Architects Journal

Malls are going through a downturn as there is a decrease in the number of people spending hours in the mall, window shopping and purchasing.
Though a lot of these are being taken up for office spaces, almost 2096 of these are still vacant. While no one likes to see businesses dip, dead malls and the extra commercial spaces can provide great opportunities to redevelop them. We can expect to see these spaces re-inhabited, re-greened and retrofitted for new business.

Traditional rules of thumb in healthcare planning have changed. Once-accepted rules can now be the wrong course to take for healthcare institutions looking to maintain and grow their competitive position in the marketplace.

The word “retrofit” as we are aware suggests fitting in or on to an existing structure OR to substitute new or modernized parts or equipment for older ones. This has been in vogue for the last few years with an objective of protecting existing as well as utilizing redundant facilities. This applies to Healthcare facilities as well since they are always constantly evolving in terms of technology, methodology and care delivery systems. Retrofitting is an apt way to keep step with the transformation.

Kshititi Nagarkar is among the very few Architects in the country with a specialization in the healthcare sector. A Masters of Architecture from Sir JJ College of Architecture took Kshititi to varied institutes of healthcare from private to public facilities and has made her aware of ground realities of this sector. Here Ms. Nagarkar shares her rich experience of designing in this field.