Below are a list of edited articles. Select the media icon to read the full online version.
Electric Forest received top honors in two categories at the inaugural FestX awards ceremony held at the XLIVE conference in Las Vegas. Electric Forest took home the trophy for best production design, and the “Forest Family” was named best fan community. Our Observatory installation is featured in the article. - Electronic Midwest
"Prepare yourself for a bit of theater in Nuevo Latino star chef Douglas Rodriguez’s latest restaurant, De La Costa. The 12,000-square-foot space, dreamed up by designer-architect Suhail, is surprisingly intimate, with dramatic jewel-toned fringed curtains delineating one dining-lounging space from the other. Features include a ceviche and a sangria bar and private cabanas in the solarium." - Elle Decor
The Electric Forest Observatory stage installation was featured in a Vogue article that lists Electric Forest as the number one alternative music festival in the world! - Vogue
Video content of Electric Forest Observatory Moorish pavilions. - Reddit
"Chameau's decor is funky, yet gorgeous. Every aspect of the restaurant's design seems carefully considered. With all this funky decor, how does Chameau avoid being painfully hip?" - Blogspot
"An called upon her friend and architect Suhail to create the 1,160-square-foot, bungalow-style space. His task included creating a luxury salon experience and honoring both An’s Korean heritage and her love of nature. The result is turning more than a few heads. “When we first opened, there were traffic jams outside. There’s nothing like this on Montana.” The intrigue continues throughout the space, which is filled with iconic Korean cultural symbols like a serpentine dragon etched in lacquer prancing across a wall and a sprawling cherry blossom carving that greets guests at the entrance. Retractable screens between the six cutting stations emphasize client comfort, as do smaller details such as on-hand iPads and rollaway workbenches that maximize space." - Modern Luxury
"Noor opened the doors to the Aeonium Integrative Skincare Clinic this spring, a one-stop beauty shop for head-to-toe glow that's quickly earning the adoration of a tight-lipped crew of A-listers...I realized instantly that with my educational background and experiences — in addition to the best training in the industry — that I could revolutionize the way we approach aesthetic skincare." - Hollywood Reporter
"Shin Hair was first runner up in salon of the year...Shin met architect and designer Suhail and was immediately inspired by his passion and creative vision...Dark wooden panels with hand-carved “cultural tattoos” beckon clients, while interior walls soothe with bright mosaics and intricate carvings. Throughout the salon, the artwork pays homage to Shin’s Korean heritage...creating a distinctive look that was iconic with the Shin brand." - Salon Today
"Run, don’t walk to newly opened Shin Hair Salon in Santa Monica. Renovated by Suhail Design Studio the space is simple yet artistic with attention paid to every detail, from a geometrically-carved wood ceiling to custom-painted partition screens to Asian-inspired wall installations...Don’t overlook the salon’s hidden treasure: A Zen outdoor patio that will soon operate as a full-service spa for clients to enjoy facials, manicures, pedicures, and massages under the sun." - LA Confidential
Suhail won "The Wave of the Future Award" given out by Hospitality design magazine. - Hospitality Design
"The rundown couches have been replaced with leather banquettes, but the music remains intact, making the new space Wicker Park’s answer to Sonotheque and Smart Bar. Inside, designer Suhail (Sonotheque, DeLaCosta) has employed acoustic-friendly touches, including a lava-like ceiling and felt panels that reflect sound. Neighborhood hipsters and longtime regulars make up the bulk of the crowd, with a few former ravers mixed in. Lava might not be everyone’s scene, but the DJ buffs who made it ground zero for cutting-edge sounds haven’t lost faith. And probably never will." - Chicago Magazine
"As production designer, Suhail, a British transplant and architect who has made a name for himself as one of the city's most creative and edgy young design turks, worked on the development and creation of every part of the place. Suhail filled it with undeniably cool stuff." - Chicago Tribune
Suhail design/ build of the MTV Real World house Chicago season
MTV Real World House Bunim/murray productions location Chicago, Illinois project delivery Design/Build architect Suhail
"Like all Suhail designs, Del Toro is a place intense in its details. But lest you recall only the over-the-top pleasures of the Jetsonian MOD and Okno, or the Wonkarific Sugar, remember that he also constructed Sonotheque and the Middle Eastern Tizi Melloul. From the exterior constructed of barnyard wood, highlighted by an iconic contemporary symbol of a bull, it manages to be vivid, exotic and comfortable all at once, offering further evidence for Suhail’s reputation as one of the top restaurant designers around." - New City
"Chameau's design is one of the best and most inviting that I've seen in awhile, frankly, outshining many of the more resume touted examples around town. The attention to detail, exotic patterns and the dramatic lighting are fantastic." - Chowhound
"Keeping with the Del Toro name, Suhail confined himself to the colors of the corrida. The floor is sand-colored concrete; the ceilings and bar undulate like a matador's cape, while incorporating Spanish nouveau elements in the style of artist Antonio Gaudi. Horn-shaped lights protrude aggressively from one wall; the opposite wall is clad in animal hide, with red gashes representing wounds. The rear seating area is done in various fabrics, all a vivid red." - Chicago Tribune
"Sonotheque: sleek, sexy lounge where music is the focus.
