creating a visual open space, complying with all mall’s rules and regulations when it comes to “open kitchen concepts”.

Material Used :
-Lighting: Huda Lighting

Decoration & Other Suppliers: 
-Wood from Lobo &Listone FZE
-Tiles from Arabuild
-Paint from Jotun