Medical College Campus and Hospital

- A Case Study on new AIIMS Bhubaneswar, Care Hospital Bhubaneswar, Cherry

Hospital North Carolina, University of Cyprus Medical School, Rush University
Medical Centre Chicago

Priyanjita Adhikari National Institute of Technology Rourkela 114AR0002

Fig 1: View of Care Hospital Bhubaneswar

Research Summary
The case studies have been done in the context of designing a medical college campus, to analyze an existing, planning
setup of such campus. The site provided is part of the Vedanta University. The main aims and objective of this research is to
identify the design methodology best suited for such a medical college campus, to analyze the flow of spaces and the
linkage between the college and the hospital, to identify different units of a hospital, and to look for opportunities to
provide an improved learning environment through campus architecture. The research includes two types of case studies:
a) primary case studies and b) secondary case studies.
The primary case studies include the new AIIMS Bhubaneswar and Care Hospital Bhubaneswar which focuses on the
planning aspects of the hospital and college. The secondary case studies are Cherry Hospital North Carolina, University of
Cyprus Medical School and Rush University Medical Centre Chicago. These focuses on the environmental and ecological
considerations and the formation of interactive learning spaces. Thus, the research case studies have helped in concluding
some key points and develop our concept of designing the medical college campus. With new technologies, it is need of the
hour to combine designing of space with such technology that helps in creating sustainable campus. The research report
highlights such important concepts.

Keywords: flow of space, functionality, improved learning environment, planning approach, concept

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1. Introduction
A medical college means any institution by whatever
name called in which a person may undergo a course of
study or training including any post graduate course of
study or training which will qualify him for the award of
a recognized medical qualification. A medical college
campus also aids a fully functional hospital space which
has public access, professors and staff quarters,
students hostels, and other facility as may be required
by the institution to function properly.
2. Aims, Objectives and Motivations
To analyse an existing, planning setup of a
medical college campus similar in functions and
requirements as the one to be designed
To identify the design approach of an existing
medical college campus
To analyse the flow of the spaces and the link
between the college and the hospital
To study about the functionality and design
requirements being required for a medical college
To look for opportunities to provide an improved
learning environment through Campus
architecture
3. Methods
The methods followed for the research of the primary
case studies of hospitals and campus involves linear
strategy. It includes site visit, interviewing the doctors
and the students about the functional spaces,
equipment requirement, taking photographs of service
areas, and analysis of the floor plans. The secondary
case studies involve analysis of the design process via
diagrams, information and photographs provided over
internet sources.
4. Main Contents
This section highlights the key points of the case studies.
It includes the details of the architectural planning and
programming along with other relevant data.
4.1. Architecture
AIIMS Bhubaneswar is a medical college and medical
research public university designed by Hospitech
Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd. The medical college
comprise of the hospital and trauma centre, the nursing
Summary of Research/ Thesis
college, the mortuary area with incineration plant, the
medical college, administration block, AYUSH block and
residential complex.
Fig 2: Master plan of AIIMS Bhubaneswar
There are four main entries /exit to the campus
facilitating the patients and the students and faculty
members. There is an auditorium which has a separate
access from the site with its own parking area. The site
accommodates the staff parking in the basement of the
hospital and another public parking area. The medical
college accommodates the students of MBBS until third
year and the professors of each department. The
research laboratories are also accommodated in the
medical college. For the fourth and fifth year students,
they attend the patients in the hospital for practice. The
planning of the hospital is spine based development
where the main circulation is via a long corridor and all
the different departments are attached to it like
branches. This causes the problem for the students to
travel a long distance from the hospital and college.
For the services and facilities, there are service
courtyards inside the hospital to facilitate the oxygen
supply and other services. There are pipelines on the
terrace with overhead tanks for water supply.
The primary case study of Care Hospital located in
Bhubaneswar facilitated with the floor plans. Care
hospital Is built on a 2.5-acre land by RSP Architects
provided with 220 beds. The site has one entry and one
exit with access to the basement for parking and
services. The building has an emergency entry for the
trauma centre and a main entry. Its an eight storey
hospital building with both horizontal and vertical zoning
done very effectively. There are two vertical circulation
core with four lifts each. There is also a ramp on the
southern side of the building close to the emergency
entry. The hospital also has a kitchen and dining area in
the ground floor for its staff and patients.
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 Summary of Research/ Thesis

