Grey plaster coats the walls, floor and ceiling of this pared-back barbershop in Odessa, Ukraine, which also incorporates a tattoo parlour and beauty treatment rooms.
Located in Odessa’s old town, Kult features a desaturated colour palette made up of industrial materials such as stone, glass, steel and plaster.
Due to tight time restrictions, locally-based Sivak & Partners had just three months to develop the barbershop’s 100-square-metre interior. When the studio began work, the dilapidated site’s only notable features were a curved ceiling and wooden floors.
As a result, the studio had to come up with quick and simple design solutions.
“There was no time to come up with complex and experimental design solutions, and there was no time for error,” recalled the studio. “Therefore, we just aligned the walls and covered it with specially designed decorative plaster for us, saving time.”
“When you work in a very accelerated mode, there is no time to doubt yourself, you immediately draw a clear line without trembling in your hand.”
A veiny stone reception desk sits in the centre of the barbershop, backed by a wall of stainless steel panels. It has rows of tiny shelves that openly display different grooming products.
Surfaces throughout have been roughly covered with pale-grey plaster, saving the studio from taking the time to prep and finish each wall. The grey plaster has also been applied across the existing wooden floor, as it was too weak to withstand the weight of tiles.
Geometric LED lights dangle down from the ceiling, illuminating each barber’s chair.
The barbershop had to include a tattoo parlour and a space for carrying out pedicures. These rooms are which are now tucked away behind reeded-glass partitions, and have been finished with cloud-print wallpaper.
Realising that there was nowhere for customers to relax, the studio has also created a mezzanine level that’s furnished with jet-black sofas and side tables. It houses an additional treatment room that sits directly beneath the building’s arched ceiling.
Other striking barbershops include Juice in Toronto, which offers coffee in the front and haircuts in the back, and Chaps & Co in Dubai, which boasts smoked-oak joinery and backlit ceilings that emit “whisky-coloured” glow.
Photography is by Anton Garets.
Source: Rooms - dezeen.com
