Raúl Sanchez Architects demonstrates a fun new way to incorporate wood into an interior space at the Impress Dental Studio in Barcelona, Spain. Set within a historic building, the office enjoyed high ceilings, enormous windows and beautiful views, but it felt a little sterile. The designers wanted to bring in some warmth, texture, patterns and dynamic shapes to shake things up and appeal to the youthful clientele the studio attracts with its tech-focused model of care.
“The concept of Impress dental clinic is aimed at a young audience, which has grown with new technologies, since its offer is based on online treatments that reduce face-to-face visits. From the first moment Impress looked for a fresh design, which represented the brand and its values, which moved away from the topics of a dental clinic (white colors, aseptic environment).”
The new, interconnected pine partitions mimic the smile shape of the Impress logo and create a set of built-in furniture including two offices and a bathroom. Set back from the facade by about seven feet, the partitions establish a new reception area and create a visually interesting backdrop that can be appreciated from outside. They also separate the treatment areas from the waiting room and from each other.
“The material palette is dominated by the pine wood of the interior partitions, which adds an unusual warmth in a dental clinic; the existing structural elements stand out with the corporate gray color of Impress; a large corporate red-colored sheet metal cladding accompanies the ascent to the mezzanine and stains the interior with red highlights; a neon sign creates a required corner for instagram pics, and above, the corporate blue color stars the wall over the entrance curve; the ceramic flooring has the same red color joints of the metal wall. And in general, all the elements of the interior receive a color and texture treatment that obeys the Impress identity mark.”
As you can see, all it took to achieve a totally new look and feel within this office was cutting pine lumber to create the desired shapes and screwing it into place. It’s brilliant in its simplicity and easy to mimic for other projects.
