MEDIFIT CASE STUDY
Karrinyup Road Dental Centre
PROJECT TYPE: Dental LOCATION: Western Australia MEDIFIT SERVICES: Design & Construction
Giving your practice a new look and feel and adding functionality doesn’t always require a complete refurbishment as Dr Suzanne Lim and partner, John Domingues, a dental hygienist found out recently.
As the proud owners of Karrinyup Road Dental Centre in Perth, they could see that their practice could look and work far better and decided the time was right to renovate.
“We took over the practice in January 2007 with a vision of what we wanted to achieve both in terms of the practice philosophy and day to day running,” Dr Lim said.
“We originally had two chairs operating with a full-time and a part-time dentist. We then started a hygiene programme and with the backing of a great team, found that our books were struggling to cope with the extra workload. We always had in mind the desire to open up a dedicated hygiene room and with the reception in need of a long overdue facelift, we found ourselves contemplating this much sooner than anticipated.
“The current practice layout had a lot of unusable dead space and we had an idea of what we wanted but were unsure of how or even if this was able to be achieved. Help was required and we contacted several dental design and fit-out companies for assistance. We researched everything to the nth degree and did not just want a ‘nice’ design and re-fit as we could have done this ourselves.
“After meeting Sam from Medifit, we were enthused that he understood our direction and actually listened to what we wanted and would not deliver just another stock standard product.
“The design process went smoothly, with the designer coming out to the surgery and listening to our ideas whilst adding her own input. With a background hobby of house renovations under our wing, we understood the need to have the end product in mind and all the details mapped out prior to starting, especially as we had given Medifit a very tight timeline for the refit.
After providing us with detailed drawings, colour charts and fit out schemes, we were ready to get going - and get going we did!”
The practice used to be accessed through the communal waiting area of the local medical centre which left it lacking identity and presence and looking rather tired. The brief called for a form of separation from the GP’s waiting room while still allowing vision and the ability to walk between the areas.
The design created by Medifit included a new reception, waiting room, office, staff room and hygienist room which necessitated the removing of walls, a new ceiling and practically gutting the entire front section of the practice. Visually, the intention was to create a new, bright, modern, fresh interior with multiple layers of detail.
New ceilings were installed featuring a decorative, curved bulkhead which follows the line of the new reception counter below and compliments the wall that defines the new treatment room.
A striking splash of vivid colour really stands out against the neutral white on white colour palate with the natural timber colours in the floor helping to balance the overall feel.
To segregate and define the dental practice away from the medical practice, a new wall was built inclusive of an opening comprising sliding and fixed decorative panels. Featuring a custom cut geometric pattern, these provide privacy while also acting as a design element.
To maximise the feeling of space in the new hygienist’s room, a neutral colour palate was applied.
Medifit were given nine days to complete the project and whilst the pair were optimistic, they were also very nervous.
“They were very professional and assured us everything would be done on time,” Dr Lim said. “Mark Evangelisti, Medifit’s National Projects Director, was at hand to start the construction phase and always just a phone call away.
Even though unplanned hiccups such as a delay in delivery of the cabinetry due to supply issues with the raw materials caused stress levels to rise, Medifit quickly reorganised the trades to still deliver within our timeline. Even Sam came down on the odd occasion to ensure things ran smoothly, with the wonderful cleaning ladies there till 2am on the final morning.
“So, through bleary eyes, we opened on a Tuesday morning. The electricians were there at 6am and when the patients arrived at 8am, they were welcomed with a big smile into our brand new look surgery. The consensus - Fantastic! We cannot thank Sam, Mark and all the Medifit crew enough.”
