Hairdressing Salon Boston
2008
Níall McLaughlin Architects designed the hairdressing salon for Sassoon in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Boston. The salon is positioned at the entrance to the hotel, facing onto the public shopping arcade and gardens beyond.
An arcaded passageway extends along the glass shop window. It leads from the reception space through to the hair cutting and colouring areas, and the dye dispensary beyond. The passageway forms a sculptural profile when seen from the mall. It acts as a screen, making the cutting room a protected inner sanctum.
The brief was to create an environment that was calm and uplifting, so that each customer leaves the salon feeling nurtured and refreshed. A serene atmosphere is created using integrated reflective lighting set within the vaulted ceiling. The arch of the cutting room is animated by repeated cuts in the soffit that reveal brighter spaces behind. As customers recline at the hair washing basins, they look at the beautiful geometry of the ceiling above.