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Smile House
Smile House
New York, NY, United States
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Other Projects by SPAN Architecture
Smile House
New York, NY, United States
Smile House is a recently opened multi-specialty destination for dental longevity and esthetics in New York City.
SPAN Architecture oversaw the significant renovation and interior transformation of the dental offices, which were completed in 2025 after a two-year design process. Smile House is rooted in biophilic principles, not through literal imitation of nature, but through the careful orchestration of light, materiality, form, and spatial experience. With an emphasis on wellness, health, and hygiene, SPAN was tasked with creating a space that reflects a calming, hospitality-driven, wellness-oriented atmosphere, free of the typical clinical feel.
SPAN and Smile House founder Dr. Jonathan B. Levine, DMD connected at The Core Club (a members-only club with architecture and interior design by SPAN). After discussing their mutual appreciation for forward-thinking business models, SPAN entered into a partnership with Dr. Levine and his family to complete GOSmile Dental Office on New York’s Upper East Side, the Levine family offices, and, finally, Smile House in Tribeca.
With their existing relationship, Smile House provided a clear brief and remained involved in shaping the narrative throughout the space. SPAN had to carefully consider each part of the process to align with the tight timeframe, space restrictions, and budget while creating a design that supports Smile House’s ultimate vision: to reimagine dentistry as part of your larger wellness journey.
Material choices are visibly calming and physically grounding: warm wood panels and cabinetry, earth-toned finishes, and tactile surfaces that invite touch rather than repel it. Curvilinear architecture and furniture replace hard edges, softening movement through the space and reducing visual tension. In certain areas, curtains replace fixed walls, responding subtly to human movement and reinforcing a sense of permeability rather than enclosure. The plasterwork established a unique mood through the quality and texture of the wall surfaces. Throughout the office, limewash, custom metallic paint, large-format porcelain
tile, wood, bronze, and Corian dental cabinetry blur the line between luxury design and the functional requirements typical of health care facilities.
Natural light is a primary organizing element, introduced at the foyer and carried through multiple treatment rooms, creating a constant awareness of orientation and connection to the adjacent Streetscape and a courtyard garden adjacent to the interior spaces. The environment is intentionally domestic rather than clinical, prioritizing emotional ease and sensory comfort over the laboratory's visual language.
Artwork throughout the space focuses on the human body, wellness, and care for others, reinforcing a narrative of healing that is both personal and collective. There is always a perceptible sense of space beyond where one stands — a layered spatial depth that reorients the patient away from confinement and toward openness.
Rather than saturating the environment with overt natural motifs, the design deliberately juxtaposes natural and man-made materials. This contrast heightens the presence and value of the natural elements, allowing them to feel intentional and restorative rather than decorative or redundant.
In this way, the project aligns with biophilic design not merely as an aesthetic gesture or “nature as decoration”, but as an experiential strategy, one that supports calm, reduces anxiety, and fosters a felt connection between body, space, and light.
“We collaborated with Smile House to design a space that feels grounded, human, and emotionally disarming rather than clinical. As with most of our work, biophilic principles guided the project not as decoration, but as an experience shaped by light, materiality, and spatial depth. Natural light moves through the space, warm woods and tactile surfaces anchor the body, and curved forms soften both movement and perception. The result is an environment that subtly reduces anxiety and reconnects patients to a sense of calm, orientation, and care.” - Karen Stonely and Peter Pelsinski, SPAN Architecture
SPAN Architecture oversaw the significant renovation and interior transformation of the dental offices, which were completed in 2025 after a two-year design process. Smile House is rooted in biophilic principles, not through literal imitation of nature, but through the careful orchestration of light, materiality, form, and spatial experience. With an emphasis on wellness, health, and hygiene, SPAN was tasked with creating a space that reflects a calming, hospitality-driven, wellness-oriented atmosphere, free of the typical clinical feel.
SPAN and Smile House founder Dr. Jonathan B. Levine, DMD connected at The Core Club (a members-only club with architecture and interior design by SPAN). After discussing their mutual appreciation for forward-thinking business models, SPAN entered into a partnership with Dr. Levine and his family to complete GOSmile Dental Office on New York’s Upper East Side, the Levine family offices, and, finally, Smile House in Tribeca.
With their existing relationship, Smile House provided a clear brief and remained involved in shaping the narrative throughout the space. SPAN had to carefully consider each part of the process to align with the tight timeframe, space restrictions, and budget while creating a design that supports Smile House’s ultimate vision: to reimagine dentistry as part of your larger wellness journey.
Material choices are visibly calming and physically grounding: warm wood panels and cabinetry, earth-toned finishes, and tactile surfaces that invite touch rather than repel it. Curvilinear architecture and furniture replace hard edges, softening movement through the space and reducing visual tension. In certain areas, curtains replace fixed walls, responding subtly to human movement and reinforcing a sense of permeability rather than enclosure. The plasterwork established a unique mood through the quality and texture of the wall surfaces. Throughout the office, limewash, custom metallic paint, large-format porcelain
tile, wood, bronze, and Corian dental cabinetry blur the line between luxury design and the functional requirements typical of health care facilities.
Natural light is a primary organizing element, introduced at the foyer and carried through multiple treatment rooms, creating a constant awareness of orientation and connection to the adjacent Streetscape and a courtyard garden adjacent to the interior spaces. The environment is intentionally domestic rather than clinical, prioritizing emotional ease and sensory comfort over the laboratory's visual language.
Artwork throughout the space focuses on the human body, wellness, and care for others, reinforcing a narrative of healing that is both personal and collective. There is always a perceptible sense of space beyond where one stands — a layered spatial depth that reorients the patient away from confinement and toward openness.
Rather than saturating the environment with overt natural motifs, the design deliberately juxtaposes natural and man-made materials. This contrast heightens the presence and value of the natural elements, allowing them to feel intentional and restorative rather than decorative or redundant.
In this way, the project aligns with biophilic design not merely as an aesthetic gesture or “nature as decoration”, but as an experiential strategy, one that supports calm, reduces anxiety, and fosters a felt connection between body, space, and light.
“We collaborated with Smile House to design a space that feels grounded, human, and emotionally disarming rather than clinical. As with most of our work, biophilic principles guided the project not as decoration, but as an experience shaped by light, materiality, and spatial depth. Natural light moves through the space, warm woods and tactile surfaces anchor the body, and curved forms soften both movement and perception. The result is an environment that subtly reduces anxiety and reconnects patients to a sense of calm, orientation, and care.” - Karen Stonely and Peter Pelsinski, SPAN Architecture
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