Shanghai-based architecture and design practice Studio DOTCOF has created a series of cave-like interior spaces for a beauty salon in Shanghai, China. 

Called Natural Beauty Salon, the 170-square-metre beauty salon has been designed as a renovation project. The designers designed closed and intimate spaces various in size and materials, corresponding to developing levels of privacy. 

"Our client owns a hair salon originally, located at a corner of a busy crossroad. For some business reasons, client wants to change this shop into a beauty salon," said Studio DOTCOF. 

"It couldn't be better that a street frontage shop to be used as hair salon, but the problem occurs if we want to change it into a beauty salon." 

The salon serves female customers mainly. Besides selling skin care products, it also helps customer to conduct skin test and skin care treatment, thus the space requires a higher level of privacy, stated the designers. 

"How to create an appropriate quiet, private, and relaxed environment, inside this busy street frontage space? It becomes the first priority challenge in our design."

Benefit by the ceiling height of the building, the studio firstly expanded the existing mezzanine area. A consulting room is been added adjacent to the reception area, thus the customer can use it for skin testing after they enter the shop. Furthermore, the roof of consulting room becomes a communal lounge platform, for the people on the mezzanine to use. 

The space of reception area is "mountain cave", is tall, full of different openings and natural lights. The designers also designed some vertical wood battens to emphasis this tall spatial characteristic. People walk into this tall space by passing through a lower bulkhead from the street, will feel a spiritual lifting-up. 

Then, walking through a darker wood corridor, people enter a "water tunnel cave", enclosing by creamy white travertine stones. This is the waiting area, people stay here shortly before or after entering the rooms for skin care. The floor slabs are designed as platforms floating on the water, the color tone is kept to be extremely pure, and light is controlled to diffuse from different positions, such as lower part of a wall, or back side of a seat. 

Image of floating islands on the water, purified color, and diffused lighting, they calm people down, completely get rid of the noise and fatigue outside. Then, walking through the waiting area corridor, people will arrive individual rooms. Rooms are enclosed with real wood panels, warm and close. 

Rooms are the smallest "cave" in size, which is closest to human scale, just like our clothes covering the skin, warm and light. Concealed cabinets are designed on the walls inside the room, in order to store the skin care products and equipment. 

These developing spaces are arranged along an intentionally folded and extended path, attempting to evoke some of people's deep body memories, which may from the intimate atmosphere of primitive cave living experience. 

"Real natural materials such as stone and wood are used for each space. Through the handling of space and materials, we hope to deliver a tranquil experience for the body and moods," added the designers. 

Sketch

Plan

Project facts

Project Name: Natural Beauty Salon

Location: Yushan Rd, Shanghai

Client: Natural Beauty

Interior Designer: Studio DOTCOF

Design Team: Xi Chen, Rong Li, Lan Lan

Address: Yushan Road, Pudong District, Shanghai, China

Category: Interior Design – Beauty Salon

GFA: 170 m2

Completion Time: 2019.09

Materials and brands used: Lamett Wood Floor, Lena Custom furniture, Toto sanitary, Bentu terrazzo lamp 

All images © Sa Xiao

> via Studio DOTCOF