Subterms
London-based Unknown Works designed a sound wall made from repurposed galvanised steel and added sheet-metal furniture and fittings to create Salt Salon, a “bold yet refined salon” in Borough Market. Located in a former storehouse in London’s busy Borough Market area, the hairdressing salon was designed to feel like a haven away from the streets […] More
Bulbous steel tanks hang from where carcasses used to be suspended at the ÅBEN brewery in Copenhagen, which local studio Pihlmann Architects transformed from a slaughterhouse into a restaurant and bar.
Located in Copenhagen’s Meatpacking District, the brewery is housed in a 1932 butchery that has been used for various commercial activities since the early 1990s.
Visitors enter ÅBEN through the building’s original blue-rimmed doorsPihlmann Architects maintained and restored many of the slaughterhouse’s original features as part of the renovation for Danish beer company ÅBEN.
“Turning the space back into a food production facility, with all the pragmatic measures we had to keep in mind, generated our ideas from the very beginning,” studio founder Søren Pihlmann told Dezeen. “Bringing back the authentic character of the space was key.”
Conical steel fermentation vessels were suspended where carcasses used to hangArranged across one open-plan level, the brewery features the original gridded rail system from which 980 carcasses used to hang when the space was a slaughterhouse.
Pihlmann Architects replaced the carcasses with conical fermentation tanks that are reached via a low-hanging galvanised steel walkway – also suspended from the listed building’s original sawtooth roof.
Pihlmann Architects was led by the building’s industrial historyGeometric clusters of white wall tiles that have been preserved since the 1930s were also kept in place, echoing the brewery’s original purpose.
“Bringing the key elements back to a worthy condition was more of a task than deciding on which [elements] to keep,” noted Pihlmann.
Semitransparent curtains divide spaces and control acousticsSpaces are delineated by slaughterhouse-style semitransparent curtains, which cloak various dining areas that are positioned around the restaurant’s central open kitchen where visitors can experience the brewing process up close.
Furniture was kept simple and “unfussy” in order to emphasise the restaurant’s industrial elements, including angular chairs and bar stools finished in aluminium and wood.
“The [material and colour] palettes are true to function on the one hand and [true to] history on the other,” said Pihlmann.
Crimson red flooring runs throughout the brewery, which was in place when the building was purchased. It was maintained to add warmth to the otherwise clinical interiors.
At night, the restaurant’s electric light absorbs this colour and reflects from the fermentation tanks, creating a more intimate environment.
A central open kitchen is flanked by bar stoolsMaking the food production processes visible was at the core of the design concept, according to the architecture studio.
“It’s not only about the preparation of the food, it’s more about the brewing taking place,” continued Pihlmann.
“The space which produces thousands of litres every day is open for everyone to step into, and actually see how and where the product they consume is produced.”
Óscar Miguel Ares Álvarez converts Spanish slaughterhouse into community centre
“Today, we are so detached from what we consume, we just go to the supermarket and pick it up from the cold counter having no clue where it’s coming from,” he added.
“I’m not that naive to think that ÅBEN alone will change anything, but I’m convinced that it’s important to change this detachment.”
The slaughterhouse’s original white tiles were preservedPihlmann described his favourite aspect of the project as “how the elements we’ve added both submit to and utilise the existing space, not just visually but also through their structural function”.
“The building is built to carry a huge load,” he reflected. “Back then, it was tonnes of dead meat. Today, it’s enormous serving tanks from the ceiling.”
Founded in 2021, Pihlmann Architects was included in our list of 15 up-and-coming Copenhagen architecture studios compiled to mark the city being named UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture for 2023.
Previous slaughterhouse conversions include a training school for chefs in Spain that was once used to butcher meat and a cultural centre in Portugal that is currently being developed by Kengo Kuma and OODA.
The photography is by Hampus Berndtson.
Read more: More
Spanish studio Casa Antillón has incorporated galvanised steel elements throughout this hair salon in Madrid, which features bold mint-green ceilings sprayed with insulation foam.
Prior to becoming the Mood hair salon, the five-by-ten-metre unit was an empty shell with barely finished walls and floors.
Mood’s interior incorporates galvanised steel panelsCasa Antillón was tasked with finding a simple yet effective way to make this blank space more visually impactful.
The studio, which is led by Marta Ochoa, Ismael López, Emmanuel Álvarez and Yosi Negrín, responded by completely covering the facade of the salon and large swathes of its interior with sheets of galvanised steel.
Styling is done in front of large arched mirrors”It was the client’s proposal to work with an old friend of their family who is a construction expert in metallic solutions,” Casa Antillón told Dezeen.
“The project aims for a maximum exploitation of the resources to build an iconic and quality space.”
Insulation foam was sprayed onto the ceiling to create a bumpy finishSteel was used to line the salon’s street-facing wall and a deep-set box seat that was constructed around the front window.
Metal panels also cover the rear wall, camouflaging a pair of silver-coloured doors that lead to the staff office and customer toilet.
Danielle Brustman creates yellow highlights in sunny Melbourne hair salon
Most of Mood’s remaining surfaces are finished in a complementary shade of light grey, while the ceiling was sprayed with insulation foam to create a bumpy texture and painted mint green.
Casa Antillón applied the same colour to the salon’s support columns and the thick ceiling beam that runs along the length of the interior in order to “accentuate its longitudinal axis”.
Silver doors blend into the salon’s rear wallSectioned off from the rest of the floor plan by curved steel screens, one side of the salon is given over to a dye lab where staff can mix up unique hair colours.
The other side of the room houses a trio of arched backlit mirrors, each accompanied by a black styling chair.
The street-facing wall and window seat are also lined with steel panelsJust behind are a couple of hair washing stations and a slim steel shelf that holds shampoos and conditioners.
Towards the front of the salon there’s also a small waiting area, dressed with shapely black armchairs and a metal-framed coffee table.
Black armchairs feature in the waiting areaOther striking hair salons include Qali in Vancouver, which was designed by Studio Roslyn to evoke the mood of 1980s Miami, and Mitch Studio in Melbourne, which designer Danielle Brustman outfitted with sunny yellow interiors.
The photography is by Imagen Subliminal.
Read more: More
