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Architects: zohome
- Area: 97 m²
- Year: 2018
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Photographs:Hey!Cheese
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Manufacturers: BeChen, Creative color, Dulux, Rhyme, Taiwangalss
Text description provided by the architects. This was a design planning project for Aufait Hair Salon in an old-style apartment in Taipei. During the communication process with the hair stylists, we gained a full understanding of the usage and configuration of space required for hair styling. In the 97 square-meter space, we regard hair styling as a means of expressing the layout of space; thus, we re-tailored, thinned-out, and re-allocated the possibilities of the salon space from the inside out.
We also gave some thought to the possibility of movement being affected by the existing conditions of the old apartment, which would affect whether certain features should be retained or changed. But in order to adapt to the environment, this consideration produced interesting allocations during planning. In addition, the former decor of the space was removed in the planning of the space in order to present the hair styling process.
The space after tailoring was re-imagined. The space was presented separately in three areas: the entrance, reception, and work zone; which created new spatial layers. Primary and secondary paths for movement have been laid out within the space. The dark-toned entrance is used as a buffer zone; the reception area is linked to the entrance via a change in material, forming an independent spatial breakpoint together with the hair style photo booth.
The work area uses the rugged dark-toned texture from the entrance area which continues into the hair-cutting space, making the bright reception area the intermediate buffer between the entrance and the work area. At the same time, it also provides an effective visual focal point, where the spatial textures of the color boundaries bring a sense of partitioning conflict to the users, creating a new salon space experience.
The overall image shows sharp linear tailoring throughout, from the entrance elevation that corresponds with the wooden door handle, then from the reception counter extending to the partition screen, all presented as vertical chamfered surfaces, making it more difficult to look directly into the interior from the outside. In addition, through the use of a low reflexivity metal material that enhances the softness and lightness of objects, it allows larger fixed objects to retain fluidity and openness in the spatial arrangement.
The work area hides stand-alone sliding storage cabinets behind each mirror, so that customers can have a higher degree of storage space privacy when getting a haircut. It also allows the linear tailoring to extend from the mirror cabinet to the dyeing bar and the rinsing area screen, allowing the work space to maintain a consistent and stable color tone and separating it from the all-white tone of the reception space. This returns the hair-styling perspective, one that requires more privacy within the space, to the customers who are immersed in the hair salon experience.
Planar planning after re-design will be arranged as two color blocks in order to demarcate the use of space. The lighting configuration enriches the light and dark tones of the space and enhances the visual layers of the space, so that the objects can produce a non-characteristic spatial expression when viewed from different angles. While continuing the open space through linear aspects, we also incorporated various considerations for privacy into the plan.
The entrance space has a chamfered surface design to serve as an open-plan relaxation area, which allows the reception space to provide more buffering and extension effects. It can also serve as the storage space required for temporary seating when holding hair product courses, so as not to affect the movement paths of workers, effectively utilizing the remaining space. A hair style photo shoot booth has also been arranged, and storage spaces are hidden behind the working mirror cabinet to provide storage for the carts and the folding chairs.
