General
A Clinic is a newly established aesthetic medical brand aimed at providing patients with a private, membership-based appointment service. We have been invited to design its first medical clinic located in Qianjiang, Hangzhou.

Site
The clinic is situated on the seventh floor of a tower designed to hotel standards originally, characterized by a dense column grid and limited ceiling height. Designing a space that complies with medical clinic regulations poses significant challenges. Furthermore, the clinic occupies the western half of the tower, featuring a U-shaped linear plan around a central core, with the sole entrance at one end of this linear configuration. Effectively managing a 70-meter-long circulation path is another critical challenge.

Concept
The typical flow in medical aesthetics includes consultation rooms, imaging rooms, examination rooms, treatment rooms, and observation/waiting areas. We observed that this flow often compromises patient privacy and leads to inefficient, overlapping paths. The design concept aims to optimize patient circulation by consolidating space types into three categories: waiting areas (serving both consultation and observation functions), examination rooms (integrating consultation and imaging functions), and treatment rooms. These three space types are distributed in clusters, resulting in six independent groups. The front end of the site is dedicated to patient areas, while the rear accommodates logistical support. This circulation design enhances efficiency while safeguarding patient privacy.

The proposal introduces a new column grid at a 45-degree angle to the existing one. Cluster designs adhere to this new grid, establishing clear and independent boundaries and entrances, ensuring independence and privacy among clusters, and circumventing the rigid paths often associated with linear spaces. The transitional areas between clusters are defined by essential functional spaces such as waiting areas, leisure zones, activity spaces, and nursing stations.


Material and Color
The material selection emphasizes easy-to-clean and slip-resistant small tiles that often seen in medical spaces. Each of the six clusters is assigned a distinct color, providing an intuitive spatial orientation. The interiors of the clusters primarily feature wood finishes, adorned with the brand's unique floral-patterned windows, which allow natural light to enter and add a gentle ambiance to the medical space.

Design Period: 2023.11-2024.02
Construction Period: 2024.02-2024.06
Design Team: Zizhi Yu, Yin He
Contractor: Shanghai Xiaolong Architectural Decoration Design Co., Ltd
Photo Credit: Yanjun Hu, Shuyang Yu @half.half.photography/ Wan Qianshan
Materials: handmade tiles, wood veneer, Self-Leveling Compound