Pedra Silva Arquitectos Designs High-end Dental Clinic in Sydney

Pedra Silva Arquitectos has designed a state of the art dental clinic on one of Sydney’s high-end retail streets. The challenging site and design brief asked for a creative approach where aesthetic and functionality work hand in hand.

Image © Fernando Guerra

The client requested two receptions with two entrances that could function separately but without compromising the space and its relationship with people passing by. In the same space the designers faced a structural column that seemed to impose itself. To tackle the problem, the designers have integrated the column into the design by ‘magically making it disappear’.

Image © Fernando Guerra

The interior features a sculptural wooden element that serves as a filter between the two receptions. The dynamic element serves a dual function, as it allows for partial view between spaces, and in the same time makes the column disappear. Built from suspended wooden planks that start with narrow elements that widen to engulf the existing column, the sculptural feature seems to wrap around the entire space.

Image © Fernando Guerra

The public accesses the clinic from Archer Street, leading towards the appropriate reception desk and waiting area. The waiting areas are composed of two lounges, one for general dentistry and the other for dental implant practice.

Image © Fernando Guerra

The remaining space of the clinic is arranged around a central corridor that starts in the reception area that connects all the intricate parts of the dental clinic, from examination areas, surgeries, client areas and technical spaces. In the middle of this corridor you find a transparent central core made of glass allowing for natural light to penetrate the interior of the space.

Image © Fernando Guerra

The far end of the clinic houses the main surgery room where advanced oral procedures are performed. As a national reference in the dental arena, the client Dr Christopher Ho requested that this space be designed in a way that would allow for these complex procedures be seen by piers sharing the experience and knowledge. This was achieved by placing an observation room on a higher level with a large window towards the surgery and connected with a camera allowing for fellow surgeons to view procedures from close-up on a large screen.