Spaces "melt into one another" at Geetanjali Salon in Ahmedabad

Indian architecture office Metonia Designs used a uniform rust-coloured material palette to create an immersive environment informed by dusk in this beauty salon in Ahmedabad.

The studio headed by architects Prakhar Jain and Shivangi Sharma was asked to create a scheme for the latest Geetanjali Salon that challenges the archetypal format of wellness spaces.

"It was one of those projects where we happily set aside precedent," said Sharma. "The clients wanted something radical for this flagship store, a place where grooming transcends routine to become ritual."

"It offered us an opportunity to revisit the timelessness of Indian materiality, only to be reminded how enduring the palette can be when locally resonant materials are trusted."

Located on Ahmedabad's upmarket Sindhu Bhavan Road, the two-storey site offered a blank canvas that the architects set about transforming into an immersive environment that rethinks the salon experience.

"Design had to be reverse-engineered," claimed Jain. "Salon offerings were imagined as art rather than services. Spaces became the backdrop while stylists stepped into the foreground."

The project was named Saanjh after a Hindi term for twilight, which informed the use of a rusty-red hue intended to recall the appearance of sun-baked earth at dusk.

"Here, colour is not merely a visual trope; it is deliberate," claimed Jain.

"Spaces appear to melt into one another, drawing patrons into a sense of comfort while muting the chaos beyond. Be it day or night, you cannot measure time within."

Customers enter the salon through a reception area where red Agra sandstone makes its first appearance, while a monolithic welcome desk crafted from stone and weathered steel adds a sculptural feature.

At the heart of the ground floor is a gallery-like hairstyling zone featuring mirrors set between rows of pillars.

This central axis forms a core that connects with adjacent spaces, including a hair colouring gallery and a barber's station.

The hall is designed as a performative and practical space, with stylists operating beneath rhythmically spaced circular cutouts that illuminate the bays like halos.

A men's grooming wing tucked away on one side of the floor plan is separated from the main space by a latticed screen designed to evoke traditional jaali room dividers.

The unobstructed styling space provides a view straight through to a double-height circulation area at the far end, where a sculptural white staircase spirals up towards the first floor.

The upper storey contains private treatment rooms and bridal spaces, allowing for longer, more personal services that form an important part of traditional Indian weddings.

"Wedding preparation often involves families spending hours together in salons," said Prakhar. "We wanted these moments to feel unhurried and special."

Dedicated spaces for hair, make-up, pedicures and draping a bridal saree are accommodated on this level.

Metanoia Designs is a multidisciplinary design practice founded in 2019 in New Delhi. The firm adopts a contextual and culturally led approach to projects that respond to the needs of users in a variety of fields.

The project is among a number of interesting salons to be featured on Dezeen.

London studio Unknown Works recently designed a sound wall made from repurposed galvanised steel for Salt Salon in the city's Borough Market, while in Barcelona, Miriam Barrio Studios transformed the interiors of a modernist building into Curly Lab, a curly hair salon.

The photograpy is by Avesh Gaur.

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