Hasta La Ideas

Almost everything is pristinely white inside this dental clinic in Sicily by architecture studio Bureauhub, from the walls and floors to furniture, equipment and staff uniforms (photos by Roland Halbe + slideshow).

Aptly named White Space, the interior was designed by Bureauhub for a pre-existing orthodontic practice located in the city of Catania.

The architects began their renovation by installing a large Corian volume that wraps around several rooms inside the clinic to accommodate a variety of different functions and activities.

It integrates information screens and pull-out coat hooks in the reception area, and also curves down on one side to provide patient seating and magazine storage.

Elsewhere, it accommodates touch screens and remote controls for X-rays and medical information systems, as well as display walls for dental photography and other pin-up items.

“We envisioned an implant concept, based on the typical orthodontic use of high-precision medical devices, as a design principle throughout the space,” explained the architects.

The clinic has a clientele of mostly children, so Bureauhub also installed a piece of custom-designed furniture that combines a desk for writing and drawing with a grotto containing bubble-shaped hiding places.

“We aimed to tickle senses and curiosity, reversing the typical expectations of a waiting area into a self-exploration environment,” said the architects.

A signage system comprising 21 different symbols was developed to aid orientation around the clinic. Each symbol is milled into the Corian at children’s eye level, while a back-lit wall offers a guide to what each one means.

Photography is by Roland Halbe.

Here’s a project description from Bureauhub:

White Space

White Space is an private orthodontic clinic for an opinion leader and luminary who is applying and researching most advanced techniques and materials in his discipline.

We envisioned an implant concept, based on the typical orthodontic use of high-precision medical devices, as a design principle throughout the space. Interior wall surfaces and furniture merge seamlessly into a continuous white shell of DuPontTM Corian® where cutting edge medical technology are implanted.

The plug-in components are ranging from ergonomic deformations like coat hangers or toothbrush holder folded out of the Corian® cladding up to technical implants like a touch screen and remote button for x-ray control or TV screens for medical information.

Since 80% of the clinic patients are represented by children, we aimed to tickle senses and curiosity, reversing the typical expectations of a waiting area into a self-exploration environment.

Core of the patient lounges is a multifunctional furniture designed ad-hoc to entertain with pedagogical value: on one side three intersecting void spheres form a grotto-like space to be explored by children, while on the other side a surface equipped with niches for pencils and comic strips is dedicated to study and sketching.

A playful signage graphic with custom designed icons CNC milled into the white Corian® skin is positioned intentionally at children’s eye level. It refers to the softly glowing backlit graphic panel indicating the spatial organisation of the clinic. Here backlighting is created by pioneer use of OLED lighting modules, next generation sustainable light source produced with organic electroluminescent material that will help reduce CO2 emissions.

Main focus of the futuristic environment is based upon all handcrafted built-in components meticulously designed up to the smallest details and recalling the precision and craftsmanship of orthodontics. Every single detail experiences a subtle spatial presence, accentuating the abstraction and scalelessness of the ephemeral, monochromatic environment in a playful and poetical way.

Project Name: White Space Orthodontic Clinic
Architect: bureauhub architecture
Location: Via Teseo 13, 95126 Catania, Italy
Building Type: Private Orthodontic Clinic
Building Area: 220 m2 (NFA) / 257 m2 (GFA)
Client: Dr. Davide Agatino Mirabella

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Corian walls by Bureauhub appeared first on Dezeen.

Treatment rooms sit within a translucent house-shaped enclosure at this dental clinic in Kobe, Japan, by Tato Architects (+ slideshow).

Japanese studio Tato Architects started the renovation by stripping the interior back to the concrete and painting it white, before adding the translucent central volume to accommodate three separate treatment areas.

Wooden screens partition the central space. The walls comprise a film-coated glass, while the ceiling is made from sheets of translucent polycarbonate.

Architect Yo Shimada says the softened lighting of the space help patients to feel more comfortable: “We aimed to produce an space which is clean and peaceful at the same time by controlling the state of light.”

“The translucent material was chosen for lighting the consultation rooms only by the light transmitted through, so that light sources would not offend the eye of the patient in the tilted dental chair,” he added.

A waiting room and reception are positioned at the front of the clinic and furnished with square stools, wooden bookshelves and potted plants.

Bare light bulbs hang down from the ceiling, while a children’s playroom faces out to the street.

A dental laboratory, X-ray facility and sterilising rooms are tucked away at the back.

This is second project completed by Tato Architects this month, following a house in Osaka that references the ad-hoc extensions of neighbouring buildings.

Photography is by Yuko Tada.

Here’s a short description from the architects:

Dental Clinic in Nakayamate

The interior of the room was of rather coarse RC and in skeleton state. We painted the interior white and inserted a house type of translucent material to get the ceiling as high as possible without a touch on RC beams. This resulted in getting calm, peaceful consultation rooms.

The translucent material was chosen for lighting the consultation rooms only by the light transmitted through so that light sources may not offend the eye of the patient in the tilted dental chair.

A medical facility tends to become functional, cold space after all due to the indispensable requirement such as contamination-proof. I am of the opinion that we can produce an space which is clean and peaceful at the same time by controlling the state of light.

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by Tato Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen archive: Afraid of going to the dentist? Visiting one of these designer surgeries might help lessen the pain. See all our stories about dentists »

See all our archive stories »

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dentists appeared first on Dezeen.

Dutch studio Shift has converted a suburban house in the south of the Netherlands and turned it into a dental surgery with a new zinc-clad wing (+ slideshow).

Located in the small village of Best, the old house follows a traditional vernacular with brick walls and a tiled roof. The extension mirrors the profile of the house, but is clad with zinc across both its roof and walls.

