On the Surface

Jeannie Rosenfeld -- Interior Design, 11/1/2006 12:00:00 AM

Neil Sadick, an MD in New York, is board-certified in four disciplines: dermatology, cosmetic surgery, hair transplants, and internal medicine. As a pioneer in the field of antiaging—with a progressive practice that caters to a tony clientele—he jumped at the chance to buy a Park Avenue office when it came on the market. He also saw the 4,000-square-foot space as an opportunity to leave the dark wood and leather of his previous office behind.

The Sadick Dermatology Center, a $2 million facility accommodating medical and skin-care services as well as an academic research center, is by health-care newcomer Beardslee Waites Architects. So, to ensure that the finished space would be both clinical and calming, the architects started by analyzing patient input. Among the anxiety-producing sights patients preferred to avoid were surgical equipment and staff activity outside operating rooms.

"The environment is sterile, technically, but not lifeless," principal Jody Andrew Waites says. Every detail was conceived to reduce stress, starting with the neutral palette. In reception, the desk and floor are gray poured epoxy resin, an antimicrobial material used in swimming pools and locker rooms. Here, the smooth glossy surface works to luxurious effect.

A painting based on anatomical diagrams from the Encyclopedia Britannica inspired the mural in reception's waiting area. Printed on plastic laminate, the composition clads two entire walls, conveying, Sadick says, that his facility is "at the crossroads of science and beauty." The other notable artworks on the premises hang in Sadick's private office: a pair of Andy Warhol drawings of a surgeon and test tubes.

Ultimately, though, art makes way for technology. Infrared sensors allow hands-free washing. Window shades descend with the push of a button. An on-site photography lab provides before-and-after 3-D imaging.

Given the multifaceted nature of the practice, the layout maximizes flexibility and discretion. Both staff meetings and patient consultations can take place in two rooms right off reception. The waiting area doubles as a training center when Sadick hosts dermatological symposiums. While patients and other visitors are seated there, a rear passageway enables staff to circulate and enter the operating room out of sight.

Besides the hospital-grade OR, where face-lifts, hair transplants, and liposuction take place, the facility boasts four medical-procedure rooms and three aesthetics rooms. In all seven, the architects hid equipment behind white-painted pocket doors that slide open silently. Individual iPod stations, unobtrusive lighting, and radically comfortable treatment chairs enhance the spa sensation.

Furniture in nonmedical areas is modernist, with an emphasis on mesh, marble, and stainless steel. White Compact sofas by Charles and Ray Eames and Tulip tables by Eero Saarinen cluster in the waiting area; chairs originally designed for the U.S. Navy line up there during symposiums. As principal Scott Beardslee says, "Timeless pieces ground the design." Ensuring that the office, like its clientele, ages gracefully.

From top: In the waiting area of New York's Sadick Dermatology Center, Charles and Ray Eames's vinyl-covered Compact sofas, Eero Saarinen's marble-topped Tulip tables, and epoxy-resin flooring complement a printed plastic-laminate mural based on a painting by Pnina Gagnon. Face-lifts, hair transplants, and liposuction are performed in the hospital-grade operating room.

Clockwise from top left: The mural was made from a digital scan of a mixed-media painting based on anatomical diagrams from the Encyclopedia Britannica. Carrara marble tops the reception desk, which is faced in epoxy resin. Facials and chemical peels take place in an aesthetics room, where sliding doors hide equipment; the chair is upholstered in antimicrobial vinyl.

From top: Andy Warhol drawings hang in Neil Sadick's office, which is outfitted with Eames Aluminum Group chairs, Ferruccio Laviani's steel Four table with a custom marble top, and Michele de Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina's aluminum Tolomeo lamp. Conferences and consultations are held in rooms furnished with Eames chairs, a Saarinen table, and enameled MDF cabinetry.

SOFA UPHOLSTERY (RECEPTION): THROUGH MAYER FABRICS. WALL PANELS: ARPA; FIRST WOOD GROUP (INSTALLATION). SEATING (RECEPTION, OFFICE, CONFERENCE ROOM): HERMAN MILLER. TABLES (RECEPTION, CONFERENCE ROOM): KNOLL. TABLE (OPERATING ROOM): MAQUET. CABINET: MASTER KITCHEN SUPPLIES. UTILITY TABLE: BLICKMAN. SURGICAL LIGHT FIXTURE (OPERATING ROOM), FACIAL LIGHT FIXTURE (AESTHETICS ROOM): MIDMARK CORP. FLUORESCENT FIXTURES (OPERATING ROOM, RECEPTION): COOPER INDUSTRIES. FACIAL BED (AESTHETICS ROOM): THROUGH BEAUTIES CITY SUPPLIES. SINK: ALAPE. SINK FITTINGS: VOLA. CHAIR UPHOLSTERY (OFFICE): SPINNEYBECK. TABLE: KARTELL. LAMP: ARTEMIDE. FLOORING, WALL SURFACING: CROSSFIELD PRODUCTS CORP. PAINT: BENJAMIN MOORE CO. MILLWORK: CLOSETTEC. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: CAGLEY HARMAN ASSOCIATES. GENERAL CONTRACTOR: DIRESTA EQUITIES.