A reception desk of boxwood veneer floats before white relief-panel logo wall and a second wall clad in dark gray tile by Porcelain Tile.
A reception desk of boxwood veneer floats before white relief-panel logo wall and a second wall clad in dark gray tile by Porcelain Tile.

January 12, 2022

Words: Jesse Dorris

Photography: WYAP

Jacky.W Design Crafts a Calming Dental Clinic in Wenzhou, China

A dental clinic must accomplish two crucial goals: It has to be safe, meeting complex medical requirements, while also feeling safe for clients nervous about delicate procedures. Jacky Wang, chief designer of Jacky.W Design—a 2018 Best of Year Award winner—balances both objectives elegantly with the 2000-square-foot Ruixiang Dental Clinic in China’s Wenzhou City. 

Some things couldn’t be changed, including a quartet of load-bearing walls within which Wang sited rooms like bathrooms that didn’t need natural light. For the rest, beveled whitewashed corners and walls clad in warm Boxwood created the necessary—and necessarily separate—circulation routes for doctors, patients, and discarded medical supplies. And also a sense of ease, buttressed by cheerful signage of glowing green boxes and natural greenery. The design, Wang says, “gives a sense of a cozy house decorated with plants and woods in the spring sunshine.” Not a bad feeling for a busy doctor’s office.

The façade is open and inviting, to reduce clients’ anxiety.
The façade is open and inviting, to reduce clients’ anxiety.
A Vibia pendant hangs in the lounge, with a table and chair by Zeran Furnishing.
A Vibia pendant hangs in the lounge, with a table and chair by Zeran Furnishing.
Private offices include tables and chairs by ShuShijia.
Private offices include tables and chairs by ShuShijia.
A reception desk of boxwood veneer floats before white relief-panel logo wall and a second wall clad in dark gray tile by Porcelain Tile.
A reception desk of boxwood veneer floats before white relief-panel logo wall and a second wall clad in dark gray tile by Porcelain Tile.
Gradiated window film create privacy in consulting rooms.
Gradiated window film create privacy in consulting rooms.
Sunny yellow seating cheers up the children’s consulting room.
Sunny yellow seating cheers up the children’s consulting room.
Green cubes illuminate which consulting rooms are occupied by dentists attending to patients.
Green cubes illuminate which consulting rooms are occupied by dentists attending to patients.
Pale grey flooring by Porcelain Tile clads passageway floors between Boxwood consulting rooms.
Pale grey flooring by Porcelain Tile clads passageway floors between Boxwood consulting rooms.

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