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    Appareil Architecture designs Montreal dental clinic to feel like “someone’s home”

    The minimalist interior of this Montreal oral surgery clinic by local studio Appareil Architecture “adopts a residential aesthetic” to help patients and employees feel relaxed.

    The Maxillo Tandem clinic in the city’s Technopôle Angus neighbourhood provides maxillofacial surgery, which deals with diseases, injuries and defects of the mouth, teeth and jaws.
    Appareil Architecture designed the dental clinic to feel more like a home than a medical facilityThe clinic’s founder, surgeon Anne-Frédérique Chouinard, gave Appareil Architecture a “carte blanche” to design the space differently to typical medical facilities.
    “The clinic adopts a residential aesthetic with durable materials to create an inviting, refined space that centers on well-being,” said the studio.
    Built-in seating wraps around the perimeter of the reception areaUpon entering, patients are met by a reception desk clad in vertically laid, off-white ceramic tiles that also cover the wall behind.

    “Their vertical positioning adds texture and rhythm to the wall, bringing the space to life, while remaining functional and easy to maintain,” Appareil Architecture said.
    Pale upholstery, linen curtains and beige walls all add to the serene atmosphereThe waiting area to the left is furnished with built-in seats that form a U shape around the perimeter and under a large window, while a double-sided island in the central adds additional seating.
    Polished concrete flooring and beige walls complement the pale upholstery and linen curtains, together creating a serene atmosphere.
    Off-white tiles clad the reception counter and the wall behind, adding texture and rhythm”All lend a reassuring character to the space,” said the architects. “In addition to a soft, peaceful colour palette, these materials contribute to the soothing, comforting ambiance.”
    On either side of the symmetrical reception counter, oak-framed doors with fritted glass panes both lead through to the treatment area.
    Oak-framed doors with fritted glass panes lead from reception to the treatment areasA central block of rooms for staff – also wrapped in the off-white tiles – runs back from the reception area, dividing the clinic into two sides.
    “This central structure naturally delineates the space, creating an efficient traffic flow that allows people to move easily in both directions,” the studio said.
    A U-shaped corridor connects the dentists’ offices, operating rooms and staff areasThe corridors continue the white and wood material palette and provide access to the dentists’ offices on the left side and operating rooms along the right.
    All of these rooms are also sparsely furnished and have a clean aesthetic, and are purposefully placed away from the reception area for patient privacy.

    Appareil Architecture uses minimal palette to update 1960s Montreal home

    At the back of the clinic is a space with a communal kitchen for employees to take breaks, which is oriented to enjoy afternoon light.
    “In the morning, the dentist’s offices, positioned on the window side, are flooded with natural light,” said Appareil Architecture.
    A minimalist approach was also taken in the consultation rooms”In the afternoon, this light pours into the staff areas and illuminates the central structure,” the team added.
    A wood-panelled wall topped with clerestory windows incorporates the staff kitchen facilities and storage, while a concrete island with rounded ends incorporates a cylindrical structural column.
    A communal kitchen for staff is located behind a wood-panelled wall at the back of the clinicSince Maxillo Tandem is part of an ecological real-estate project, the architects had to comply with strict energy efficiency targets, on top of meeting the medical operating standards.
    Overall, the clinic has been well-received by both patients and staff, according to Chouinard. “The customer feedback is very positive,” she said. “They feel like they’re in someone’s home, rather than a clinic. That was my intention.”
    A kitchen island with rounded ends incorporates a structural concrete columnAppareil Architecture has applied its minimalist style to many residential projects in and around Montreal, including an updated 1960s home, a stark dining extension to a city residence and a black metal cabin hidden in the forest.
    The studio has also designed a handful of more colourful interiors for hospitality spaces, such as a cafe and artist workshop in the city, and a restaurant inside a former factory.
    The photography is by Félix Michaud.
    Project credits:
    Client: Anne-Frédérique ChouinardContractor: Hub ConstructionWoodworking: Blitz DesignReception counter lighting: Lambert & FilsKitchen island: Béton Johnson

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    Studio Author models Toronto dental clinic on a hotel lounge

    Rich materials, ambient lighting and a waiter-serviced aftercare lounge are among the hotel-informed features that interiors firm Studio Author has incorporated into this dental practice in Toronto to help patients feel more at ease.