Patient rooms are related to residential

Fig 3: Vertical and Horizontal zoning of Care
Hospital Bhubaneswar
neighbourhoods, treatment areas to civic buildings,
recreational program to shops along Main Street, and
courtyards to city and neighbourhood parks. Varied
courtyard designs provide a counterpoint to the
repetitive architecture and are woven into the building
fabric. The landscapes aid way-finding by providing a
unique sense of place within the large building.
Together, these strategies aid in transitioning patients
back into a routine of daily life by providing
environments that support notions of home, work, and
community.

The ground has emergency department, pharmacy,

admin officers, radiology department, VIP lounge,
Counselling room and dining and kitchen along with
services. The first floor acts as the outpatient
department which has cardiology and CT consultation
department, and extended emergency department. The
second floor has ICCU, MICU, Cardiac Catheterisation &
EP Laboratory and HDU. The third floor serves all the
operation theatres. The upper floors take care of patient
wards and research laboratories. Overall, the building
floor has been divided on the basis of level of privacy
required for the different departments. The most public
departments like the emergency department is on the Fig 4: Design strategy of Cherry Hospital
ground floor. Similarly, OPD is divided into ground floor
and first floor. The patient wards are on the fifth, sixth 4.2. Programming
and seventh floor since these are the most private areas
of the department requiring more circulation space, A medical education institution consists of two major
services and away from noise. The dimension of the departments:
hospitals floor area is within the walking distance of the Basic Science Department
patients and doctors.
Clinical Department (being studied in hospital)
The secondary case study of Cherry Hospital located in
North Carolina focuses on the behavioural health facility
that provides psychiatric patients with dignity in a space
that is both safe and therapeutic. It is set in the heart of
the rural coastal plains of Eastern North Carolina.
Treatment at the hospital focuses on mental health
therapy that enables patients to recognize and cope
with the routine of daily lifefor these patients,
mimicking common daily activities like commuting to
work or visiting a park can be a significant challenge. The
design of Cherry Hospital addresses this by accentuating
transitions between programmatic components through
the use of material, scale, daylight, and modulation of
spatial conditions.

The formal strategy of the building program follows the Fig 5: Structure of a Medical College Campus
narrative of a small-town main street as a means to Along with its departments following spaces will be
further root the hospital in the culture of its inhabitants. designed in medical college:

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 Summary of Research/ Thesis

Departmental Laboratories with all facilities

Departmental offices
Lecture theatres
Auditorium
Seminar rooms
Workshops and Learning laboratories
Library
Administration
Animal houses
The spaces would be planned in such a way that
academic block should have a noise free environment
along with the consideration of hygienic environment.
The planning would be a blend of learning spaces,
interactive spaces, other activities spaces, open spaces,
circulation and statics. This information is as per Loralai
Medical College located in Pakistan. The following tables
reflect the area programming of Loralai Medical college.

Table 1. Admin block and Academic block

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 Summary of Research/ Thesis

4.3. Interactive spaces; Spaces for Formal and
Informal Learning
Cherry Hospital provides for interactive informal spaces
for the patients and the staff too. It consists of a number
of courtyard with different landscape that aids to
therapeutic healing of the psychiatric patients. Varied
courtyard designs provide a counterpoint to the
repetitive architecture and are woven into the building
fabric. These landscapes aid way-finding by providing a
unique sense of place within a large building.
The terrarium acts as a skylight providing ample daylight
in the lobby which is interesting because the landscape
of the terrarium is going to change with seasons creating
a positive ambience inside the hospital. At the junction
of new and old hospital is a multi-story entry pavilion
whose roof is landscaped to provide a patient staff
garden at level four that connects by bridge to the
existing parking structure and has upper level patient
check-in facilities. Skylights act as roof garden sculptural
elements and provide natural light for the entry pavilion
below. The walls of one of these skylights project down
to the floor. Of the entry pavilion to introduce an
exterior landscaped space without compromising
internal contamination issues associated with plantings.

