Clip Drop In is the hair salon which gives you the feeling of sitting under the leaves of a big tree. It is located in a redesigned shopping mall, with 85 green MDF boxes in the ceiling.The ambition was to create a creative and sustainable atmosphere which would stand out from other salons.
Sweco Architects has over the last 20 years designed different concept salons for the hairdressing retailers Clip. A request from the client was that the design should be completely different from the other salons, but at the same time meet the requirement of functionality, ergonomic and lightening.
The salon has a narrow floor plan with glass fronts and two entrances, one that opens out onto the shopping mall, and the other one onto the street. On the busier mall side, where most of the costumers are passing, the area of the salon is designed for retail. The area facing the street is designed for hairdressing with twelve workstations,which hold a more private feeling.
All the interior parts in the salon, from the workstations to the colorful MDF boxes in the ceiling are custom designed. The local produced MDF boxes vary in size and are painted in different shades of green, and some of them contain lightening or ventilation. The green color of the MDF boxes is chosen to create a feeling of sitting under the leaves of a big tree. Umeå is often called “The City of Birches”, because of all the birches, so the design is a link to this. The surrounding ceiling is covered by a transparent metal grid with lightning fixtures and fittings above the ceiling.
A lot of effort is put in creating a good lightning design, since high color reproduction (RA index) is required and therefor the light setting is important. The lightning is controlled by a DALI system which helped to create different light scenes as well as saving energy.
The wall behind the workstations has an important function; it is a perforated steel screen with an acoustic panel behind, that is necessary for creating a good acoustic environment.It also has a beautiful illumination effect at night which draws attention to the design of the salon even during closing hours.By using a lot of mirrors in the design it gives the effect of a larger salon, it also create screens that hide the wet areas.
