
The Project: Twig Fertility Clinic, Toronto
Client: Twig Fertility, an in vitro fertilization and egg-freezing clinic and lab in midtown Toronto, was co-founded by Zach Shapiro, Tanner Kohara, and Rhonda Zwingerman. As former patients themselves, Kohara and Shapiro knew that the patient experience in Canadian fertility needed a significant overhaul: “With Twig’s patient-first approach, we have redesigned both the physical and digital experience into an elevated, modern, and cohesive journey for our patients,” Kohara says. “We have also put the same level of thought into the design and build-out of our IVF laboratory.”

Designer: Islyn (eye-lynn) is a women-run design studio, founded by Ashley Wilkins and based in Brooklyn, N.Y., which creates hotels, retail spaces, restaurants, and objects that explore contemporary culture and aesthetics through a lens of immersive sensory experience. Wilkins, now the firm's founder and creative director, started Islyn in 2017 as a way to shift design into a kinder, more meaningful place. With a decade of experience at a wide swath of design firms, including Ace Hotel Group, Rockwell, Avroko, and Crème Design, where she worked with clients like Walt Disney Imagineering, Four Seasons, and Buzzfeed, Wilkins is well-versed in the inner workings of large-scale hospitality, retail, and commercial projects. She holds a B.FA. in Interior Design from Ringling College of Art and Design, in Sarasota, Fla.
Inside the Project

Host Lounge
The warmth of materials selected makes the space more residential and less like a doctor’s office. The details connect with the neighborhood through incorporating Neo-Georgian window details and Neoclassical decorative touches, and include a chevron wood floor, cream wall paint, and walnut wood millwork. Antimicrobial, wipeable upholstered seating accommodates a variety of different groups of people, and feels separate enough for COVID-19 safety but can expand to accommodate for a busy morning of appointments.

Secondary Entrance
With the entrances, privacy is important. With a front entrance and a secondary one in the back, we had to figure out how to welcome and greet people, and move them around the space through different corridors to make sure that there is no crossover, since privacy is so key.

Changing Room
We want this patient changing room to be reminiscent of a high-end gym or a spa. There’s a plush carpeted floor; everybody has their own private locker, a basket to carry clothes to the exam room, and a custom robe from Deiji Studios to change into; and all of that is kept super private from any visibility area. We also helped the client to find brands to help curate the clinic spaces with thoughtful retail partnerships with Canadian-based brands like Binu Binu for natural soaps and Vitruvi for essential oils and diffusers, and curated brands from elsewhere such as Lightwell Co., Hatch, and Golden Flourish, to name a few.

Recovery Rooms
Each recovery room is like a mini hotel room for each client, with a comfortable recliner, a side table for tea, and a reading lamp. Everything has a hospitality effect but is super durable, with high-performing wood-like laminates and bleach-cleanable drapes. Outside, nurses have a beautiful desk, with an integrated metal frame that offers a privacy area and a hidden file cabinet.

Ultrasound Room
This room has all the features of an examination room: an exam table, an ultrasound machine, medical storage, a privacy panel for changing clothing, and comfortable seating for a partner. There’s also an armchair and side table if a blood draw is needed. The chair is wipeable vinyl and not leather; we look to products that exist in hospitality that can be used in healthcare. How do you make things indestructible but still look beautiful?
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