To the existing clinic which provides mainly routine dental care, the owner decides to add a new facility for pediatric orthodontic treatment, given the growing demand, and entrusts its design to the architects of Takashige Yamashita Office who propose an architecture that integrates among and with the trees on the site, as part of the landscape stretching toward the city
Children's dental clinic among Zelkova trees: wood, nature and architecture as a way to care and build the community
In Saitama, Japan, the family of the developer of this children's dental clinic has for generations owned the land on which it stands, which is largely occupied by Zelkova trees, some of them centuries old. Surrounded by greenery and trees, not only does the clinic create a relaxing atmosphere for young patients it also proposes a space to welcome and nurture all children in the community
Spaces intersect with small portions of vegetation that together with clean volumes of unusual geometries offer small patients environments that induce calm and comfort, soothing children's fear and their families' anxiety. The trees also serve as green curtains providing privacy between rooms
In addition to dental care, the clinic also offers a gymnasium space for chiropractic and exercise programs planned in conjunction with medical treatments, based on the client's philosophy that, "oral health is pursued with physical and mental health." The exercise room also serves the neighborhood community by offering various exercise programs for all such as yoga, dance, aerobics, and chiropractic sessions
Similarly, the spacious lounge and rooftop terrace near the clinic's entrance are spaces designed for the community: passersby can access them and sit down for a cup of tea and a chat even without a medical appointment. Children in the kindergarten adjacent to the clinic, in particular, have easy access that they can use during recess or after school. This familiarizes them with the clinic, so that when they have to go there for treatment they are no longer too afraid of it
The variety of materials used on the interior and exterior walls and floors of each clinic volume, together with the varying height of the spaces, creates a playful atmosphere. Even the relationship of each architectural volume to the roof, a single, animated slab with a silvery coating, varies from time to time: they intersect, they brush against each other, they cut into each other.
The continuous roofing with folded faces reminiscent of the gabled roofs of neighboring buildings is perforated in some places to let sunlight penetrate the vegetation encompassed by the structure
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