Description

The generous use of light and glass is a distinguishing feature of Richard Mitzman's work and a key element in the success of this building which, given the constraints of its narrow site, threatened to be very dark.  To counter this potential problem, Mitzman gave the front of the surgery a huge glass wall, set back from the road on the established building line, and used roof-lights to top-light the four surgeries, the hygiene area and public spaces, including the wooden-floored corridor which provides patient access to the consulting room and surgeries. Here, use was made of clerestory windows that filter light onto the opaque glass walls of the surgeries. Painted walls are all white. Even on a gloomy day the impact on the reception and waiting area is like shaft of light.

Two other characteristics of Richard Mitzman's work are a concern for hygiene and the advocacy of two-surgery dentistry. Core to his thinking is the elemental truth that the less there is in the surgery, the less there is to keep clean. A Mitzman-designed surgery is therefore a clutter-free space, distinguished by a single glass shelf and a double-access 'steri-wall', connecting the surgeries with the central sterilising area and through which clean and dirty instruments can be passed. This has the effect of significantly reducing the danger of cross-infection and, along with other procedures, greatly increasing patient confidence.

The double surgery enables a dentist to move straight from a 'dirty' chair to a clean one without losing clinical time. The uncluttered 'dirty' surgery can be easily cleaned while the dentist works in the clean one. Andrew Moore finds that this makes more efficient use of his time and Mitzman has calculated that an extra hour gained each day gains six weeks a year, quite quickly producing a significant return on the investment in the additional surgery.