Stephanie McDonald reports on how custom laminated panels helped to create a luxurious French hairdressing salon in Sydney.
The Brad Ngata Hair Direction Uptown at Ivy, Sydney, was created by architect Scott Weston and designer Gregory Phillips, both from Scott Weston Architecture & Design, and represents French glamour and luxury at its height.
The salon includes pink velvet curtains, pastel suede banquettes, polished parquetry floors and elaborate, decorative walls.
Laminex’s Fusion Surfaces — customart was used on interior salon walls as splashbacks and benchtops, as well as on the reception desk to add to the elaborate design of the salon.
“We needed a material that was extremely durable and able to withstand the constant wear and tear of a busy Sydney salon. After rigorous testing, we found that Fusion Surfaces are resistant to staining, easy to clean and had minimal visible joins — it was the perfect product for this job,” Weston says.
He had previously used Fusion Xtra Grade on a hospitality project on the toilet cubicles in a graphic print. “I knew if it was robust enough to withstand that environment, then it could easily cope being specified in a commercial fitout application,” Weston says.
“We also specified it because we could design our own graphic print pattern to the surface, thereby creating a unique environment that nobody else could use. It was also specified because it had minimal lead time, which was essential in meeting the commercial fitout timeframe.”
The product was developed by Laminex specifically for the project. Fusion Surfaces is a surface panel with photographic images, textures, patterns, logos, symbols or text transformed onto the surface.
The first step of the process for Weston was to design the image which would be created on the surface. In the case of the salon, inspiration was drawn from a desire to produce a theatrical re-interpretation of a luxurious French salon.
The image was then printed onto high pressure laminates which are composed of layers of phenolic resin-impregnated kraft paper, surfaced by a layer of digitally imaged paper and a translucent melamine overlay. These were assembled and consolidated at around 1,000 psi pressure at temperatures exceeding 135ºC, creating a durable laminate.
To maximise floor space, Laminex Fusion Surfaces panels are installed on-site. “Because of the custom printed graphic on the face of the panels, we were required to install battens to the existing building structure and adhesive fix the laminate panels to the battens,” says Andrew Gilatis, director at Quintessence Construction Management, which was responsible for the fitout of the project.
“We had not used the product before, as 3 mm laminate is not used extensively in the industry, although it does seem to be gaining momentum and popularity. The product was used as a solution to overcoming the problem of maximising space and minimising cost upon consultation with the supplier.”
Gilatis says he would not normally prepare laminate boards on-site. However, he says the installation process did not differ from any other surface installation. “This is ideal, as you are not reinventing the wheel when using the product, yet you are achieving a cost effective, unique visual,” he says.
“They provide a great alternative to the traditional surfaces as it broadens the possibilities of where the product can be used and affords greater design choice.
“On this project we required a custom printed graphic that suited the fitout, and Laminex Fusion worked perfectly. It is a product that is easy to work with and all of the traditional tools that would be used to install an alternative laminate product can be used to install this one.”
