teruhiro yanagihara: ne hair salon, osaka

‘ne’ by teruhiro yanagihara in osaka, japan all images courtesy teruhiro yanagihara photographer: takumi ota

osaka-based atelier teruhiro yanagihara has sent us images of ‘ne’, a hair salon in the heart of the japanese city. designed for a pair of young entrepreneurs, the project takes a new and highly modern approach in interpreting the set program, creating a space that conceals its purpose to unfold in a narrative sequence.

sculptural mirror units

the clean minimalist salon is characterized by a series of abstracted objects and volumes: the hairdressing chairs are set behind folded mirror screens that are positioned to sculpturally divide the room. an oversized set of steps made from concrete sits on an elevated wooden platform marking the waiting area of the salon. each tread serves as an elongated seating surface as well as a display shelf.

elevated waiting area

waiting area

seating

to maintain a crisp and surreal aesthetic, the lights are located in an upward facing canal that runs along the length of the wall. thin and homogenous, they look to be folded out slits in the surface. in a similar manner, the doors feature seamless spines as if made from paper.

door of a storage closet

wahsroom