Beyond 32 Clinic
Beyond 32 is dental clinic located in a residential neighborhood in the quiet district of Al Safa in the heart of Dubai. The calm nature of this part of Dubai, lays ground for the feeling Beyond 32’s owners want to offer their patients. The decades old residential compound lodging the project is slowly shifting into a rather commercial area as a result of the city’s well-known urban resilience. Each unit has a mirrored duplicate spreading on two levels each owning a private access, front and back yards, an individual car parking space. The clinic’s rich program has been assigned as such: the ground floor hosts the reception and main waiting lounge, a meeting room, an admin office, a panorama, a tooth-brushing station and the pediatric dentistry suite and a private area for the kitchen, a staff changing room, a prayer room. The upper floor,however, is entirely dedicated to the remaining five treatment rooms, the sterilization unit, lab, a secondary reception and waiting area, in addition to the photo studio.
The project’s plot is a long rectangle with a lateral main access and a service access surrounded on three sides by the garden and walkway. Being originally a villa, the interior design is tailored accordingly which caused several challenges especially related to the structural system used. The façade, too, is a clone of the other units which limits the architects’ possible interventions. That being said, the mandatory circulation axes delimited the spaces on the ground floor and generated one optimal layout involving the outdoor elevator as well. This addition has added character and monumentality to the forced uniform façade and has activated the main entrance into this bold volumetric mass group coated in bronze metal surfaces as a contrast to the mesh coating of the elevator case. The bronze mesh in this project is used to emphasize the luxurious aspect of the clinic and represents a visual signature on various parts of the façade in subtlety.
Beyond 32 promises an experience beyond classic and is ought to be a refuge to anyone who fears the dentist appointment. Therefore, the clients’ main concern had been to cancel this fear through a“zen” and serene design. The conceptual phase’s early steps emerged from these specific requirements and were embodied through the various design decisions such as adopting curves rather than sharp edges, a neutral color palette that revives earth tones, and large glass openings that inspire trust. Along the minimal materiality, a focus on art has been considered through the creation of art niches for abstract sculptures. In the quest of getting beyond the dentophobia, a passive communication has been established through mottos and writings in different parts of the clinic.
The treatment rooms being a core element in the clinic, are tamed through three main textures: decorative paint, fluted marble and painted glass. A combination of two is used in each of the rooms to prevent boring repetition and to tackle the patient’s curiosity who would wonder what the room next door looks like. Even for the pediatric room, the main materials remained the same with a splash of color through a vegetal wallpaper and a treat mechanism destined to the young ones. Undoubtedly, the minimal language of Beyond 32 is the secret behind its sophistication in a loud and vibrant city known for its extremes. It is almost a manifesto of the architects’ take on architecture in over-designed settings to dare, take a step back and choose the less over the more. This statement is what we call at Slash: “The iconic less”. It is present in all the details