Service: This place is very cool. all pretensions left at the door.
Interior: The exterior facade of the building that faces the street is covered in aluminum powder-coated panels. this material continues on the interior ceiling. blue and gray are the primary colors. a long bar stretches along one side of the single large space.
Ambience: Unpretentious music paradise" - Superfuture
"Sonotheque didn’t become one of Chicago’s best clubs by catering to the masses. the club is an exercise in extreme variety, with different music played practically every night, it has turned Sonotheque into a destination point for cutting-edge music and was named the best club by the popular Web site Everyoneisfamous.com, run by Clayton Hauck. “Sonotheque is definitely one of Chicago’s most respected clubs, it attracts kids ‘in the know’ so to say, and perhaps because of them everyone else follows.” The strength of Sonotheque is also the burden because the audience never knows what it’s going to get, the scope of Sonotheque’s music can be quite overwhelming to the regular customer.” - New City
"MOD is the latest venture of hip restaurateur Terry Alexander. Situated in Wicker Park, Chicago's artsy/gritty West Side neighborhood, the restaurant's saucy, near-psychedelic interior is the work of London-born designer Suhail. He designed Mod's Jetson-like molded-plastic chairs to resemble sliced-off egg cups colored sky blue or guacamole green. The vestibule is sheathed in bright orange acrylic panels. In the main dining area, circles and squares provide the geometric leitmotif for lighting, fixtures and furnishings. Blue and green dining areas can be partitioned off with see-through wall panels of pierced acrylic that look like slices of Swiss cheese. Ceiling fixtures -- green or orange acrylic squares and blue acrylic "bowls" -- help define the spatial boundaries. Materials are used innovatively throughout. Convex safety mirrors are mounted above banquettes that look like granite but are actually made of industrial foam sheathed with transparent vinyl. The flooring, which mimics tile, is made of recycled tires. And a long, counter-height table of tinted glass accommodates various seating groups, conserving space while fostering a sense of conviviality." - Visual Merchandising and Store Design
"Suhail | Conceptual Artist: The London-born designer known simply as Suhail has created only two restaurants so far, both in Chicago, but with each one he invented an entirely new visual vocabulary. The first, Tizi Melloul, is a lush ode to Morocco filled with hand-woven textiles, tooled-leather ottomans and other traditional crafts. The other, Mod, is a candy-colored riff on modernism in which one motif--rows of cut-out circles--is repeated in such synthetic materials as recycled rubber, corrugated fiberglass and acrylic. On the strength of these eye-catching projects, Suhail has been the buzz of the design world." - Food & Wine
"Since debuting in the summer of 1999, Tizi Melloul has racked up awards and accolades for its modern Mediterranean and North African cuisine and its eye-poppingly gorgeous interior straight out of "Arabian Nights." Tizi Melloul's distinctions include being voted "Most Exotic Restaurant" by the Chicago Tribune and one of the "10 Best Looking Restaurants in America" by the Insider's List." - NBC 5 Chicago
"For the last few years the trend in restaurant decor has been cool, calculated minimalism but Tizi Melloul, a new Moroccan restaurant at 531 N. Wells, has a more theatrical feel, with plush leather furniture, lanterns of intricate stained glass, and sleek brushed-copper dining tables. To mastermind Tizi Melloul's extravagant decor, owner Terry Alexander hired Suhail, a young British-born architect and designer. Alexander says he and his partners were sufficiently impressed by the Brit's portfolio to take a chance on him. Alexander and his partners handed Suhail a budget of close to $1 million, and the designer arranged to spend several weeks in Morocco. Bombarded with unfamiliar images and sensations, he began to visualize the new restaurant as soon as he landed: "Just watching a Moroccan sunset helped me decide some of the color schemes I wanted to use." Suhail describes the decor as a mix of contemporary, Eastern exotica, and the sleek metalwork that's become his trademark. "Minimalism has been done," he says. "I want people to have a real emotional reaction when they visit this restaurant." - Chicago Reader