Located on the upper west side of Manhattan, Central Park West Orthodontics provides patients with quality care, as well as a sense of calm in a hectic, urban setting.

The practice, which opened in the summer of 2014, is located on the ground floor of a 17-story residential building on the corner of Central Park West and 93rd Street, directly across the street from Central Park. The space measures an unprecedented 3,000 square feet. That, according to Robert Peracchia, DDS, who owns the space and co-manages the practice with his wife and resident orthodontist, Mary Eve Maestre, DDS, is enormous by Manhattan standards. But, when it comes to design, with great space comes great responsibilities.

For starters, the building where the office is housed is a historical landmark. Designed by popular New York City residential architect, Nathan Korn, it was constructed in 1928. The top 16 floors were converted into luxury condominiums in 2001. It’s a nostalgic space within a coveted location.

Design_CPW2As Peracchia explains, he and his wife were fortunate for the space to become available, as it’s located adjacent to his pediatric dental office. Once the paperwork and dust settled, Peracchia and Maestre worked closely with the design team at ARCH-101, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, to marry the modern design elements of a sleek, efficient orthodontic office with the classic, custom-built attributes of an historic building.

“We wanted the design to accommodate our technology and equipment, but also reference the history of the building and the neighborhood by way of the materials and finishes,” Peracchia explains. “For example, the lobby of our building has maintained the beautiful, original terrazzo floor. We used a modern terrazzo floor in the office that ties in to the building’s original finishes.”

Peracchia also wanted to make the space more of a retreat, a place of calm for patients. Highlighting the location’s natural elements was a given. With 16 windows that overlook Central Park, accentuating the view was a priority.

“We wanted patients to experience a relaxing feeling of openness,” Peracchia says. “We wanted the treatment bay placed along the windows, but we also wanted the space to be semi-private. In the way that it turned out, the light and the view of the trees fill the space. In an urban setting light, nature and space can be therapeutic.”

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In addition to ample natural light, and taking advantage of the park-side view, Peracchia and Maestre had some other must-haves on his design list. As he explains, they needed two TC rooms, a separate arcade so the younger set could, as he says, “get away from the adults,” and a private doctor’s office that overlooked the treatment bay.

“We were presented with a number of designs, but our favorite, and current design, has an open bay on one side, facing the park, with five chairs in a row. The TC/new patient rooms, scanning room, and Panorex area are on the other side of the office, within its own corridor,” Peracchia explains. “This layout allows for new patients to stay on the quieter side of the office, away from the treatment bay. It also allows for flow through two hallways.”

To make it all come to together, a decent amount of legwork took place on behalf of the design team and the physicians, and, as Peracchia explains, even the small stuff was sweated over. He adds that the design process was a fun and advantageous endeavor; however, the process of converting a space within a historical landmark was not without its hiccups.

“There were challenges in designing a practice to be a calming space within an urban environment,” he recalls. “There were some pre-existing conditions that posed some problems. For example, during the demolition phase, we uncovered gas lines for about 20 of the above residential units. They ran along a section of the cement floor and down into the cellar. The management company and building architect had to figure out what to do with them. Unfortunately, they were unable to be rerouted, so we needed to figure out the appropriate way to bury them again. That delayed the project for about 6 months.

“For both my wife and me, our favorite aspect about the design of our office is the way the light pours through the park side windows into the treatment bay,” Peracchia adds. “The combination of white walls, solid surfaces, white terrazzo floors and the light makes you feel like you’re floating in a cloud.” OP

Lori Sichtermann is a freelance writer for Orthodontic Products. She can be reached at [email protected].

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