Weaving magic with bricks

Imbibing the client brief of ‘grandeur’ as a key element Symbiosis Hospital and Research Center (SUHRC) in Pune designed by IMK Architects, is a sight to behold amidst the hills its nested in

Established on the lower slopes of a hill, amidst the sprawling 40 acres land of Pune’s renowned educational institute Symbiosis, SUHRC has been developed on a forested hill, in a discrete and quiet location. Envisaged as a Multi-Specialty Hospital to provide excellent health care facilities and a State of the art - Centre that would enhance Skill development in the Field of Medicine, the development envisions to educate and empower medical students. Conceptualized to cater to the needs of all the stakeholders, the hospital caters to the nearby population of Pune and its neighboring areas, while providing Tele-Medicine services to ensure outreach services to peripheral, far-flung and access-compromised settlements. Amidst today’s context, currently, the hospital is being used for Government welfare as COVID 19 hospital.

Sitting along a slope, the building is strategically positioned to minimise the cut-and-fill of the hill site. Planned as a robust curve along the contours of the land, it forms the façade of the project. Imbibing the client brief of ‘grandeur’ being a key element, two significant and symbolic entrances have been designed, distinct in approach to cater to the client brief of unique identities for the hospital and the academic block. While the entry to the hospital is welcoming, peaceful, it also provides a sense of grandeur along with a structure that expresses solidarity, resonating care, and shelter for the patients in distress. A large open-to-sky courtyard separates the centre from the hospital. The entrances for both these blocks lie on either side of the building, making them seem like two completely different entities, providing the students with different access as well as a space for them for relaxation and academic purposes.