FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONT ACT : Ka therin e Gaskins [email protected]DENTIST BRINGS KNOWLEDGE TO FRUITION, WINS TOP ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AWARD Evidence-based Design Helps Port City Dental Center’s Dr. Tristan Hamilton Land “Best Overall”from Benco Dental Incisal Edge Magazine, for his Design of his Dental OfficeWilmington (NC) 12-Feb-2012... Chosen from hundreds of national nominees for exemplary dental office design, PORT CITY DENTAL CENTER'STristan Hamilton received the top honor, Best OverallDesign for Dental Offices in America, in an inaugural competition by Benco Dental’s Incisal Edgemagazine <http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/68b45a23#/68b45a23/58 >. The design— smoked 14’ ceilings; curvilinear , serpentine walls; s oft iridescent blue walls; the use of natural materials, such as woods & fabric rather than tiles & plastic; & soft, full-spectrum lights—was research-supported but driven by Hamilton’s desire to relax his patients, personalize the experience & free it of fear & anxiety . The regulation of human homeostasis & metabolism are intimately tied to the environment. Research in the fields of environmental psychology , psychoneuroimmunology , & epigenetics shows that characteristics of physical environments in which patients receive care directly affect patient outcomes. For example, art & aesthetics enhance soothing & calming qualities of a space; visual cues, such as windows & views to outside the building, reduce fear & hysteria by orienting patients; natural daylighting supports circadium rhythms & promotes specific physiological processes, such as anti-inflammatory cell responses to trauma, modulation of protein & enzyme activity , & cell regeneration. “My interests are just making people happy, ” he says. “We try to bring something more than just dentistry to my office.” <http://www.portcitysmiles.com> “I wanted to make this look nothing like a dental office, ” he said. “I wanted to remind my patients ofnothing like the white, dreary sterile offices of 20 to 30 years ago. Instead, I wanted it to feel more like a spa.”1 of 5
DENTIST BRINGS KNOWLEDGE TO FRUITION,WINS TOP ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN AWARD
Evidence-based Design Helps Port City Dental Center’s Dr. Tristan Hamilton Land “Best Overall” from Benco Dental Incisal Edge Magazine, for his Design of his Dental Office
Wilmington (NC) 12-Feb-2012... Chosen from hundreds of national nominees for exemplary dental officedesign, PORT CITY DENTAL CENTER'S Tristan Hamilton received the top honor, Best Overall
Design for Dental Offices in America , in an inaugural competition by Benco Dental’s Incisal Edge magazine <http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/68b45a23#/68b45a23/58>. The design—smoked 14’ ceilings; curvilinear, serpentine walls; soft iridescent blue walls; the use of natural materials,such as woods & fabric rather than tiles & plastic; & soft, full-spectrum lights—was research-supportedbut driven by Hamilton’s desire to relax his patients, personalize the experience & free it of fear & anxiety.
The regulation of human homeostasis & metabolism are intimately tied to the environment. Research in
the fields of environmental psychology, psychoneuroimmunology, & epigenetics shows that characteristicsof physical environments in which patients receive care directly affect patient outcomes. For example, art& aesthetics enhance soothing & calming qualities of a space; visual cues, such as windows & views tooutside the building, reduce fear & hysteria by orienting patients; natural daylighting supports circadium
rhythms & promotes specific physiological processes, such as anti-inflammatory cell responses to trauma,modulation of protein & enzyme activity, & cell regeneration.
“My interests are just making people happy,” he says. “We try to bring something more than just dentistryto my office.” <http://www.portcitysmiles.com>
“I wanted to make this look nothing like a dental office,” he said. “I wanted to remind my patients of nothing like the white, dreary sterile offices of 20 to 30 years ago. Instead, I wanted it to feel more like a
Hamilton, 33, was graduated with a Master’s Degree in 2003 from Andrews University School of Architecture. He practiced architecture for 5 years, working on notable projects, such as the revitalization
of Las Vegas master plan, The Saipan Embassy in Washington, DC, & the 40-year master growth plan for Vanderbilt University. Despite rapid success, he says he felt dissatisfied. He took a month off & joined amedical mission to Kafue, Zambia, where he provided medical care to more than 90 women & children. “You learn by fire,” he said. “It really opened my eyes. I hadn’t even taken a blood pressure before, but,quickly, I was giving injections, doing prenatal exams. It made me realize that I couldn’t continue what Iwas doing.”
When Hamilton returned, “All of the doors opened to dentistry.” In 2009, he was graduated from theLoma Linda University School of Dentistry. While working on an admissions committee, he interviewed acandidate who told him about a dentist in Wilmington, NC, who was looking for recent graduates. Afteronly a 15-minute phone interview, he was asked to join one of Dr. Misael Otero’s practices. Soonthereafter, Hamilton began scouting the area, to build a practice he had envisioned for years. He found a
building with 3,600 sq. ft., formerly used as a haunted house by the high schools, located on one of thebusiest intersections in Wilmington.