Fig 6: Courtyard plans of Cherry Hospital

Rush University Medical Centre situated in Chicago has

combined nature with the infrastructure by building a
terrarium inside the structure. This hospital is part of a
campus-wide transformation project, which also
includes an orthopaedic building, parking structure and
new loading and delivery systems. The 800,000-square-
foot hospital consists of 386 patient beds along with
diagnostic and treatment facilities, such as surgery, Fig 8: Terrarium section
radiology and emergency departments.

Fig 9: Terrarium details

Fig 7: Terrarium Lobby Axonometric view of Rush
The terrarium is an upgraded form of courtyard which
University Medical Centre
can be further incorporated in our design.

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 Summary of Research/ Thesis

4.4. Climate, Environmental and Ecological

factors

University of Cyprus Medical School located in Nicosia

aims at creating a Campus within the Campus: A space
where interaction among students, faculty members and
researchers can facilitate debate, creativity and
potential fruitful collaborations. A cloister configuration
with different programme entities around a central
circulation and relational space is the simplest and more
effective solution to promote interaction between the
different types of population. The central patio is the
social core of the building and its bioclimatic lung and
regulator.

The simple form of the building -a rectangular plan with

a central rectangular void- searches to provide a flexible
modular infrastructure, easy to build using prefabricated
systems and easy to reconfigure internally if future
changes in the space and programme needs are
required, especially in the research labs.

Using a configuration of cloisters of different programs
around a central circulation space, the building
promotes interaction with a central patio forming both a
social core and bioclimatic regulator.
Fig 11: Roof system details of Cyprus Medical
School
All the elements, from the facade, patios, roof to the
structure have been designed to achieve a highly
efficient building taking advantage of passive and active
strategies that will reduce:
Energy consumption (75%) and demand (50%)
Water consumption (90%) and demand (50%)
Material volume and energy (55%)
Waste (using industrialized systems) (85%)

Fig 10: Bioclimatic section of the courtyard 4.5. Universal Design (disabled, aged people
and children)
Overall, this project will save energy by reducing
standard energy consumption by 75% and reducing
Universal design standards need to be followed when
standard potable water consumption by 90%. The roof
designing for a medical college campus. This includes
system consists of ETFE roof which can accumulate or
providing ramp, lifts, patient toilets, toilet for especially
dissipate solar gain. It can let direct sunlight inside or
abled people, aged people and children. In AIIMS
block it with sunshades creating a controlled courtyard
Bhubaneswar, there is a ramp block connected to the
environment which favour as a sustainable design
main circulation spine which is near to the emergency
strategy as well as aids to the informal learning spaces
trauma entry. In Care Hospital, 2.5-metre-wide ramp
for students and staffs. The technological systems are
connects the emergency entry with the OPD on the first
based on standardization, speed and simple construction
floor for quick access of patients and doctors. There is an
and provide high thermal inertia.
ambulance parking area near to emergency entry so that
the patients can immediately be taken into the ICU.

