Maydent Clinic
Maydent Clinic is a dental clinic in Cyprus. The practice lays on a single floor and is shared by two dentists. At the entrance, an outstanding info desk welcomes the patients and leads them to the waiting areas. Connected visually to the entrance, are the three clinic boxes. A laboratory, a photo studio, an X-ray room, and other crucial facilities such as the staff lounge and a pair of lavatories are also a part of the program.
The clinic being of a square-like plot, the architects studied various alternatives of an efficient zoning. Taking advantage of the terrace, a subtle assortment of seating has been arranged in it to create an outdoor waiting area. All the while, inside takes place the master waiting lounge with a variety of both group and individual seating arrangements. Prioritizing the waiting lounge is a decision based on the fact that it is the (in)activity that pains most patients in addition to the redoubtable dentist appointment effect. Therefore, it is given a quite vast area considering the overall size. To revive it, the photo studio is also included within this area to create a more active environment and to juxtapose the contrasting spaces.
Upon the request of the owners, the design needed to be elegantly minimalist without falling in the edge of the extreme. The designers thus, convened to bilingual the colors of the clinic and sustained the basic black and white with a greyish touch every here and there. This powerful contrasting effect is omnipresent within the whole clinic and is used to passively guide patients through the space in an immersive manner. The design approach of Maydent is rather cubic which means it includes directly all elements in each and every perspective by connection rather than disconnection. This is clearly perceived in the corridors that maintain a singular ceiling and floor foot print. The effect desired behind this technique is to create an embracing effect for the users and therefore emphasize the sensation of care and trust that the dentists want to transfer through architecture.
In the brief, the desire of the owners for the minimal style broadened the possibilities for the designers as to bipolarize the color palette and opt for a rather flat finish to minimize the volumetric work of the clinic. This directed the choice of flat lighting elements that constitute an even surface on the ceiling such as the Barrisol lighting in stretch ceilings. For their interest in art, incorporating it within the design without having it steal the whole attention, a rather harmonious and subtle graphic works are integrated. The architects honored the female owners by adopting artwork that glorifies the woman’s body with the utmost delicacy in a monochrome and linear style.
In the same line of thought, the psychological comfort of the patients is of the greatest importance. This led to the simplified design of the operation rooms in a striking white and a contrasting black space for the in-box desk for the more formal consultations. They are located on the facades t grant them with direct daylight and fresh air as well as outstanding views. The remaining spaces also follow the same logic and fit in zoning according to their functions and needs of the primary users. The design language of Maydent is purely binary and cohesive, yet boldly imposing, which opens us up as designers to the never-ending possibilities of architecture even with the most minimal briefs.
