Raheel Malik and Richard Porter explain how 15 years of teaching, almost 50 property viewings and an uncompromising approach to detail culminated in Aspire Dental Academy, a space designed to make learning feel different.
For years, Aspire operated from hired venues. The courses were successful, but teaching within somebody else’s limitations left Raheel and Richard wondering what education could look like if those limitations disappeared.
THE START OF THE STORY
Raheel qualified from King’s College London in 2010 and developed course notes other dentists wanted to use. Richard graduated from Guy’s Hospital in 1999 and later became a consultant at St George’s Hospital.
They met around 15 years ago and shared the same approach to education: no ego, no hiding failures and no reluctance to be challenged. Their aim was better dentistry and patient outcomes.
ROOM TO GROW
Finding a permanent home took years. Raheel viewed almost 50 properties, sometimes walking through empty buildings with phone torches and imagining where surgeries and teaching spaces might fit.
Then he spotted a closed Sainsbury’s on Mortimer Street in central London. Its central London location and possibilities felt right. It was also two-and-a-half times larger than planned.
They decided to take the leap.
THE RIGHT PEOPLE – RPA DENTAL
RPA Dental became fundamental from the property search onwards. Whenever a potential site appeared, Raheel would call Pete Higson at RPA Dental to discuss whether it could work as a clinical environment.
That relationship continued throughout the project. Trusted expertise mattered. When challenges arose, the team solved them together rather than assigning blame.
TAKING THE LEAP
Investing in a permanent academy was a risk. Costs evolved, cash flow was challenging and the founders broke the transformation into manageable goals.
Their partnership helped them through difficult decisions. As Richard puts it, sometimes one plus one equals 17.
FIT, FUNCTION AND AESTHETICS
The academy had to achieve all three. Raheel and Richard were particular about every detail, working closely with architects and designers as ideas developed.
Richard’s original brief drew on Plato’s Academy and the allegory of the cave, with education seen as a route to freedom and opportunity. This influenced the earthy tones, lighting and materials throughout the building.
They wanted the environment to inspire without intimidating.
DESIGNED FOR LEARNING
Everything was considered around how people absorb information. Acoustic consultants helped address noise, including how to prevent anxious patients hearing dental equipment from waiting areas.
Lighting, layout and audiovisual systems received equal attention. Clinical surgeries can connect to teaching spaces for live demonstrations, allowing delegates to see procedures in remarkable detail.
Raheel and Richard believe in showing real dentistry, including the difficult parts. Dentistry is hard. Education should not pretend otherwise.
MORE THAN A COURSE
Aspire also recognised that clinicians face pressures beyond technical dentistry. Conversations with delegates about careers, health and wellbeing helped shape the academy’s wellness facilities.
The ambition is to help dentists flourish, professionally and personally.
THE FINISHED RESULT
The project brought sleepless nights, countless revisions and technical challenges. Yet the finished building closely reflects the original vision.
For Richard, it means teaching in an environment he helped create. For Raheel, quiet early mornings offer a chance to remember the work behind every detail.
The true measure of Aspire will be what happens to the dentists who learn there and the patients they go on to treat.
INSIGHTS FROM RPA DENTAL
RPA Dental’s involvement began long before construction on Mortimer Street. Pete Higson and RPA Dental worked with Raheel and Richard to assess potential properties and establish whether their plans were clinically feasible.
This was far more than a conventional dental fit-out. The building needed teaching facilities, clinical surgeries and dental, medical and wellness spaces, all with a consistent design identity.
The work required close coordination between architects, M&E consultants, contractors, equipment specialists and the project management team. The basement presented particular challenges involving ceiling heights, waterproofing and service routes.
From phantom head teaching facilities to clinical surgeries, equipment planning had to support the way Aspire teaches and works. Even unexpected setbacks, including the loss of the original audiovisual contractor, were met through communication and collaboration.
The result is a technically complex, carefully considered academy unlike anything RPA Dental had worked on before.