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 Summary of Research/ Thesis

Fig 12: Ramp system of AIIMS Bhubaneswar

4.6. Building by-laws

The building by-laws adhere to the location by-laws

which provides necessary guidelines to be followed
when planning a medical hospital and college. AIIMS
Bhubaneswar has a public parking area and also
basement beneath the hospital as per by-laws of
Bhubaneswar to accommodate the parking requirement.
There is minimum setback of 6 metres on all sides
followed in both AIIMS Bhubaneswar and Care hospital
for fire-fighting systems. Fire hose pipe has been
installed near the buildings along with sprinkler system
and fire alarms. The building by-laws is as per National
Building Code for hospital and university. Minimum
Standard Requirement for the Medical College for 250
Fig 14: Inner service courtyard of AIIMS
admissions is also followed for AIIMS Bhubaneswar
provided by Medical Council of India (MCI).
Bhubaneswar

4.7. Building Services, MEP (Mechanical, 5. Inferences

Electrical, and Plumbing)
Fig 13: Oxygen supply and mechanical ventilation
pipes on the terrace of AIIMS Bhubaneswar
The main services are posted mainly on the terrace with
pipelines distributed throughout the floors. There is an
electrical substation constructed inside the AIIMS
Bhubaneswar campus.
a) The planning pattern, a single building block
divided by landscaped courtyards is a good
solution to avoid wastage of space, construction
materials, unnecessary walkways and discomfort in
moving from department to department if
separated by individual building blocks.
b) As seen, laboratories of some departments are
separated by other functional space like a seminar
hall or they are either placed on separate floors.
This disperse a class and cause more movement
and hence noise. This could have been avoided if
all labs and lecture rooms of a particular
department would have been placed closely and
interconnected.
c) The placement of college building in relation to
other facilities in the site is quite important as it
directs the flow of students and patients inside the
campus.
d) Interactive learning spaces helps in enhancing the
indoor atmosphere of a college as well as of a
hospital.

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 Summary of Research/ Thesis

e) The different functional units of a medical college 7. References

campus can be single-centred as well as multi-
centred.
Eric Oh. "Miba Architects' University of Cyprus Medical
f) Merging with the surrounding context helps the
School Proposal Combines Lab and Social Space"
campus to thrive better with the population of that
13 Mar 2016. ArchDaily. Accessed 28 Jul 2017.
area. Retrieved from
g) Incorporation of sustainable design strategies will
http://www.archdaily.com/783536/miba-
be helpful for the college for future endeavors. architects-university-of-cyprus-medical-school-
h) Therapeutic healing can be part of the design proposal-combines-lab-and-social-space/
concept. New Hospital Tower Rush University Medical Center /
Perkins+Will"
6. Conclusions 04 Nov 2013. ArchDaily. Accessed 28 Jul 2017.
Retrieved from
From the observed data and analysis following major http://www.archdaily.com/443648/new-
conclusions could be drawn: hospital-tower-rush-university-medical-center-
a) The quality of views from the site is a very perkins-will/
important aspect. The design must have such Cherry Hospital North Carolina / Perkins+Will"
criteria as to incorporate this quality boldly 22 Jun 2017. ArchDaily. Accessed 28 Jul 2017.
both as a functional and a recreational element. Retrieved from
b) The access to other facilities primarily hospital http://www.archdaily.com/874162/cherry-
from the college must be on a convenient hospital-perkins-plus-will/
walking distances. To achieve this, it is very
important to control the vehicular and
pedestrian traffic and noise of the neighbouring
building.
c) Individual or combined, each department
should be self-sufficient of all facilities and
services.
d) The administration should be placed as to
provide easy access guest and visitors. This
could avoid the mingling of administration and
teaching affairs.
e) Some special features should be introduced to
create focal points, nodes and landmarks as
they help in defining the hierarchy of spaces
and building clear mental maps.
f) Courtyards are a good element to enjoy the
natural climate, to invite natural in the interior
and if landscaped properly, could prove a place
of great attraction. Selection of functional
garden furniture and shading devices like
gazebos are inevitable.
g) In designing the interior common spaces, it
should be considered that the study of medical
sciences requires a lot of brain effort and is
really hard. So the spaces should be relaxing
and equally live to provide nervous relaxation
and mental refreshment. Natural light, air and a
sensible selection of finishing materials can help
to achieve this. Keeping this point in mind,
spaces specially lecture rooms and teaching
halls should be designed accordingly.