The sensory, physical, & emotional experience is often what impacts people the most in a medical ortherapeutic environment, including odors, sounds, lights, & temperature. So, combining research-driven
findings for maximizing environmental therapeutic benefits with his architectural vision & expertise,Hamilton drew up a ‘whole building’ design concept.
“I actually did my dental research on alleviating patient fear through the design of the dentaloffice,” he said. “Most students do ‘the art of
decay’ or ‘toothpaste that makes teeth white’, but
we developed a thesis that by creating key
elements within the design, you can eliminate a portion of dental phobia. For example, I chose
light blue for the walls because it was found to
have the most calming effect on patients.
“We completely gutted the building. We wanted tokeep a lot of the features the building had to offer, theinner open feeling,” he says. “We kept the ceilingshigh, with an exposed ventilation system, like amodern loft, & smoked them. Patients really love the
feel. Drop ceilings really close the environment, makeyou feel claustrophobic,” he said.
“The curvilinear walls in the entryway eliminate theharsh feel of angles. Harsh angles make for harshspaces,” he said. “The entryway immediately helps
alleviate fear.
“By using wood, plants, & living room furniture in the
entryway, we made the space feel homey rather thanlike a lobby. We purchased local wood stumps & hadthem debarked & polyurethaned by a local guy & used
them as tables. Kids love to climb on them! And, thewarm tones in the wood help create a homey feeling.
“Lighting was an important consideration & has a very profound effect. European & Swedish studies haveshown that replacing florescent with full-spectrum lights reduces absenteeism by more than 40%,” hesaid. To counteract the detrimental effects of light, Germany has outlawed the use of cool-white
florescent lighting in hospitals & medical settings. And, even the U.S. regulates that windows must beincluded in hospital rooms where patients stay for more than 23 hours.
Lighting also came together with another design feature of the office as gallery.
“A lot of the ideas I did were created out of function. Because of the space we were given, the placementof operatories opposite each other along a corridor created the feeling of a long & narrow hallway. I putstorage bays down the center, so each assistant doesn’t have to go back to a far corner to get supplies.
This creates less inefficiency & a feeling of cohesiveness. But, since it is linear in nature, it also created a “hallway” or “galley” feel & I didn’t want that.
“To mitigate this feeling, I mounted picture rails 8 ft. up & mounted LED lights to illuminate art, to createa gallery feeling, when patients look up.”
“Another thing that bothered me, people are always told, ‘Go to Op 1’ or ‘Go to Room 2’. Each one of ouroperatories is about the Port City.
“We’ve taken the streets of Wilmington & named each operatory after a street, in the geographically
correct order—so you have Orange, Ann, Nun—to indicate that this is all about the Port City & the peopleof the Port City.
“And, the doors to each operatory, people are enamored of the doors. The doors were sliding barn doors
into the center of which we’ve installed frosted glass panes & the name of each suite—Orange Suite, AnnSuite, Nun Suite. We’ve had lots of contractors request walk-throughs, just to see the doors!”
Says, Adams Southeastern Construction <http://adamssec.com/default.htm> owner, Trace Adams, “Dr. Hamilton had one of the most detailed visions for the construction of his practice that I’veever worked with. When a client can visualize and communicate their thoughts for the finished product, itmakes our job as a custom commercial builder that much easier. Because of his precise vision, we wereable to keep design costs low and work with Dr. Hamilton on the trim profiles, ‘barn’ doors, radius-
brushed acrylic wall and the finishes in the field.”
“Another special thing—the serpentine chalk wall— is so much fun!” declares Hamilton.
“Everyone who comes here is in awe of what people can do with chalk. Initially, I envisioned childrenusing the chalk wall, but eventually I depicted the waterfront along Downtown Wilmington. The chalk
wall can be seen from the street, so we night-light it & use it for night-time marketing, “ Appointments Available ”, “We Accept All Insurances ”, that sort of thing.”
“I really enjoy serving people. I could have gone into a dental specialty, but I wouldn’t have a chance tohave relationships with my patients, you don’t get the chance to see their kids grow up, Grandkids,
cousins. I love really being able to get to know people. We always try to bring more than just dentistry tomy office. We always look to see how we can help somebody out, emotionally, physically, spiritually. In
this office, our philosophy is, We combine soothing aesthetics with gentle care to alleviate patients’ fearof visiting the dentist. And, in this spirit, Dr. Otero contributed to the design & remains a mentor & afriend.”
Photographs by Forbes Photographer Matthew Furman for Benco Dental Incisal Edge magazine.
Incisal Edge is a quarterly publication of Benco Dental, the largest privately owned, full-service distributorof dental supplies, dental equipment, dental consulting & equipment services in the United States.
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For more information about this topic or to schedule an interview with Dr. Hamilton, please call (910)399-1127.