    Located in the heart of downtown Toronto, Paste Dental uses digital technology such as 3D-printing to make everything from night guards to permanent dental crowns in the hopes of providing a quicker and more stress-free dentist experience.
    Studio Author has designed the interior of Paste Dental in TorontoIn this spirit, Studio Author eschewed the sterile design elements that are typically associated with medical interiors in favour of those more commonly found in the city’s nearby hotel lounges.
    “Paste showcases a new attitude to dental care to make patients feel comfortable and shatters the usual preconception of a visit to the dentist,” said the studio.
    Velvet-upholstered seating boots provide a place to rest in the lobby”Our challenge was to separate the patient from both the expected sterile, white, clinical experience and the bustle of the city beyond,” the practice continued.

    To create an “elevated atmosphere” inside the boutique dental clinic, Studio Author clad the practice’s interior walls in limestone.
    A wood-lined corridor leads to the treatment roomsThis also served to block views from the street and foster a greater sense of privacy for patients.
    The circular lobby with its mohair upholstered walls and warm burl wood reception desk was designed to create a homey, welcoming atmosphere. The scheme is rounded off with an oversized, tiered paper pendant light and a colourful mix of marble tiles on the floor.

    Seven dental clinics designed to take the pain out of check ups

    Two individual gold velvet booth seats are recessed into the upholstered walls of the lobby to provide a private moment for customers upon arrival.
    A gently curved, wood-lined corridor with low-level lighting connects the reception to the treatment and consultation areas beyond.
    Dental equipment is concealed behind oversized doors”The spatial planning was thoughtfully carved to guide the guest through a controlled journey from arriving into the plush private reception area, resplendent with fresh flowers, through consultation, treatment and waiter-serviced aftercare,” Studio Author said.
    The material palette of warm wood and marble paired with soft lighting is continued in the treatment rooms, where dental equipment is deliberately concealed behind oversized doors.
    Each treatment room has a custom marble vanityEach room has a large mirror positioned above a custom marble vanity with an integrated sink and oak panelling.
    Finally, Paste Dental’s aftercare lounge is wrapped in velvet and wood panelling and furnished with lounge seating to provide a space for patients to rest after their appointment.
    Patients can unwind in the aftercare loungeThe project has been shortlisted in the health and wellbeing interior category of this year’s Dezeen Award alongside a Hong Kong gym informed by space travel and a dusty-pink welfare centre at an all-boys school in Melbourne.
    The photography is by Niamh Barry.

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  • Seven dental clinics designed to take the pain out of check ups

    Architects and designers have created these seven dental offices with bright and colourful interiors to offer patients a more enjoyable and worry free experience.

    Dent Protetyka, Poland, Adam Wiercinski

    The pick-up window inside this Polish denture clinic designed by Adam Wiercinski is outlined with green lines that form the shape of medical services cross.
    Located inside an old tenement building in Poznan, the 10-square-metre space is modelled after the city’s small kiosk shops. Steel mesh separates the waiting room and shopfront from the tiny consultation room situated in the rear of the space.
    Find out more about Dent Protetyka ›

    The Urban Dentist, Germany, Studio Karhard
    Studio Karhard designed The Urban Dentist in Berlin to mimic the flashy interiors of Berghain, the electronica nightclub in the German city also completed by the firm.
    LED lights border the edges of the fluted glass walls, while in the treatment rooms the sink and supplies are stored inside a pink cabinet that is topped with a colourful speckled counter.
    Find out more about The Urban Dentist ›

    Sou Smile, Brazil, SuperLimão
    Brazilian studio SuperLimão inserted a pink polycarbonate volume inside Sou Smile, a dental health treatment centre in São Paulo that manufactures dental appliances.
    The rounded structure houses a consultation room, while the rest of the converted warehouse building is outfitted with open-plan workstations and a laboratory for manufacturing dental appliances.
    Find out more about Sou Smile ›

    Waiting room, China, RIGI Design
    A rectangular “dining” table and play area for children feature in this colourful clinic in Tianjin, China designed by RIGI Design.
    The play space is framed in the shape of a house and decorated with animal-shaped furnishings. Treatment rooms are located along a corridor fronted with glass walls. Large black digits painted on the hardwood floor designate the room number.
    Find out more about the waiting room ›

    Ortho Wijchen, Netherlands, Studio Prototype
    For this office in Wichen, Netherlands has inserted the treatment areas between translucent glass partitions. To ease patient’s comfort each the of chairs faces a wall of windows that provide a view of a grassy pastoral landscape.
    “The open setup of the plan and the large panoramic view towards the garden create a light and spacious place in which the patient feels comfortable,” the studio said.
    Find out more about the Ortho Wijchen ›

