Conceptual Beauty Salon: Say No Mo. [Kiev]

Freshly submitted from Kyiv-based multi-disciplinary architectural interior design workshop Balbek Bureau – Their latest interior architecture project – Say No Mo. is a stunning conceptual beauty salon with a new format that targets the issue of design stereotypes in the industry. We love it so much that we’re publishing all the project images with detail shots.

The main task, faced by Balbek from the very start of the design process, was to break away from a traditional perception of a conventional beauty salon, and its gender distinction.

Say No Mo is a 200-sq. m, two-level premises in an old building in Kyiv. With the curved-walls geometry and without a single parallel wall, the place boasts 4-meter high ceilings and has a distinctive atmosphere.

Here people who care about their beauty without harm to health can experience all the benefits of the use of vegan, toxin-free, and cruelty-free nail polishes. Products used in Say No Mo – Social Nail Bar, do not test on animals, more ––you will not find ingredients of animal origin in them.

Contrasting materiality, understated luxury of clean lines and a variety of relaxed zones make Say No Mo social beauty space, rather than a salon.

From Balbek Bureau:

Say No Mo is a conceptually new format of a beauty salon. The ‘heart’ of the salon is a bar used for both beauty services and traditional cocktail receptions. The main task faced by balbek bureau from the very start of the design process was to break away from a traditional perception of a conventional beauty salon, and its gender distinction.

CONCEPT

The owner of the establishment is Canadian. In her years of working in the beauty industry, she has learned how to make a client happy. This understanding became the basis of the interior solutions delivered by balbek bureau.

To get on the same mental wave with the client is perhaps the most important aspect while working on a project. Our architectural team managed to do just that. That is why the proposed concept took off instantaneously: first, in the hearts and minds, and half a year later – materializing on 36 Shota Rustavely Street in Kyiv.

Say No Mo is a 200-sq. m, two-level premises in an old building in Kyiv. With the curved-walls geometry and without a single parallel wall, the place boasts 4-meter high ceilings and has a distinctive atmosphere.

The ground level of the salon features several zones: reception, lounge, manicure/bar, and pedicure. The basement level contains a make-up zone, hair care, cosmetology, restroom, and facilities.

Reception Zone

One of the main visual accents of the salon is located in the reception area and creates an instant wow-effect in visitors. The cast-in-situ concrete ‘broken’ arch serves as a metaphor for broken stereotypes in the beauty industry.

It is made of poured concrete and weighs several hundred kilograms. The construction of this form was a multi-phased process; it took more than 4 months from the docking assembly to the final joining of shears and toning of the structure.

Architects: Slava Balbek , Sofiia Hupalovska, Nataliya Stukonog
Project manager: Natalia Kozak
Project Area: 200 sq.m
Project Year: 2020
Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Photo credits: Yevhenii Avramenko