As the first multispeciality hospital in Maharashtra’s infrastructure-starved Dolvi village, JSW Sanjeevani Hospital provides better healthcare to the local community and also facilitates the region’s economic and infrastructural growth. An antithesis to the typical fear-inducing hospital environments, the design facilitates both physical and emotional well-being for patients, staff, and visitors by connecting them with nature, art, and each other. The design addresses sustainability in a holistic manner – environmentally, socially, and economically.

Zoning from site to building levels ensures seamless navigation and movement for various user groups, positioning the hospital centrally with parking in the north and ancillary services at the back, while distinct adjacencies at the building level facilitate easy horizontal and vertical circulation for emergency, patients, and staff. The public spaces are infused with vibrant colours, murals, and sculptures to evoke a positive emotional response and ease stress, utilising traditional Gond art inspired by nature as a tool to facilitate connection, belonging and well-being. Integrating passive design, the hospital prioritises physical well-being by optimising natural light and airflow, minimising infection transmission. In-patient and clinical spaces are located along the northern edge of the building to bring in glare-free natural light.

On the southern side, open corridors and waiting areas with deep, sloping overhangs allow natural light while blocking direct sunlight. The corridors and balconies shield against heavy rains while creating a comforting east-west wind channel for inhabitants in hot, humid weather. 100% of the public spaces are naturally ventilated. Air conditioning is strictly limited to critical clinical spaces (20% of the total campus area), saving 50 watts of energy per square meter. The thermal efficiency of AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) block masonry used in external and internal walls further reduces heating and cooling loads.

Slag, a by-product and waste generated during the steel production process at the nearby steel plant and procured from within a 1km radius of the site, has been used in plinth filling. Overall, these choices contributed toward making the project environmentally and economically sustainable. The project integrates regenerative landscape strategies by channelling stormwater into percolation pits for groundwater recharge, utilizing grey water from the sewage and effluent treatment plants for landscape irrigation and flushing systems, and employing vermicomposting to decompose kitchen waste and enhance soil fertility. A centralized, 6000L solar-powered hot water system is installed in the hospital. Other energy-saving features include variable chilled water system, carbon-monoxide sensor, dual flush, and water-saving faucets for sustainability.

Zoning and Spatial Programme: Ensuring Efficient Circulation At the site level, the hospital building is positioned at the center of the site, with the parking out front in the north and the ancillary services located at the back. At the building level, the distinct adjacencies in zoning and circulation for the emergency, patients, and staff, both horizontally and vertically, allow for easy navigation. The ground floor comprises emergency services, outpatient departments, diagnostics, and other forms of ambulatory care.

The upper floors consist of the in-patient department, with OTs and ICUs concentrated on the first floor and patient wards on the second floor. The centrally-located main entrance lobby on the ground floor overlooks the greens on the south and splits the building into eastern and western wings. The registration and waiting areas are tucked in the western wing overlooking the gardens on the south, and the emergency spaces have been planned in the eastern wing. Waiting areas for all critical and non-critical zones on the two floors above are also placed in the middle, edged by the central staircase with a view of the greens on the south. To guide user movement across the building’s several zones, ochre-colored Ita Gold limestone is used as flooring across all non-clinical circulation corridors to lay down a clearly perceivable pathway. The hospital also caters to visitors passing by the adjoining national highway by providing separate external entries to the cafeteria and the public washrooms on the ground floor, located along the building’s western periphery.

Fostering Belonging and Facilitating Connection for Emotional Well-Being The facility is designed as a welcoming, non-intimidating space, utilizing warm, earthy colors and thoughtful architectural elements like balconies, terraces, and built-in seating areas to foster a sense of comfort, interaction, and calm recuperation for patients, staff, and visitors alike. Connection with nature has also been a particular focus of the design, with many studies linking it with reduced anger, fear, and stress and increased feelings of pleasantness.

Originally a barren, slag-filled land with no vegetation, the site has now been transformed into a green oasis. The plants chosen are hardy, indigenous, and can take the quantum of rains this region experiences. The thought into the art programme integrated within the building using the tribal Gond art form (a nature-inspired Tribal art form practised by the Gond tribe of Central India) and the Kalamkari art form (a traditional art form from the Deccan region of India) that depicts nature in various forms. Large murals are installed in public circulation and waiting areas across all levels.

In addition, within the consultation rooms, in-patient department, and maternity rooms, smaller framed Gond artworks depict stories from nature similarly. Offering the Local Community Opportunities to Thrive The hospital, designed for the well-being of the local community, offers 13+ specialized consultancies aligned with the primary medical needs of the people. Its flexible structural grid of 7.2m X 7.2m allows it to configure internal space adjustments.

Treatment prices are competitive, matching local healthcare facilities but with superior infrastructure. Free services are offered under government schemes. The hospital promotes local employment, with 99% of the staff (more than 235 people) residing within a 25-kilometer radius to decrease distressed migration. Regular medical camps reach 15-gram panchayats and 10 districts, benefiting over 150+ people per camp. The upcoming phase will expand the hospital to 150 beds and introduce a nursing college, aiming for economic self-sufficiency by inducting 50% of nurses in-house.

Category:Green ArchitectureYear:2024Location: Mumbai, IndiaArchitects:SJK ArchitectsLead Architect:Sarika ShettyLandscape Architects:AMS ConsultantsDesign Team:Shimul Javeri Kadri, Bhavin Patel, Harshini Yohee, Sapna Rohra, and Rishit JainClient:JSW FoundationPhotographers:Rajesh Vora and Niveditaa Gupta