    Go Orthodontistes, Canada, Natasha Thorpe Design
    Slatted timber panels clad the walls and reception desk in this orthodontist practice in Quebec, Canada designed by Natasha Thorpe Design.
    The boards of Douglas fir wood cover storage cabinets and form shelves in the office. In the consultation room there are several dental chairs and a row of black cabinets. Translucent glass spans across the laboratory and instrument sterilisation room concealing its interiors from the outside.
    Find out more about the Go Orthodontistes ›

    Impress, Spain, Raúl Sanchez Architects
    The curve of a smile informed the design for Impress, a dental clinic in Barcelona designed by Raúl Sanchez Architects.
    Large rounded boards crafted using pine wood form partitions in the office. The studio chose the material to add warmth to the typically white and sterile environment. Red, blue and grey accents add a playful element to the design and tie in with the company’s branding.
    Find out more about the Impress ›

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  • SuperLimão converts warehouse into colourful SouSmile dental office

    A rounded polycarbonate-clad pink volume forms a consultation room in a dental office and laboratory in São Paulo designed by local firm SuperLimão.SouSmile is a dental health treatment centre in Pinheiros, a district on the west side of São Paulo, that manufactures dental appliances, such as clear aligners and teeth whitening technologies.

    It is located in a warehouse building with tall ceilings that SuperLimão has converted into office space, a clinical room and a manufacturing lab.

    For the design the local firm focused on SouSmile’s key messages of “efficiency, transparency, joy, self-esteem and care” and used hues of bright pink and light blue to match its colourful branding.

    “Brand attributes were integrated to the architecture to convey SouSmile key messages, such as efficiency, transparency, joy, self-esteem and care,” the studio said. “The brand’s colour palette was also considered to be used in the project.”

    On the exterior of the office the brick facade has been painted white with several bricks painted pink and blue to tie in with the brand’s marketing. A large awning with a foldable garage door is located at the front of the building along with a small patio area for employees and patrons.

    The main intervention to the 500-square-metre building is a rounded volume that creates the consultation room and laboratories on the ground floor, and lounges and meeting rooms on the upper level that overlook the floor below.

    Pink-painted metal framing is covered with translucent polycarbonate panelling to form the structure, which is furnished with a dental chair, equipment and a sink counter for clinical use.
    The bright colour is also used on the staircase that leads to the upper level and to frame the windows on the manufacturing lab and meeting rooms.

    The fabrication lab situated alongside the stairs is filled with machinery and shelves for testing and engineering the dental appliances. It is outfitted with mechanics and ventilation duct work to ensure proper air exhaustion during the manufacturing process.
    At the front of the office a break area offers staff a comfortable space to relax with a kitchen area furnished with two stone counters for enjoying and preparing meals.

    Pink pendant light fixtures and a set of shelves for storing glassware and decorative plants hang from the ceiling in the space.
    Large wood tables form shared workspaces on both levels of the office. Meeting and conference rooms on the upper floor also feature brightly coloured walls painted yellow, blue and green.

    A sculptural blue bleacher seating covered with cushions and a phone booth station outfitted with acoustic paneling are among the other architectural details in the office.
    SuperLimão is an architecture studio with offices in São Paulo. It has completed a number of projects in Brazil, including an apartment with a pink ceiling and a beer hall with gabion walls.

    Other thoughtfully-designed dental facilities include an office in Berlin that takes cues from the nightclub Berghain, an orthodontist practice in Quebec outfitted with slatted wood panels and a clinic in Taiwan with a dining table in its waiting room.
    Photography is by Maíra Acayaba.
    Project credits:
    Architecture: SuperLimãoProject team: Thiago Rodrigues, Antonio Figueira de Mello, Lula Gouveia, Larissa Burke, Pamela PaffrathLighting design: LDArtiConstructor: EdifisaWorkstations, meeting tables and bleachers: Zero MáquinaWoodwork: KW MóveisPhone booth: HUB

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    Impress dental clinic in Barcelona features smile-shaped timber partitions

    Pine-wood partition walls that curve upwards like smiles carve up the interior of this dental clinic in Barcelona, Spain, designed by Raúl Sanchez Architects. Impress is spread across the ground and basement level of a historical building at the heart of Barcelona. The clinic differentiates itself from other dentists by offering online treatments that reduce […] More