A high-tech, walk-in, self-service sexual health clinic has opened its doors in the heart of London's Soho.
Nestled between the coffee shops and hotels of Dean Street is the Dean Street Express, a facility designed to reflect the local area.
The bold colour scheme for the unit originates from its sister clinic, the orange and white-themed 56 Dean Street, just a stone's throw away from the new facility.
Inside the Dean Street Express, the four screening rooms each have a different design inspired by the various unique shopfronts, store décor and neon signage in the surrounding area.
At the bottom of the winding fluid staircase, the waiting room is made up of space-saving cinema seats and the adjoining consultant rooms are decorated with vintage movie posters, paying homage to the theatrical history that runs through Soho’s veins.
With bright orange bouncing off the mirrored walls, black and white patterns covering the ceiling, and artwork of hundreds of images of Soho taken by one of the clinic employees, the project has ended up looking as little like a hospital as possible.
Construction work was carried out by Area Sq, while the interior design was led by PENSON. Signange was supplied by Gods Own Junkyard, the lighting was manufactured by Thorn Lighting, and the flooring was provided by Gerflor. All furniture was from Day 2.
As well as an impressive design, a number of high-tech improvements have been made within the building, too. These include the use of an iPad registration system for new and old patients. The automated testing process now fast-tracks everything, from how long it takes to get into a screening room to how long it takes to get results.
The process remains automated even after patients have gone through to the screening rooms, with a pneumatic vacuum system which shoots completed samples through tubes in the ceiling into the testing laboratory.
Even the lab is one a of a kind, where scientists can be watched from the reception through a large window and where the world’s first on-site Infinity machine has been put into action to enable all results to be received within six hours.
The four screening rooms each have a different design inspired by the various unique shopfronts, store décor and neon signage in the surrounding area. The reception even has its very own bit of neon, making it an official member of Soho.
At the bottom of the winding fluid staircase, the waiting room is made up of space-saving cinema seats and the adjoining consultant rooms are decorated with vintage movie posters, paying homage to the theatrical history that runs through Soho’s veins.
With bright orange bouncing off the mirrored walls, black and white patterns covering the ceiling, and artwork of hundreds of images of Soho taken by one of the clinic employees, the project has ended up looking as little like a hospital as possible.
A PENSON spokeman said: "Comfortable, luxurious and bright areas replace cold, clinical and claustrophobic spaces, with the added freedom to feel as relaxed as possible. In fact, if you were to ask somebody to guess whether this space is an NHS clinic or a nightclub from the year 3000, I’m almost certain 100% of them would choose the latter."
