PROJECT DETAILS

Professional work: SJK Architects, Mumbai

Client: JSW Foundation

Location: Dolvi village, Alibaug, India

Year involved: 2016 - May 2017

COLLABORATORS

Lead Architects: Shimul Javeri Kadri, Sarika Shetty

Team: Isha Hans, Bhavin Patel, Vijay Sakpal

Others: Structural Consultant, HVAC Consultant, MEP Consultant Hospital Consultant

ROLE

Conceptual Design, Design Development, Architectural Articulation, Detailed Drawings, Consultant collaboration, Presentation Drawings

TOOLS

Hand sketches, Vectorworks, Photoshop, Google SketchUp, AutoCAD

category

Experience Design   |   Spatial Design

about the project

Corporate Social Responsibility project

JSW Foundation is the social development arm of JSW (Jindal Steel Work) group. The foundations intended to build a hospital for its steel plant workers in the village of Dolvi, Alibaug.

the challenge and opportunity

Hospitals are daunting environments for both the patient and the patient family.

There is now widespread consensus that a hospital’s physical environment can have a big effect on patient recovery and efficacy of care, as well as efficiency of working for the staff. Keeping this as the prime focus of the design, the intent was to create a patient and staff-friendly space, one that expresses compassion, wellness, and beauty.

design principles

Humble

Inclusive

Playful

the outcome

Hospital Building that resembles village houses connected by corridors to create a sense of familiarity. 

Adaptation of Local Architecture

The site is located in the coastal town of Alibaug and receives heavy rainfall every year. The vernacular architecture makes use of large overhangs & sloping roofs to protect against this.

Borrowing from the language of local houses, the hospital is proposed to have cantilevered balconies and deep roof overhangs. In addition to being climatically responsive, the use of similar elements as the village houses is expected to foster a sense of familiarity for the incoming rural patients.

Introverted building overlooking courtyards

The three-story hospital is planned as two linear strips joined at one end and connected by intermediate corridors. All the corridors, passages, and waiting areas overlook the courtyards thus formed. This pattern of opening up the building towards lush spaces acts as a relief architecturally while still allowing visual connection and interaction.

In areas like OT and ICU where transmission of infection is a concern, all corridors and passages are covered with glass.

Character of Courtyards

The courtyards serve two important functions:

1. Bring in sunlight and ambient light to all parts of the building
   Sunlight is said to trigger the release of a hormone called serotonin, which is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused. This would aid in recovery and mental wellbeing.
2. Allow waiting space to spill out to an open area
   Being located in a rural context, the hospital is expected to have a high footfall of accompanying patient family members. Hence, in addition to the waiting for each department, the courtyards are proposed to have simple seating arrangements through steps and built-in seats. In a few parts, the department waiting for area bubbles into the courtyard through playful elements like jharokhas.

Physical Model

Earthy and Warm Aesthetics

The proposed aesthetic articulation of the building is earthy, has warmth, and looks like an up-scaled version of the village house. The material for construction is pigmented concrete in beige, which implies a welcoming and friendly nature. Additionally, it reflects most of the wavelengths of white light thereby ensuring that the courtyards are aglow with natural light.

My learnings and reflections

Experience-based approach to Architecture

This project was an Aha! moment in my career journey, as I realized that I was already practicing an experience-based approach to Design. While 'human-centered' was beginning to become a buzzword for UX and HCI design, my architectural design process had always accounted for it starting with Ethnography and Field Research.

Focus on an ignored stakeholder group

The traditional architecture design process involves the client and other subject matter experts (or consultants) but the voices of some groups of end-users may not be heard or even considered. We focussed the spatial design on the experience of rural patients and their families because they are a key stakeholder group whose mental wellbeing is often ignored in the process. The final design was a direct outcome of this intent along with accommodating an efficient workflow for the healthcare staff.

Participatory and co-design in Architecture

Despite our bold stance, we were unable to take direct feedback from the rural community as the design evolved. I wonder, how might we have included the rural patients in the design process. How might we have understood their concerns firsthand as the prospective users of the space, instead of making assumptions? How might we have co-designed with them, for them?