1004 Gourmet

Located in the Onyx Tower in Al Barsha Heights, 1004 Gourmet is a modern day take on an ethnic food market. Dubai based practice FINCH delivered the project. What started as a Korean and Japanese grocery concept, evolved into a multipurpose retail space that houses a grocery, homeware department, beauty store (Lamise) and a café concept.

The client’s brief was to create a minimal store design that lends itself to an enjoyable and relaxed customer experience. While the design is typical of a traditional grocer, the team captured the essence of a modern Asian-style market using three core materials – wood, concrete and ceramic. During the concept design, emphasis was put on the subtle transitions of the customer into each zone which lead to the creation of sculptural archways. The arches play a key role in setting out each area, and although they appear as incomplete floating structures, they create a barrier and also allow a line of sight.

With the beauty store, a shop within a shop concept was implemented with a statement design that popped against the clean backdrop but still gave vibrancy. The combination of pink, marble, brass and teal allowed for this, yet the store appears minimal, efficient and beautiful.