Dental clinic Sepia

Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2015

Type
dental clinic

Source
project commission

Client
private client

Address/Site
city center/Bavarski dvor, Ljubljana

Surface area
168 m2

Program
3 dental clinics, waiting room

Materials
rubber, wall coating made from woolen felt, corian, glass walls with eloksated profiles and tempered, ornamental glass, acoustic lowered ceiling

Architect
SADAR+VUGA (Jurij Sadar, Boštjan Vuga, Tina Hočevar)

Photos
David Lotrič

The original ground plan by architect Milan Mihelič is conceived in such a way, that a vertical core with elevators and staircases separates the office and service spaces including bathroom facilities.

An elongated space gave way to an atypical organizational scheme. The clinics are aligned at the brim, where they can receive natural sunlight. The waiting room in the interior of the ground plan is longitudinal and enables equal access to all clinics.

The waiting room is designed as a warm space with a long, curved, comfortable bench, where the patients await their entry into the clinic. The bench bends in order to create intimacy in the case of a multitude of patients. The walls are covered with orange, woolen felt giving an impression of softness and warmth.

Throughout the day the waiting room is indirectly illuminated by a partition glass wall decorated with ornamental glass in its lower part. As the sun moves across the space and the rooms are naturally illuminated, foggy silhouettes of chairs and people are projected through the ornamental glass.

The glass walls are soundproof to ensure that all proceedings in the clinic remain within the intimate atmosphere of patient, doctor and his or her assistant.

Upon entering the clinic the patient is calmed by the panoramic view of Tivoli park with its greenery. The clinics are designed functionally, the chair of the patient is placed in the center, across the clinic’s brim there are small closets and a counter for instruments. The appearance of the clinic is kept in cool white and minty-blue hues, expressing a slightly sterile character.

Across the acoustic ceiling, made from mineral plates, runs a network of installation lights, speakers and ventilation vents. The same ceiling runs through the waiting room, while the lights here are shaped like playful orbs, which create an ambient with pungent beams of light. The illumination of the clinic is evenly distributed across the whole work space.

The orange warmth of the waiting room, the open vista and the sterility of the clinic are memorable characteristics of the Dental Clinic Sepia.