Duality as Unity: ODE Dermatology in Fitzroy by Foolscap Studio.

Foolscap Studio reimagines the classic dermatology clinic as a luxurious, hotel-inspired wellness experience for ODE Dermatology in Melbourne.

For the design of the clinic, housed in a Victorian shopfront primely located on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy, Foolscap drew on its expansive experience in hospitality design, adopting principles of high-end luxury and hotel-quality service to transform every space—from reception through to treatment rooms.

“Our client’s brief was for a clinic that did not feel like a sterile environment, she wanted it to feel like a hotel,” says Foolscap Studio Director, Adele Winteridge. “The interior feel of ODE and the impact that the physical space has on the individual is a departure from that traditional notion of healthcare provision, with the emphasis very much on wellness.”

Related: Fenn Beauty & Treatment Space in Paddington by Akin Atelier.

The design concept draws on the ideas of ‘duality as unity’, blending and balancing the human with the high-tech, as well as ‘inside out’, delving deep into the transformative qualities of skin care and health.

The reception area, or the concierge point is defined by a curved wall, clad in a translucent fibreglass ‘skin’—aluminium blades form the shelves for the clinic’s retail environment, sitting atop the fibreglass like a delicate bone structure. It gently curves around the illuminated custom-designed counter, topped with opalescent Marblo, which draws the eye and anchors the space with its warm and alluring glow.

Drawing patients down into the clinic is the ‘spine’ of the space—a specially designed side extension topped with a leafy lightwell. This is not only fundamental to the functioning of the space, but also douses the ground floor in diffused natural light and lush indoor greenery.

Patients await their consultations in the luxurious, loungey decompression room, furnished with designer pieces upholstered in soft textiles and a custom rug sporting a lustrous, oversized houndstooth weave.

Like an upmarket hotel, soft furnishings and sheer drapery, polished natural stone, and a curated selection of Myles Pedlar photographic prints heighten the sensory journey at ODE.

Related: Fitzgerald Private Skin Clinic in Dublin by Kingston Lafferty Design.

[Images courtesy of Foolscap Studio. Photography by Willem-Dirk du Toit.]