DENTAL SURGERY: “From pain to colour: Yes it is possible …”

Here we are in the surgery of a toothache specialist. 

Welcome to a new style where everything had to be invented. 

This dentist, working in the suburbs of Lille, called on our services to help him overcome a few issues with his professional premises, which were considered slightly outdated and not very welcoming. The flooring needed a makeover, the walls needed new life and the dentist’s chair was obsolete and not at all up to date with the latest technologies. Light was cruelly lacking and the main light source was a giant strip light that radiated across almost the entire room. As for storage space, there was not nearly enough, which meant that we had to optimise space too. 

As the patients we are, or have been, we all have a very bad idea of the way we visualise a dental surgery. 

Based on the word pain, we decided to play on paradoxes in this concept, starting by designing the shapes, patterns and colours to be used … 

We started by working on the layout, choosing a selection of bright colours to dominate the space. It was blood Orange that easily won out, set against mole grey in a range of matt grey concrete variations. Why? The natural light coming through the windows is unfortunately insufficient due to the direction in which the building faces; bright colours are essential in a dark space, to reflect the light and boost artificial lighting. 

Pop, graphic, contemporary and resolutely modern, the surgery is full of finely worked naïve illustrations, and rounded shapes that perfect our embellishments. As you enter the dental surgery your eyes rest on a large scale wall hanging located at the back of the room, a fun trick that brings with it a lovely panoramic vision. It was designed by Soraya DEFFAR and gives the impression of floral motifs which are in fact nothing other than rosettes of various tooth shapes mixed in with a few bucolic drawings and fun quotes to arouse discussion and encourage relaxation. 

Full of great subtleties, this hanging covers a window that we have hidden in the continuity of the decor by means of light-diffusing canvas printed with the same pattern, which lets natural light through. 

Note that the touches of orange are used on the wall surfaces only, the textured concrete parquet flooring then takes up the relay to soften the effect, and the furniture units are used to add an extra twist to the whole look. The cupboards, whose modernity is accentuated by a shiny lacquer effect are made-to-measure, the drawers have been made to fit the size of patients’ medical cards and all the dentist’s work tools are integrated and built into the units. 

Slightly more milky colours, such as the off-white and diffuse grey of the translucent stickers used create a modern feel for existing elements, such as the windows, for example. 

Worked like wall jewellery, pictures with de-dramatizing quotes are hung on the rounded partition, following the same graphic line as that of the charter we defined for this client. The same style is used hanging from the ceiling.  

The black Plexiglas of the seating brings shine and chic to our offer, combining perfectly with the bright, flashy orange color. 

This is mono-style with a real bias, but one that leaves space for certain creations by PHILIPPE STARCK published by CARTEL.

An audacious project that required a degree of daring – and it paid off!