Occupying the shell of a listed Victorian storehouse in London’s historic Borough Market, Salt Salon’s second location spans three floors, each offering a distinct spatial and sonic experience. Designed by Unknown Works, the project reimagines the traditional hair salon as a versatile cultural space that prioritizes audio as a primary material. From the street, the venue maintains an unassuming presence, its identity revealed only by discreet signage that invites visitors into a multi-sensory environment where interior design and soundscapes converge.
Climbing a flight of stairs, patrons enter the ‘Listening Room’, a flexible space lined with cutting stations during the day that transforms into a performance venue at night. This dual-purpose area is defined by its raw material palette and acoustic sensitivity. One of its walls is clad in sculptural metal panels sourced from Blythe House, a former storage facility used by the V&A and The British Museum. These reclaimed materials ground the project in a sense of history while serving a thoroughly modern function as part of the salon’s unique audio-visual identity.
To realize this ambitious concept, Unknown Works collaborated with audio specialists Friendly Pressure. Together, they employed a low-energy digital fabrication technology known as roboforming to transform the salvaged galvanized steel elements into sculpted, wall-sized speakers. This innovative use of robotic fabrication allows the architecture itself to become an instrument, enveloping clients in a curated sonic atmosphere that shifts from the bustle of a working salon to the immersive quality of a listening bar.
Ascending another flight of stairs, visitors encounter a second cutting station, this one more intimate in character than the first. A single stainless-steel sheet runs across one of the walls, creating a continuous reflective surface that anchors the room. In front of the bespoke styling chairs made from recycled foam, the mirror surface is smooth and polished, offering perfect clarity for styling. Between each station, however, the metal has been treated with a frosted finish, providing essential visual privacy between neighbouring clients without breaking the material continuity.
The design team introduced subtle connections between the levels to unify the vertical experience. A frosted window features in the floor of the second level, offering a dynamic display of shuffling feet to those downstairs in the Listening Room, hinting at the activity above. At the back of the space, a lightweight silicone screen separates the main working area from a staffroom and kitchen, maintaining the open, airy feel while providing necessary functional separation.
On the third floor, visitors find a workspace specifically catered to hair-colouring. While the industrial material language established on the first two floors is also employed here, Unknown Works incorporated a dark, textured floor to differentiate the zone. Collecting paint splatters over time, this feature is designed to register the dynamic energy marking this versatile London hair salon, allowing the space to evolve and develop a unique patina that tells the story of its daily use.