Dr Karen Doherty Clinic
Max Radford has transformed an aesthetic center for Dr Karen Doherty in Shoreditch that feels more like a gallery than a clinic. With Lámina 45, Singular, TMM Metálico, and Sisisí Cónicas Planas lighting the interior.
Crossing the threshold of this space one might think they had entered a gallery or a design showroom. Dr Karen Doherty, aesthetic practitioner to London’s discerning clientele, demonstrates with this new centre both her contemporary outlook and her meticulous taste — qualities reflected not only in her advanced treatments, but also in a workplace that stands in marked contrast to conventional medical interiors.
In the heart of Shoreditch, designer and gallerist Max Radford has transformed this 750 m² space into an interior inspired by the old Italian galleries, by rationalism, and by the minimalism of the 1970s. At reception, an elegant black‑stone counter sets the tone: sombre, austere, restrained, and elevated. It is followed by steel details, sculptures on plinths, mirrors, very few yet carefully chosen pieces of furniture, chairs by Eileen Gray, Philippe Malouin or Maarten van Severen, Andrée Putman’s steel washbasins, and a collection of 20th‑ and 21st‑century art. It is an astonishing level of subtlety for a clinic, and a reflection of its founder’s concept of beauty, which goes beyond standards and trends. Warm light, contained details and a composed atmosphere offer clients a calming experience.
Within this dark, tactile, almost domestic environment, our lighting adds warmth. Their soft geometries act as a deliberate counterpoint to the cold white light so common in medical settings. On the walls, Antoni Arola’s Lámina 45 sconces: thin arched aluminum sheets that cast a nuanced play of projected shadows. Alongside them, Singular by Miguel Milá, subtle as a veil of light and bearing the quiet clarity characteristic of its creator. In the bathrooms, the TMM Metálico wall lights, also by Miguel, hold up to humidity better than their wooden counterparts. Suspended from the ceiling of the main room, the Sisisí Cónicas Planas — a 1987 design by Gabriel Ordeig, as forceful as it is light.
