The design of this dental office for Dr. Barker in Short Hills NJ creates a calm, joyful and inviting environment within a compact and highly efficient layout.
Dental offices are dominated by technical equipment and medical tools. The operatories are formed around the dental chair, with ergonomic necessities and preferences determining layout, organization and materials. The patient in this context is immobilized and suspended, at the mercy of the Dentists skills and his machines. It is therefore not surprising that the majority of patients enter the dentist office with a sense of dread, or even fear.
The design for Barker Dental was based on the idea of minimizing the mechanical-technological aspect of the office visit, and to create an atmosphere and of calm beauty and abstract luminosity.
When entering the offices, the visitor is welcomed by a light-filled waiting area, with polished concrete floor and custom-built, soft furniture, with accents of lime green tulip chairs and back-painted glass walls. The light fixtures have a faintly dental aesthetic, but friendly and organic, with black and white botanical prints adding to the natural appeal of the space.
The main corridor is flanked by back-lit, matte acrylic walls, creating a luminous passage to the examination rooms. A view into the operatories reveals a surprising continuation of accent colors, while the overall spaces are kept minimal, light and airy, with a polished concrete floor continuing throughout.
The project was realized within a very limited budget, and our design added great value to the dental practice. Equipment was refurnished wherever possible, and stock furniture systems used in lieu of the typically installed specialized dental furniture. This allowed us to focus the design on features that genuinely improve the user experience.