Amour Salon_ History
The Salon used to be spotted on a street level not far away from the most famous red light district of Hong Kong. Busy streets are full of curious people and filled with obscene air but hints for exotic themes which was usually dismissed by the rest of the city. It is a vibrant and dynamic field of business encounter with flirt of newness. Not far away from these erotic actions, the salon lies right in front of a tram stop- one of the oldest means of public transportation which relentlessly supply nutrition of strangeness for this district. During the day, the salon embraces business by disclosure of dazzling events and flux of customers. At night, the mist of darkness spills over the transparency of its shop front which comfort the memory of passers-by and depict a scene of obscurity can only be extended by one’s imagination.
Amour Salon_ Concept
In a city like Hong Kong where land is limited and price for a place is consequently higher than others- It is a rather common phenomenon widely for vernacular retail activities to be relocated for various reasons predominantly the price of rent. In this time of uncertainty, retail activities which historically was regarded as a ground-level event is under this wave of hit towards upper floors in commercial buildings within confined space. With this emerging phenomenon of 'moving up', the already three-dimensionally connected urban network of Hong Kong is further intensified. A labyrinth of urban spatial network is created through the intertwining lifts, escalators, tunnels and elevated walkways and insertion of retail activities mid-air. Acknowledging that the downside is an unprecedented decrease of footfall; hence, retail owners strived to redefine and mutate the business nature to maintain retail opportunity. This move to ‘upstairs’ might be vital in merchandize perspective, but it severs Amour Salon by losing its shop-front, street vista, transparency and most importantly the eyes of customers. Functions and activities become fully internalised and compartmentalised, isolated and distant from the diverse ground street-scape.
A reflection was forced upon designer to confront a variety of possible contingencies. There is no more seduction of body, no more cosmetic surgery of the front, not even a makeover, sign or language are merely possible. Future uncertainty of salon calls for strategy before any design would take place, a strategy to examine all factuality of its ‘misfortune’ by phenomenological transcendence to recall its memories of past glamorous days on streets.
'Interweaving activity-pattern' - redefinition of brand and servicing strategy
A salon, conventionally as a space where one carries out a haircut by a hair dresser, was tranditionally a space of singular purpose. With the rising awareness of health, self-appearance, aesthetic and social topography in the 21st Century, a salon is becoming a hub for ‘appearance-maintenance’; emerging as a spatial device stimulating consumerism as a necessary tool for ‘appearance-beauty’.
The mutated business nature was materialised by the client’s ambition of introducing various functions and programmes into this contained urban pocket space space - a stage area for product launch, retail space, Look Bar and Colour Bar. This programmatic intervention, which implied programmatic and spatial challenge, confronts the designers to revisit the architectural notion of hair-dresser salon. The drive departing from the spatial singularity and achieving spatial multiplicity as a showcase and retail gallery space re-examines the notion of hair-styling salon into a novelty.
The altogether new programmatic intervention that collide together were apparently perceived unrelated to one another. It all seemed too much of a chaos within this hidden space. The obscured relation eventually surfaced was that new interventions could smartly convolute to connect activities in a new logical skeleton. The outcome would be a reinvention of the branding and servicing strategy of Amour Salon upon arrival to this new premise.
Reception -> Waiting Area -> Consultation -> Bath Area-> Hairstyling (Work desk) -> Retail/Gallery -> Reception
Formulating spaces
This activitity-sequence governing Amour Salon's new brand and servicing strategy forms itself as the framework for the organisation of spaces and functions. A series of circulation routes, dervied from the branding strategy, is overlayed creating what is a rather complex but intertwining movement network.
Mutating boundary - (de)-defining atmosphere - harmonising competing spaces
The stage area (for product launch), despite operating once a month, requires a high visual prominence from all corners of the salon to maximise audience spaces. Contradictory, the retail area, demands by its nature a protuberance within the salon. The Colour Bar and Look Bar (for consultation) and waiting area also competes on an area requirement.
The solution was an novel method in integrating these conflicting spaces, formulating the 'Central Space' of the salon. The Central space, with four elevations, two of them (South and West) would constitute the retail product shelf. The retail shelf, L-shaped on plan, would form the backdrop for the stage area during a product launch; striving to enhance and strengthen the image of the products. The North elevation, the wall in front of the bath area, would be utilised as the Look Bar where consultation could happen. The East elevation is open, inducing visual linkage to styling work space and the Colour Bar behind the reception, intensifying the overall spatial porosity of the salon.
This Central Space is transformable on its demand. The programmes of retail activities, waiting area and consultation transpired through respective elevations/walls were convoluted in to this space with close proximity. Audience could gather around this spaces during a product launch where the retail shelf retires as a backdrop for the stage. Each programme has by its nature its own quality and flavour; through synthesising these programmes into one Central Space, this space becomes ambiguous and boundary-less with its quality and character. What is envisaged is a new spatial quality and atmosphere emerging- constituting the core of Amour Salon's new brand.
Configuration of activity-pattern into spatial geometry
This shoebox (premise) within the labyrinth of the three-dimensional urban labyrinth is rectangular floorplate. The synthesis of several programme sequence and spatial flow devised a lattice and faceted geometry departing from a striated and orthogonal spatial geometry to counter-act the rectilinear and unefficient floorplate from dissociating the movement and programmes.
The lattice and faceted spatial geometry establish to encouraged a smooth and intuitive movement flow associating with the programme sequence and branding strategy. Furthermore, the spatial geometry crystallises to intensify the spatial porosity and layering depthness. The 'emergence and revealing' of new sub-spaces incorporating the 'time-ness' experience of movement reinforces and connected a series of isolated functions and visual network. This spatial geometry re-establishes Amour Salon's new branding strategy as an outcome of intervention of un-associated programmes.
The directional field geometry, derived from the circulation flow of the salon brand, mutates itself into faceted directional skin that organises the spaces and activities around. This gave birth to the element of ‘porosity’ and ‘spatial depthness’ encapsulated within this salon space, unifying the salon as a whole and strengthening its image.
Lead Designer: SheungHok Lim, Liwei Deng
Designers: Theclalin Cheung, Xiao Yao Yap, Shirley Tsang, Yolanda Leung
Client: Christoper Yeung
Contractor: Ka Ngai Design and Engineering