Smiles, a Sensory Journey Guided by Design

What if a dental clinic didn’t look or feel like a clinic at all, but instead resembled a contemporary art gallery? This was the question posed by the designers at Wangan Studio—a radical provocation that gave birth to Smiles, a dental clinic in Ankara, Turkey, where every element, from layout to materials, lighting to textures, has been crafted to engage the senses and spark emotions.

Smiles is far more than a place of treatment: it is an architectural statement that deliberately breaks away from the sterile, impersonal aesthetic of traditional healthcare environments. From the outset, the goal was to create an immersive experience that combines hospitality, art, and well-being—where design is not mere backdrop, but an active tool to disarm fear, inspire trust, and instill calm in patients.

Smiles, a New Grammar for Healthcare Spaces

Smiles embraces a contemporary architectural language, where brutalist rigor merges with sculptural aesthetics and a neo-modernist sensibility. The material palette reflects this duality with strength and coherence: brushed steel, veined marble, frosted glass, and Ceppo di Gré coexist with black-stained oak, fine leather, and tactile fabrics.

The neutrality of the chromatic palette—volcanic grays, warm taupes, brushed surfaces—creates a sober background that allows emotional accents to emerge: deep blues, velvety greens, and saturated colors in the furnishings and artworks.

Two Souls, One Unique Ecosystem

The project spans 1,100 m², divided into two distinct yet interconnected areas: a 750 m² clinic and a 350 m² campus. The latter, designed for the well-being of the team, hosts support spaces such as a kitchen, locker rooms, lounge, workshop, and technical facilities. Not a simple back office, but a backstage curated with the same attention as the front stage. For Wangan, the patient’s experience is intrinsically tied to staff well-being: the quality of the workplace directly reflects on the quality of care.

The clinic was designed with an open floor plan, where treatment rooms emerge as monolithic volumes set within a fluid, open space. Corridors and closed doors are absent: materials, light, and geometry define the boundaries between rooms. Translucent partitions evoke luxury atelier shop windows, the lounge resembles a residential living room, and many walls double as exhibition surfaces.

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A Place Where Aesthetics Are Also “Treated”

Every design decision was filtered through a clear vision: to redefine what a care space can be, challenging common perception. Art is not a decorative addition, but a conceptual pillar of the project. The architecture opens to moments of tension and release, creating a rhythm that guides and reassures.

Works by Seçkin Pirim, Tom Fellows, Ömer Faruk Yaman, and Mehmet & Kazım—carefully selected and integrated into the space—interact with the architecture, directly influencing it. Some installations, such as Rezonans by Turkish artist Seçkin Pirim, even shaped structural choices in the project.

The ceiling itself becomes a design element: a custom modular system of micro-perforated black panels integrates technical systems, lighting, and acoustic control, ensuring visual and functional continuity.

Smiles was not designed to “disguise” its clinical function, but to transfigure it. Here, the patient is considered a guest to be welcomed, and design becomes a tool for building relationships, a space for presence, and a framework for trust.

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