Commercial

GOA

GOA is a barbershop on the ground floor of a mid-rise shophouse in BSD, Tangerang. Its name carries a double meaning. It is an acronym for the barbershop's brand, and in Bahasa Indonesia, goa also means cave. The design takes this play on words as its starting point and reinterprets the cave as a modern refuge, a place to slow down for a while.

Rather than imitating a cave literally, the design simplifies its essence into monolithic forms. A textured volume wraps the corner of the existing glass-and-steel façade, appearing as a solid mass carved out to receive visitors.

A recessed line of warm light runs beneath the canopy, softly marking the entrance, while a stepped base anchors the composition to the ground. Against the building above, the new mass reads as something heavier and quieter.

Inside, the feeling of enclosure continues. The space is organised as a single curved room, its textured walls following an unbroken circular plan with no corners to interrupt it. Like the inner chamber of a cave, the room wraps around its occupants and gently turns attention inward. A luminous ceiling above recalls an opening to the sky, filling the room with an even, diffused light.

At the centre stands a mirrored station column framed in blue. The barber chairs gather around it, turning the act of cutting into the heart of the room. Its hinged mirror panels open to reveal concealed storage, keeping the space clean and uncluttered.

Along the glazed perimeter, a sculpted mass houses built-in speakers and steps down into a low ledge, as if shaped from the same rock as the walls. Wall, seating and architecture merge into one continuous form.

Further in, the wash area becomes the deepest part of the cave. Stained timber and deep blue stack tiles wrap the walls and floor, washed by a single line of light. The darker, more intimate palette marks a final retreat within the visit.