The experience of having one’s hair cut and styled is a haptic and therapeutic social ritual that has the potential to allow the customer to retreat from the day to day world, momentarily shed their concerns, and to return reinvigorated and renewed. Located in the celebrated NewActon Nishi development and affiliated with the award winning Hotel Hotel, this design attempts to celebrate the nature of the haircut ritual, and to heighten the revival of the senses.

Acknowledging allusions to the sacred bath and tea ceremony rituals of various cultures, we have engaged with the concept of ‘Renewal’ as a suitable analogy for the salon experience. The design of the salon is conceived as a spatial sequence that resonates into the surrounding precinct, allowing the user to enjoy a heightened awareness of the environment.

Respectful of the adjoining hotel lounge fitout by March Studio, (which includes the black steel wall with glass marbles to the adjacent airlock, and the timber screen and large existing black steel entry gate to the main entry) the salon fitout sought to engage and integrate with the existing conditions through the development of innovative solutions such as the point of sale unit that pivots on a column and the glowing porthole reveals to the cork lined basin area.

Designed by Craig Tan Architects
Photography by Ross Honeysett

http://craigtanarchitects.com