Pros,Beauty Salon in Omotesando

A Passage for a Hair Salon

This is a hair salon project located on the fourth floor of a four-story tenant building in Omotesando. As the site was formerly occupied by another salon, parts of the existing interior were reused. Within a floor area of approximately 70 m², six cutting stations and four cutting stations are arranged facing each other, with a passage-like space placed between them. Although this space is not assigned a specific function, it is envisioned to serve as a circulation route for stylists and clients, a kind of photo spot, and a runway-like space after treatments are completed.

The walls that define this passage are finished differently on each side. On the passage side, they are treated with a vivid coral-pink finish using relatively coarse aggregate. Through its strong color and hard texture created by the aggregate, the passage is intended to take on a stage-like character. By contrast, the cutting-station side is finished in a pale greige tone using fine aggregate, creating a calmer atmosphere in which clients can receive treatments. This choice was also based on the practical consideration that cut hair is less likely to catch on a finer-grained surface.

The colors of the reveals around the wall openings are taken from the cutting-station side, so greige frames rise within the passage. Together with the light leaking through them, these frames further enhance the theatrical quality of the passage. In addition, by offsetting the positions of opposing openings in plan, a layered sequence becomes visible when facing the wall on the cutting-station side: the wall behind reflected in the cutting mirror, the cutting station in front, the wall of the passage, and the wall beyond. This creates a sense of depth beyond the actual dimensions of what is, in fact, a relatively narrow frontage.

The space is established through what might be called an ironic approach: resolving the program of a hair salon through a spatial composition that does not overly rely on conventional hair-salon imagery.