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Relief-panelled Demi Rustic clay plaster wall, lit from within, at Toplum, Riyadh
Our work — Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Toplum

Mediterranean simplicity and geometry in a dramatic six-metre-high room, by Ghida Chehab of Studio Baab.

Toplum — the relief-panelled clay plaster wall.

Location Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Design Studio Baab
Finish Demi Rustic, 4 mm
Colour WHI-01

The project

The simplicity and geometry of Mediterranean culture were the key influences behind the new Toplum restaurant in Riyadh. Lebanese-born, Dubai-based designer Ghida Chehab, founder of Studio Baab, has focused on materiality, refined detailing, clean lines, shapes and rhythms of patterns to enhance the verticality of the dramatic six-metre-high space.

Our raw, natural, earthy clay plaster was spread throughout the surfaces, contrasting with a combination of wooden blocks in different shapes and sizes. A Demi Rustic clay plaster, 4 mm thick with subtle texture, bringing additional lighting and sound absorbing performance. A travertine clad bar is enhanced by two wooden elements, one of which acts as a bold twelve-metre vertical structure that connects the lower level to the mezzanine floor.

The buff clay walls and mustard-coloured seating are reflected in the colours of Toplum’s hummus, muhammara and roasted eggplant dishes.

What I enjoy most is materiality: discovering the wide range of crafts, textures and surfaces out there, and focusing on elements derived from nature.

Ghida Chehab, Studio Baab

Detail of stepped relief panels in Demi Rustic clay plaster at Toplum, lit along their edges.
Stepped relief, edge-lit.
Glass wall lights set against Demi Rustic clay plaster above a band of glass block at Toplum.
Glass sconces on clay plaster.
Toplum dining room with mustard banquettes, a brick-clad column and a row of pendant bulbs against clay plaster.
The mezzanine dining room.
Clay plaster wall at Toplum with glass wall lights and a palm shadow, above glass block.
Palm shadow on the plaster.
Looking up at the twelve-metre timber structure at Toplum against clay-plastered and travertine surfaces.
The twelve-metre timber element.
Looking down onto the timber structure and clay plaster wall at Toplum from the mezzanine.
From the mezzanine.
Finishes Demi Rustic WHI-01 Clay Plaster
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Materials on this project

Supplied and applied by our own artisans. The links go to the material itself — the finish, the range, and the technical data needed to specify the same surface.

Clay plaster

Clayworks Demi Rustic — white, through the restaurant

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Clay plasterThe material system specified here.Demi Rustic finishThe material system specified here.Technical dataData sheets, clauses and the document library.A comparable projectThe same material system on a different building.All projectsFilter the full list by material.Enquire about a projectSend drawings or a finishes schedule.