Sensident: Form & Function

TYPE: Medical and Spa, Office, Retail and Commercial

Client: Sensident

1877 Amsterdam Ave

New York

BACKGROUND

Sensident: Form and Function was the second office designed by Soluri Architecture for Dr. Nikolas Jimenez. Because the first Sensident office was so successful, he needed a larger facility on the same block to accommodate his increasing number of patients. Sensident is a comprehensive dental-spa brand offering cutting-edge dental and beauty care with the latest technology at a reasonable cost.

CLIENT’S NEEDS

Our client, Dr. Nikolas Jimenez, needed a larger dental facility adjacent to his original office that could meet the demands of his growing dental practice. He wanted to maintain the same look and feel of the original office, which featured curving and faceted glowing frosted glass walls, but needed this concept adapted and enlarged to contain three operatories and an office. While most of the equipment and treatments offered in the operatories would be the same as the original office, he wanted to add a dental lab, a large panoramic digital x-ray machine, and medical gas to this new facility.

DESIGN PROCESS & INTENT

To stay consistent with the design of the original office, we used our original analysis of the treatment procedures and equipment, but modified them based on knowledge gained during the operation of the initial facility. We then took those revised criteria and developed a plan which arranged three operatories and a waiting area into an elongated curved and faceted form, made of the same glowing, translucent glass system developed for the original Sensident project. This slick glowing element was then contrasted against the existing sand-blasted stone rubble walls (which we had discovered during demolition) to create a striking juxtaposition. Opposite the glowing operatories, we introduced a simple white form containing utilitarian requirements including reception, the x-ray machine, medical gas equipment, and other items.

FINAL PROJECT

The built office creates a new space that clearly evolved from the original Sensident office, but maintains its own unique identity within the Sensident brand. We used these contrasting forms of a linear glowing glass operatory pod and a more utilitarian white pod surrounded by a rubble stone wall to create a striking and memorable juxtaposition, while providing a soothing and tranquil environment for clients.
The project was also built using the same hybrid design-build format for a fraction of the cost of a typical dental office of this size. This larger facility allowed Dr Jimenez to continue to develop and grow his practice.