When one enters the Barras Salon they are entering a world of urban chic, right here on Figueroa Street. Mr. Barras took an older building and adapted it to the needs of a contemporary market. He bestowed an urban sophistication on an this structure while being respectful of its historic roots. Barras has been operating his salon for approximately one year. In this short time he has transformed a building that had too many walls, a low suspended ceiling and a linoleum floor into an excellent example of adaptive reuse that respects the architectural integrity of the past and meets the needs of the present. He opened up the space by removing non-historic walls, by polishing the cement floors until they shone, and exposing the original arched windows that show what the building would have looked like even though they are still sealed with cinder blocks. He also revealed the ducts and ceiling joists to give it a more open feeling. Amazingly, he did all of this himself while maintaining a full time job. The tremendous amount of time and energy that went into this adaptive reuse within the heart of the Highland Park Overlay Zone is to be applauded and is well deserving of the 2009-2010 award.
