How do you bring the feel of a peaceful forest into a bustling salon in the heart of Paris? Joshua Florquin Architecture answers that question with a dynamic installation of pine wood that stretches up one wall and across the ceiling, creating a sort of abstracted tree branch canopy. Creative as it is, the solution is also refreshingly simple, demonstrating that you don’t need a complex concept to pull off an effect that completely transforms an interior space.
Located near Bastille, Les Dada East is a salon founded by Italian stylist Edoardo Seghi, and doubles as an exhibition and event space by night for cultural events. Seghi commissioned the architect to create a new look that’s in line with the eco-inspired cosmetic brand Davines used by the salon while also serving as an Instagrammable backdrop for openings and shows.
“The primary vision was to create a space in hard contrast with the chaotic city frenzy. A space where you feel in connection with yourself, nature and its beauty, where you breathe and come to rest. An oasis, a forest in the city. This definition and concept is translated into a lateral pine wood wall & ceiling element composed of 238 sculpted lamellae that make us think of tree trunks and branches. You feel as if you were walking in the forest. This technical wall element is dedicated to the more commercial visual communicating part of the salon.”
“Opposite to the pine wood wall a curved continuous tile white wall contrasts the whole and is dedicated to the actual work-oriented functions of the salon. It contains storage and divides the floor plan into a front and back shop. This way entrance, register, waiting room, barber service are visually separated from the cutting and coloring area in the back shop.”
The designers integrated desks, plant shelves and a bench into the design and placed lights between the slats on the ceiling for an effect reminiscent of sunlight streaming between the leaves of trees overhead. The use of all this pine wood in its beautiful natural state, along with a few living plants, “links this urban project in a direct manner to nature,” says Florquin.
