Dentist KU 65 Kids Club
Project type: Healthcare
Location: Berlin, Germany
Time: 2011
Status: Completed
Size: 505 sqm
There are few environments as negatively associated in expectation as a dental clinic. Hygienic and sterile atmosphere, the classical “white colour range” and last but not least the typical smell are very much connected with a feeling of a physical and psychic state of emergency and even abuse. Against this background we should be urging for a radical new understanding of hospitals in general and specifically dental clinics – away from negative prejudices towards an atmosphere of art, well being and relaxation.
The goal is to let patients forget about their fears and relax in a way they would usually expect from a Spa, from Cafés, Restaurants or Hotels. Why not embellish the reality, that a dental clinic provides beauty, health and “wellness”? The visit at a dentist could be seen as a little journey into well-being with agreeable aspects, especially if the frightening “drilling” is becoming more and more a side-treatment next to services such as consultation, preventive check-ups, beauty treatments, dental care and alternative practitioning.
The client came to us with a brief to extend his existing adult-focused dental spa to incorporate a wing for the treatment of children and orthodontistry in both adults and children. The concept for the existing spa was of a sand dune topography, with the treatment rooms amongst the dunes, turning a disconcerting visit to the dentist into more of a day at the seaside. This topography is extended into the new wing, and suffused with a vertical garden at the end, where a living breathing green wall is framed by the sand dunes, as they fade to green, creating a secret garden space in which the children are treated. Topographical elements drip from the ceiling, inverting the dune typology to become elements that can be climbed onto and into for play or privacy. (Text by GRAFT)
