The Urban Dentist | studio karhard®

AIT 11.2019, von Friederike Bienstein:

Mohammed Alef, Venelina Dimitrov und Sang-Ji Kim are the founders and prac­tice owners of The Urban Dentist. The three young dentists with Arab, Bulgarian and Asian roots score with internationality and multilingualism in Berlin's smal­lest district with the highest population density and the lowest average age. Like their clientele, they were bothered by the fact "that hardly any practice has its own cha­racter" and that many "make the same clinical-sterile and boring impression as if this were somewhere prescribed by law". They deliberately distanced themselves from this and, with their newly designed premises, they show the example a practice which has captivated the zeitgeist of their environment. 

studio karhard® from nearby were responsible for the design. Experienced in designing clubs (Berghain), Alexan­dra Erhard and Thomas Karsten integrated the prevailing lifestyle of a young Berlin generation. Their design convinced with the combination of elegance, casualness and a visit to the doctor. The office founded by Thomas Karsten and Alexandra Erhard in 2003 works with an established team of experienced specialist planners, in the sec­tor of structure planning and building technology as well as fire protection, room acoustics and light planning. Their network of local fitout- and crafts enterprises is as brilliant as it is solid and they have a wealth of experience. All this made them sought-after planning partners for three young, unconventional and daring dentists. The Urban Dentist really lives up to its name since it is located in the immediate pro­ximity to underground and streetcar stations at Warschauer Strasse. With a modern interior, the patient is to be distracted from actually being at the dentist's, without negative expectations and associations. When designing the practice, studio karhard used methods similar to those for a concept store or a bar to eliminate anxiety and strengthen positive associations right from the start. Registering, waiting zone, pre­paration and treatment take place in surroundings with just a few, unusual and high-quality materials: A sculptural bar counter of dark terrazzo replaces the reception counter as found in traditional medical practices. A folded, transparent and, in part, coloured mirror-glass wall very subtly separates the workspaces of the administrative employees. The lounge area with two pink La Isla sofas by the Spanish furniture ma­nufacturer Sancal produces a casual, inviting reception- and waiting atmosphere and implies that the patients are in the vestibule of a club and guests rather than patients. Dark flooring extends through the whole storey of 360 square-metre practice. Rough concrete pillars, a ventilation system and visible, insulated pipeline routing under the exposed-concrete ceiling deliberately give the waiting- and hallway area an indu­strial charm. A back-lit, programmable profiled-glass wall makes changing light at­mospheres possible and escorts the visitor into one of the total of eight available treatment rooms. Here custom-made furniture consisting of brass frames with fronts of pale-pink linoleum and a bright countertop of natural terrazzo dominate the ap­pearance. The dental chair matches the colour of the floor it is black! For those who, against all expectations and despite the visual distractions, are stillgetting anxious: The Urban Dentist also offers treatments under sedation if desired.