The Barber Truck is a project at the nexus of architecture,
urbanism, and beauty & grooming, distinguished by a nimble responsiveness
to pandemic times. The Barber Truck, designed as a collaboration between SAW x
MOA (with Interiors by Night Palm), reimagines the barber shop as hyper local -
a roving grooming station, deeply rooted in creating a comfortable, familiar,
communal sense of place, even if not a particular location. There certainly has
been a proliferation of mobile retail in recent years, typically through the
growing acceptance of food trucks. However, the Barber Truck is something
different - a space of actual inhabitation, producing an immersive experience,
while not occupying permanent territory. This is a strategy about living on the
land lightly, about reaching broader audiences, and allowing for the
choreography of a greater variety of goods and services within any given
neighborhood. The Barber Truck launched in March 2020, just in time for the
pandemic to devastate the industry. Fortuitously, the truck had been designed
with capability to operate inside out, with multiple workstations provided on
the exterior of the vehicle - ostensibly for festivals and events. This
strategy was something of a lifeline, allowing the Barber Truck to nimbly adapt
to pandemic restrictions, safely providing haircuts outdoors, and instigating
social gatherings which became known as the Summer Social Club in Los Angeles.
