Nestled within the North Beach district of San Francisco, the project is located directly west of Washington Square Park, which was a major design inspiration. Interior details bring the park’s greenery and filtered light into the space, and contrast them with industrial materials and refined surfaces. Programming and design decisions were made w... read more

Nestled within the North Beach district of San Francisco, the project is located directly west of Washington Square Park, which was a major design inspiration. Interior details bring the park’s greenery and filtered light into the space, and contrast them with industrial materials and refined surfaces. Programming and design decisions were made with the intent of maximizing and filtering natural light through the operatories, an element often overlooked in dental offices. The long, interior entry ramp is framed by a linear garden, which serves as a calming visual counterpoint to the more industrial materials of steel and acrylic; it continues down the length of the space to create a series of individual gardens for each of the patient operatories and expands the spatial depth of the relatively small space. Low planting creates a continuous horizontal plane of green which transitions vertically into the custom perforated wall panels. The pattern of perforations is backed with recycled-content carpet tile to give textural interest while also acting as noise dampeners between the otherwise open patient rooms. The panels then transition to a beveled ceiling, which reflects natural light through to the patient operatories. Between the rooms, semi-translucent ‘floss’ walls—made of drainage mat sandwiched between steel channels and acrylic—filter natural light through the rooms while simultaneously protecting patient privacy. The corridor wall is ‘cracked’ open to bring light down the hallway and visually expand the space from the reception area; the split’s horizontal surfaces also double as a light table. Local, sustainable, and recycled materials were used where possible, from recycled carpet tile to Energy Star equipment to the vintage dental chairs in the operatories. The project achieved a USGBC LEED Silver Rating. collapse