Shift explains: “This strengthens the iconic quality of the archetype and renders the new extension into a ‘contextual alien’ that blends into the rural surroundings and at the same time creates a clear new landmark that expresses its new function.”

A row of four treatment rooms spans the length of the new wing and each one features a pointed ceiling, formed by the ridge of the gabled roof overhead.

Small skylights direct daylight onto the dentist’s chair, while a single long window runs along the rear wall of the four rooms and offers a generous ledge for flower boxes or outdoor seating.

A glazed corridor connects the new wing with the old house, which contains reception spaces, a kitchen and secondary treatment rooms. “The patient enters and waits in a homely and familiar atmosphere,” say the architects.

Shift architecture urbanism is based in Rotterdam and other projects by the firm include a townhouse with a three-storey bookshelf and the stone-clad Faculty Club pavilion.

See more dentists on Dezeen, including one with stripy glass screens.

Photography is by Rene de Wit.

Here’s some extra text from Shift:

Dentist with a View, by Shift architecture urbanism

The task of this project was to transform and extend an historical house in the centre of Best, a village in the south of The Netherlands, into a dental practice with four treatment rooms. The central question was how the extension responds to the existing architecture and how it profits from the green setting.

The four new treatment rooms are situated in a new volume that at the same time mimics and contrasts the existing house. Its archetypical volume is derived from the existing house – it takes over the exact same inclination of the pitched roof – while it is being materialized in a very different material. Both the roof and the facades of the extension are clad with zinc. This strengthens the iconic quality of the archetype and renders the new extension into a “contextual alien” that blends into the rural surroundings and at the same time creates a clear new landmark that expresses its new function.

The new volume provides each treatment room with an archetypical space of a miniature house. Its high ridge and steep ceiling results in a vertical space that connects to the perspective of a patient in the dentist chair. A roof light in each treatment room enables the patients to relate with the outside, even during treatment. A large ‘flower window’, that also serves as a bench, floods the rooms with daylight and provides both the staff and their patients with a framed view of the surrounding green.

All secondary functions of the dentist practice are positioned in the existing house without harming its structure and typical 1930’s details. The patient enters and waits in a homely and familiar atmosphere that, together with the experience of the surrounding garden from the extension, makes the necessary visit to the dentist a (slightly) more comforting experience.

Above: site plan

Above: floor plan

Above: long section

Above: front elevation

Above: side elevation

Above: back elevation

Above: side elevation

Address: Oranjestraat 55, 5682 CA Best
Client: Lisette van Gils & Ruben Timmermans

Design: Shift architecture urbanism, Rotterdam
Project architects: Harm Timmermans, Pieter Heymans
Advisor construction: B2CO, Richard Fielt, Ede
Adviseur installations: Van Delft Groep, Nieuwkuijk

Contractor: Van der Weegen Bouwgroep, Tilburg
Contractor Furniture: Bots Bouwgroep, Deurne
Sub contractor zinc facade: Bax koper en zinkspecialist, Bergeijk
Sub contractor frames: Hoefnagels Groep, Tilburg
Gross surface area: 292 m2
Building costs: €340.000 excl. vat

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by Shift appeared first on Dezeen.

Australian architects Demaine Partnership have completed a marble-fronted dental surgery in Victoria.

Large frameless windows wrap around the corners of the polished facade, which folds back towards a glazed entrance.

Grooved recesses in the white-rendered rear walls divide the three-storey building into a row of blocks, pierced by a set of openings.

An apartment is located above the clinic on the top floor.

Other dental clinics from the Dezeen archive include one in Prague with illustrated walls and another in Austria with an interior coloured like toothpaste.

Photography is by Peter Clarke.

The text below is from the architects:

Beaumaris Dental

This project began when two dentists, who are also father and son, decided that they needed a new building for their growing dental practice – a building that would reflect the quality of their dentistry and modern equipment and a building that would serve their business well into the future.

Our first task was to assist the clients realise the potential of the site and to understand the projected local urban development. This exploration led to the brief being for a three storey mixed use building that provides the ground level for their dental business, a second level for a commercial tenant and a third level as an apartment for the son to occupy.

For the design of the building, we began by reflecting upon the aesthetic ideals of dentistry and the role of the dentist to sculpt and shape teeth. We took this as our starting point for the architecture.

We developed the design to achieve a considered interplay of the qualities of translucency, reflection, depth, solidity, surface and composition with the aim of giving proper expression to the craft of dentistry. This attempt to evoke allusions to dentistry harks back to the tradition of buildings communicating the service or trade that occurs within.

The street facade of this building is a smooth veneer of polished marble and glass. The pattern of the stone and the configuration of openings convey a homogenous surface.

As the light changes those glazed surfaces that previously offered solidity via their reflections become deep punctures in the monolithic quality of the stone and, like an x-ray, it is the (uppermost) edges that appear most translucent.

This facade folds in from the adjacent buildings to offer a forecourt and a modest expression of civic presence. The angled surfaces articulate the building as a cluster of elements and provide a sense of depth and movement via the manipulation of perspective sightlines.

The rear facades employ sharp incisions to white rendered surfaces to dissolve transform an otherwise box-like form into a cluster of crisp, white elements. Deep window reveals provide requisite shading and an expression of mass.

The interior spaces offer a picturesque circuit via the staircase and moments of vista. At the first floor large windows provide the strong visual connection with the street sought by tenants and the windows to the north are screened to respect the sensitivity of the residential interface.

Throughout the apartment baroque-like concealed light sources suggest spatial extension; surfaces toy with reflection and the incised motif is again used to suggest mass.