ODE Dermatology Clinic

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

ODE Dermatology Clinic 

Foolscap Studio

ARCHITECTS
Foolscap Studio

BRANDING
Brandworks

PROJECT LEAD
Jessica Humpston

MANUFACTURERS
Haymes Paint, Instyle, Marblo, Rc+d, Warwick Fabrics, Ampelite, Apex Stone, Billi, Ccs, Earp Bros, Forbo, Kvadrat, Nood Co., Studio Henry Wilson, Zepel Fabrics

BUILDER
Ramvek

LIGHTING 
Sphera

DIRECTOR
Adèle Winteridge

PHOTOGRAPHS
Willem-dirk Du Toit 

AREA
200 M²

YEAR
2021

LOCATION
Melbourne, Australia

CATEGORY
Retail, Wellness Interiors

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

ODE Dermatology fuses retail with hospitality-style service and hotel-inspired luxury to create a unique wellness destination.

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

Housed in a heritage building on Melbourne’s premium Gertrude Street, a technology overhaul and sumptuous interior fit-out reflects the client’s dual medical and aesthetic philosophy: that holistic skincare should be an ‘ode to one’s self.

Establishing her very first independent clinic, medical dermatologist, Dr. Shyamalar Gunatheesan, engaged our studio to create ODE: a destination that draws on the tenets of high-end retail and hospitality to offer a holistic wellness experience.

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

The brief was to design a skin care clinic that didn't feel like a sterile environment, but rather more like a luxury-inspired hotel.

Our design strategy placed an emphasis on inner beauty, informing our conceptual approach.

Inside-out’ references the body through translucent and transformative materials, while ‘duality as a unity’ balances human with the high-tech, manifested through contemporary design insertions in a heritage context.

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

Despite a heritage overlay on the façade only, our studio elected to retain the entire double-brick shopfront and former residence (bar a small fiber cement board lean-to addition).

This allowed us to restore original details and integrate them into a design that promotes the adaptive reuse of a Victorian building while adhering to stringent Australian regulations required for clinical treatment zones.

Planning considerations were made for a dedicated staff room and nurse’s station, sterilization facilities, and the concealment of large medical equipment within custom joinery.

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic

Maximizing its shopfront, ODE’s reception, and retail space (renamed ‘concierge’) acts as a beacon to passersby.

Glowing, reflective, and opalescent surfaces are balanced by a dramatic, light-absorbing velvet curtain that leads clients down the clinic’s ‘spine’: a specially designed side extension, topped with a leafy lightwell.

This intervention, as well as a ground floor extension to the rear, proved crucial to the functioning of the space and provided an opportunity to bring in diffused natural light and indoor greenery.

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit

Clients await their consultations in the centrally located decompression lounge, furnished with designer pieces, soft textiles, and a lustrous, custom-designed houndstooth rug, while treatment rooms offer state-of-the-art therapies in elevated environments.

A series of striking photographic prints throughout, heighten the multisensory journey.

ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit
ODE Dermatology Clinic
© Willem-Dirk du Toit


ODE Dermatology Clinic
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