This interior design project is based on a clear concept: to create a specialist orthodontic clinic that conveys transparency, fluidity, and a sense of closeness — both to its patients and to the urban environment in which it is situated. The clinic is conceived as an open space, eliminating physical and visual barriers to foster trust and well-being from the very first interaction.
Project Name: Mercedes Fayos Fons dental clinic
Studio Name: NAN Arquitectos
Location: Castelao street – Pontevedra (Spain)
Year: 2025
Team: Alberto F. Reiriz, Vicente Pillado.
Surface: 185 m2
Photography: Iván Casal Nieto
Spatial Fluidity: Volumes and Membranes
The interior design is articulated through a dialogue of pure volumes and translucent membranes that define the various functional areas without completely isolating them. These partitions allow natural light to permeate the space, generating a bright, continuous, and open environment where the internal operations of the clinic can be perceived without compromising patient privacy. This spatial strategy enhances the legibility of the program and improves wayfinding for users.
Materiality: Balance of Hygiene and Warmth
The choice of materials strikes a balance between the perception of cleanliness and advanced technology — essential in a healthcare setting — and the need to create a welcoming and approachable atmosphere.
Aluminum, used in cladding and construction details, conveys a high-tech aesthetic and a sense of precision and asepsis. Its metallic, cool finish reinforces the impression of rigorous cleanliness and professionalism.
In contrast, natural oak wood is introduced in furniture and partial wall coverings, adding warmth and a sensory comfort that humanizes the clinical environment and helps reduce patient anxiety.
Lighting: A Tool for Emotional Comfort
Artificial lighting is treated as a key element in enhancing the spatial and emotional quality of the project. In circulation areas, indirect lighting is used, integrated into architectural elements to avoid glare, promote spatial continuity, and encourage a calm and relaxed flow through the space.
In clinical rooms, on the other hand, direct, precise, and adjustable lighting is employed, ensuring optimal visibility for medical tasks while maintaining visual comfort for the patient. This dual lighting strategy allows the project to meet the diverse functional demands of the program while preserving aesthetic and atmospheric coherence throughout the clinic.
Conclusion
The result is a clinic that not only fulfills the functional and technical requirements of a healthcare space, but also offers an innovative spatial experience. Here, interior architecture becomes an active tool for enhancing the physical and emotional well-being of users, seamlessly integrating form, materiality, and light into a coherent, sensitive, and contemporary language.
