- Healthcare
- Higher Education
— CLIENT
Regional Institute of Allied Health Sciences
— SECTOR
Healthcare
Higher Education
— SERVICES
Architecture
Landscape Design
Masterplanning
— VALUE
₹166m (Bhagalpur; c. £1.8m)
₹152m (Bhubaneswar; c. £1.6m)
India suffers from a lack of skilled paramedicals – a problem which has plagued its healthcare system for some time. India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare set up the Regional Institute of Allied Health Sciences to help bridge that skills gap, with a vision for eight teaching institutes across the country.
We won the commissions for two of these institutes, in Bhagalpur and Bhubaneswar in India’s eastern states. The institutes needed to bring a range of complex services and building types onto one campus; we also challenged the brief to create spaces which were highly sustainable, and promoted student and staff wellbeing.
We started the design process by thinking about the people who would ultimately use the facilities, and worked outwards from there. The masterplans of the campuses reflect this: administration and academic activities sit at the heart of each site, with sweeping vistas outwards.
Sustainability goes hand in hand with campus wellbeing. For instance, we designed each campus to be largely free of vehicles, with parking near the main gate. This allowed us to take areas that would have been used for campus roads and parking, and to devote them to
landscaped areas for students, staff and visitors to enjoy. Removing vehicles from the campus placed a greater reliance on accessible, and we worked hard to ensure that the sites were wheelchair accessible throughout.
With a wide range of facilities from student accommodation to lecture theatres and labs, the Regional Institute of Allied Health Sciences campuses now play a vital role in training up the next generation of Indian healthcare professionals.
“These institutes will play a vital role in shaping the future of skilled professionals in the field.”
– SIDDHANT JAIN, PROJECT ASSOCIATE