Mayajah
Monaco (2015)
Located on Princess Grace Avenue overlooking the Mediterranean, Mayajah is the sister restaurant to Maya Bay Monaco, conceived as a refined contemporary interpretation of Indian heritage. Yahya was commissioned to design a monumental sculptural installation that would conceal the restaurant’s central structural columns while defining the atmosphere of the entire space. The resulting work forms the architectural and emotional heart of the restaurant.
Mayajah was envisioned as an immersive dining environment where architecture, atmosphere, and craftsmanship would merge seamlessly. From the outset, the brief was both technical and artistic: to resolve the presence of large structural columns at the centre of the restaurant while transforming them into a defining spatial feature. Rather than masking these constraints, Yahya approached them as an opportunity to create a singular architectural intervention capable of unifying the entire interior.
The resulting installation is a five-by-five-metre architectural sculpture, handcrafted entirely in five-millimetre brass using jewellery-scale techniques. Each floral motif was individually hand-sawn, millimetre by millimetre, following methods traditionally reserved for fine jewellery. Drawing inspiration from Mughal geometry, the structure expands organically from base to crown, maintaining perfect rhythmic continuity across its complex curved form — a technical challenge that demanded exceptional precision and structural engineering.
When illuminated, the sculpture becomes the focal presence of the restaurant, radiating a warm, golden glow that transforms the dining experience beneath it. Beyond its technical complexity, the work establishes the emotional tone of the space, balancing monumentality with delicacy. At Mayajah, the sculpture functions simultaneously as architecture, artwork, and atmosphere — embodying Yahya’s approach of elevating material, structure, and light into a unified artistic language.
Photography Credit: Ed Wright - Warren Wesley Patterson
Mayajah
Monaco (2015)
Located on Princess Grace Avenue overlooking the Mediterranean, Mayajah is the sister restaurant to Maya Bay Monaco, conceived as a refined contemporary interpretation of Indian heritage. Yahya was commissioned to design a monumental sculptural installation that would conceal the restaurant’s central structural columns while defining the atmosphere of the entire space. The resulting work forms the architectural and emotional heart of the restaurant.
Mayajah was envisioned as an immersive dining environment where architecture, atmosphere, and craftsmanship would merge seamlessly. From the outset, the brief was both technical and artistic: to resolve the presence of large structural columns at the centre of the restaurant while transforming them into a defining spatial feature. Rather than masking these constraints, Yahya approached them as an opportunity to create a singular architectural intervention capable of unifying the entire interior.
The resulting installation is a five-by-five-metre architectural sculpture, handcrafted entirely in five-millimetre brass using jewellery-scale techniques. Each floral motif was individually hand-sawn, millimetre by millimetre, following methods traditionally reserved for fine jewellery. Drawing inspiration from Mughal geometry, the structure expands organically from base to crown, maintaining perfect rhythmic continuity across its complex curved form — a technical challenge that demanded exceptional precision and structural engineering.
When illuminated, the sculpture becomes the focal presence of the restaurant, radiating a warm, golden glow that transforms the dining experience beneath it. Beyond its technical complexity, the work establishes the emotional tone of the space, balancing monumentality with delicacy. At Mayajah, the sculpture functions simultaneously as architecture, artwork, and atmosphere — embodying Yahya’s approach of elevating material, structure, and light into a unified artistic language.