LA COUPE

STUTTGART, GERMANY | MAY 2002

When it opened up, the hairdressing business, run by Stefan Mall and Ahmet Bilir, did not have a clear direction. After several years of working together and searching for an individual style, they developed their picture of an ideal salon which was strongly influenced by stylistic expectations, a joint work philosophy and customer expectations.

In order to convert these visions and expectations into a spatial concept, the business had to be suspended for four weeks. During this time all the walls and existing building elements were plastered whereby edges and contours were presented precisely and clearly. The existing tiled floor was covered with a seamless, matt mineral-based resin coat. The side rooms (colour laboratory, cloakroom and tea kitchen) were combined to make one compact unit and were colour-marked as an individual element. The customer seating areas were constructed in pairs in the form of cabinet-like cupboards inside which mirrors, lighting and storage space for working equipment were placed. The exterior surface was coated with dark, glazed French walnut veneer and the interior was lined with smooth, shiny, white laminated plastic.