Kenneth's

a post-katrina venture, this upscale, modern hair studio is a renovation project situated along new orleans’ celebrated st. charles avenue. after losing an existing business located on the edge of lake pontchartrain to high flood waters, this client considered abandoning new orleans. instead, he made a decision to relocate and reinvest in the city, and this new project was born.

the provocative, dynamic existing glass shell of the building’s enclosure influenced the scheme’s development as a display for the activities of the stylists and their clientele. despite the fact that the space had previously housed a salon, the entire m.e.p. system needed to be replaced, which allowed for the redesign of a central core that could house more private program functions such as shampoo stations, manicure stations, massage rooms, and required support spaces. the custom styling stations were then pulled to the perimeter of the space and presented in silhouette against the backdrop of the core’s milky glass curtain.

in addition, the styling stations are backed by large video monitors in effort to translate the human scale of the salon activities to the urban scale of the avenue. the project relied upon contrasts in material textures through the careful coordination of opaque, translucent and reflective surfaces such as concrete, walnut, kokomo art glass, brushed aluminum, and specialty light fixtures that provide both indirect illumination and required task lighting.

Construction: edifice builders