CNS Neurology Hospital - architecturally integrated healthcare solutions!

By Sonal Mamoowala

Photography: Andre J Fanthome; courtesy Archohm

  

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Following the tenets of hospitality that are fast transforming healthcare architecture, Archohm designs the CNS Neurology Hospital in Patna, where the building itself responds as a conscientious healthcare contributor!

Built on a mere 765 sq.m. plot in a congested area of Patna, the hospital stands apart, like an artist’s canvas amidst its chaotic urban neighbourhood. But this is not its only arresting aspect. The six-storey multi-specialty hospital is a green building that has its building envelope acclimatised to provide the most fresh and congenial interior environment.

 

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The fascinating front façade in the form of a large, dark-coloured, punctuated solid mass of rough stone cladding with its finely balanced glass component and multiple fenestrations is equipped with adjustable vertical louvers (acting as sun shades) in bright red, yellow and orange, filtering harsh light and providing ventilation. On its rear side, an open-to-sky staircase fabricated in metal is enveloped by a wire mesh supporting a vertical garden, which insulates the building and camouflages the service block.

 

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Inside, the hospital is designed as two individual blocks connected by a central service core for easy and unhindered circulation. The atrium space serves as the pulse of the building with interventions through openings, light, air, colour, furniture and vistas of flowing spaces that establish the  ‘happiness and hope quotient’ of the patients. This is augmented by the colours of the façade continuing into the interior spaces, enlivening an antiseptic environment as extensive use of glass nullifies boundaries, providing for a homogenous spatial experience.

 

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Housed in a semi-open area, steel sculptures of inter faith religious insignia are a sensitive inclusion as they decorate the spill-over space sending a message of thoughtful integration and oneness.

 

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The cherry on the cake, so to say, is the graphic design element that pops up as vibrant and meaningful signage (considering a large populace of Bihar is uneducated) aimed more at a fulfilling end-user experience. Besides the mandatory way-finding and infographics, fun facts on the ‘Hippocratic Oath’, reiterates the tagline of the hospital, which is 'for you, for life'.