Nalu and Ilios: Surf Architecture in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi's waterfront hospitality scene has been growing steadily, but most of it follows a formula: marble, gold, generic luxury. Nalu Surf Club and Ilios Beach Club, both designed by Elastic Architects, break that formula. These are two venues on the same stretch of coast that use architecture, not branding, to create atmosphere. One is dark, fluid, and surf-inspired. The other is white, arched, and Mediterranean. Together, they demonstrate how much range a single studio can achieve when the brief allows it.

The interiors by Elastic Architects treat the ceiling as the primary design element. In both venues, the ceiling is sculptural: folded, curved, woven, and lit so that it dominates the room from the moment you enter. Everything below the ceiling, the furniture, the counters, the planting, follows the mood that the ceiling sets.

Nalu Surf Club: Dark Timber and Wave Forms

Nalu is the surfer's venue. The ground-floor restaurant uses dark timber columns shaped like breaking waves, rising from the floor to merge with a slatted timber ceiling. The forms are abstract enough to avoid being literal but rhythmic enough to evoke water in motion. At night, lit from below, the columns cast long shadows that move as you walk through the room.

The upper floor intensifies the effect. The ceiling folds inward to a central peak, creating a tent-like volume that draws the eye upward. The marble bar below sits at the base of this convergence. It is a room that makes you look up, which is unusual for a restaurant and effective because of it.

Nalu: The Booths and the Bar

The dining booths at Nalu are capped with woven timber vaults, creating intimate rooms within the larger space. Each booth has its own ceiling, its own light, its own enclosure. The effect is somewhere between a cave and a cocoon: private without being closed off.

The bar is the darkest element: a sculptural timber counter backed by a vertical timber screen lit in red. At night, it reads as the anchor of the room. During the day, when natural light floods the space, the same bar recedes and the columns take over. The venue shifts character with the light.

Ilios Beach Club: White Arches and Mediterranean Calm

Ilios is the counterpoint: white, arched, and warm. The ground floor uses repeated concrete arches to create a rhythm of bays, each one framing a seating alcove with white sofas, tropical plants, and LED step lighting. The palette is cream, stone, and timber. The atmosphere is Mediterranean rather than Pacific.

Where Nalu is immersive and dark, Ilios is airy and composed. The arches create depth and rhythm without enclosure. You can see through the room. The light bounces off white surfaces and fills every corner. It is a space designed for daytime as much as evening.

Ilios: The Upper Floor and the Sweeping Ceiling

The Ilios upper floor has its own ceiling drama. Timber-clad curves sweep across the room in long arcs, creating a canopy that feels organic. The curves are not symmetrical. They fold and overlap, producing shadows that shift as the sun moves. Below, oval tables and white upholstered chairs keep the floor calm.

This room demonstrates the studio's core skill: using a single architectural element, the ceiling, to do almost all of the atmospheric work. The furniture could be swapped out without changing the character of the space. The ceiling is the identity.

Detail: Craft at Every Scale

The detail photography rewards close looking. Woven rattan panels sit inside arched timber frames. Column junctions are cleanly resolved where concrete ribs meet timber slats. The wood grain on the curved ceiling panels is continuous, meaning the panels were bent and clad, not faceted. These are expensive details, but they are the reason the spaces photograph well and age well.

Plans

The floor plans show how both venues organise seating, bars, kitchens, and service areas. Ilios uses a more formal grid with distinct lounge and restaurant zones. Nalu is more fluid, with seating wrapping around the central bar feature. Both venues include outdoor terraces facing the water.

Why This Project Matters

Hospitality interiors in the Gulf tend toward two extremes: opulent maximalism or imported minimalism. Elastic Architects found a third position. These are rich, material, and atmospheric spaces that feel specific to their programme. Nalu feels like surfing. Ilios feels like the Mediterranean. Neither feels like a generic hotel lobby.

If you are designing hospitality interiors where atmosphere is the product, these projects are worth studying for how the ceiling does the heavy lifting. The lesson: design one element so well that everything else can be simple.

About the Studio

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Project credits: Nalu Surf Club and Ilios Beach Club by Elastic Architects. Abu Dhabi, UAE. Photographs: Erieta Attali.