Bookstore and café interior with a lit white oak shelving wall, a stone counter at left, art book tables in front and café tables at right

Commercial · Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Saadiyat Art Bookstore + Café

A bookstore and café for Saadiyat's cultural district, planned around a full-height white oak shelving wall that runs the length of the unit, in light limestone, travertine and warm 3000K light.

Category: Commercial
Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Size: 130 m²
Status: Completed

Café seating area with round stone-topped tables and upholstered armchairs, facing the stone barista counter with a pastry case and lit oak shelving — Café seating looking toward the barista counter — round stone-topped tables with upholstered wood-frame armchairs, a stone-clad counter with a glazed pastry case, espresso machine and grinder, LED-lit oak shelving with books, ceramic jugs and coffee bags behind, a framed relief panel on the limestone wall, and a window onto palms and a colonnade

Reading and seating area with a long pale banquette and cushions below a backlit wall panel and an olive tree in a stone planter, oak display tables of stacked and face-out art books, a run of LED-lit oak shelving flanking a niche with an upholstered bench and a textured wall relief, and a timber sideboard in a lit alcove holding dark ceramic vessels
Close view of the oak shelving bays — concealed LED strips over face-out books, ceramic and metal bowls and vases, olive branches on a timber ledge, a textured gold-toned relief lit by a small spotlight in the central bay, an oak display table with a stone bowl in the foreground, and a limestone-clad pier with a slim cylindrical pendant

View along the space toward the barista counter, with lit oak shelving over a banquette, round café tables, art book displays and full-height glazing — View along the length of the space toward the barista counter, with floor-to-ceiling LED-lit oak shelving above a continuous banquette, a row of round stone-topped tables and upholstered armchairs with olive trees in planters, slim pendants over the stone counter and its glazed pastry case, low oak display units with art books and framed prints at right, and full-height glazing onto a landscaped courtyard

A bookstore and café for the Saadiyat cultural district, planned around a single full-height white oak shelving wall that runs the length of the unit and carries the book display. Behind a glazed shopfront with a central entry door, the plan opens into book retail and display with freestanding display islands, then turns to café seating - round stone-topped tables along a continuous banquette - with a barista counter and pastry display, and a reading / lounge area with armchairs. All of this is carried by the joinery: the integrated shelving wall with its central alcove, the café counter, the seating niche, and a typical shelving bay with brushed aluminium shelf supports, a white oak back panel with flush joints and an LED strip set into the stone base plinth. Materials stay light and warm - light limestone for floor and wall cladding, white oak for joinery and shelving, travertine at the countertop, brushed aluminium on metal details, canvas textile for curtains and soft furnishings and neutral upholstery on seating and banquettes - the stone honed, the millwork setting the rhythm of the wall. The reflected ceiling plan keeps everything at 3000K warm white: recessed downlights for an even ambient wash, LED strips integrated into the shelving to lift books and objects, slim pendants over the café tables, a linear pendant over the barista counter, and adjustable accent spotlights on featured displays and artwork, with the ambient, shelving and accent lighting dimmable through the day and drivers concealed in the ceiling and joinery.

Material board with labelled swatches of limestone, white oak, brushed aluminium and textiles, a sample composition and two interior views — Material boardMaterial board with labelled swatches for light limestone, white oak, brushed aluminium, canvas textiles, neutral upholstery and integrated lit shelving, a composition photograph of overlapping stone, textile, timber and brushed metal samples with an olive sprig, two interior views and a bulleted list of material notes

Lighting planReflected ceiling plan at 1:50 with coloured symbols for recessed downlights across the floorplate, integrated LED strips along the shelving runs, pendant task lights over the café tables, a linear pendant over the barista counter and accent spotlights along the shelving and display walls, with the five-point lighting strategy, symbol legend, general notes, scale bar and north arrow