The Design Lab aims to explore the intersection between development sciences and spatial design, with a focus on the urban context. The driving principle of the Design Lab is to derive significantly enhanced outcomes in terms of aesthetics and sustainability from the initiatives of urban development and development sector that this is primarily a complex function of people, resources and context.
The IIHS Design Lab’s portfolio includes strategic campus development planning, health care infrastructure planning, policy interventions for green buildings, spatial design and sustainable material guidelines, master planning and sustainable services in the built environment at the scale of sites and buildings.
The work of the Design Lab straddles the Research and Practice programmes at IIHS, converting learning from research into insights for practice, and lessons from practice into knowledge on the built environment.
As required from time to time, the Design Lab plays an advisory role in Research and Practice projects and Urban Practitioners’ Programme of IIHS that require formulation of lines of inquiry and interventions that encompass spatial design.
ABOUT
The Design Lab aims to anchor aspects of spatial design within the broader work of IIHS, while simultaneously developing its own specialised work in the fields of architecture and design which includes inquiries in spatial design of development sector interventions, as well as recommendations for localisation of such interventions through socio-cultural, governance, temporal and material inquiry and analysis. The core approach is through questioning and intervening on the concept of ‘sustainability in context’ associated with development sector interventions.
AREAS OF WORK
Spatial Design in the Development and Urban Development Sector
The Design Lab focuses on aspects of spatial planning, urban design and architecture in the context of urban development and the development sector. The work includes inquiries in spatial design of development sector interventions and recommendations for localisation of such interventions through socio-cultural, governance and material inquiry and analysis. The core approach is through questioning and intervening on the concept of ‘sustainability in context’ associated with development sector interventions. Design Lab projects include design guidelines for primary health care infrastructure (sites and buildings) and revamping of government District Hospitals.
Campus Planning and Design
The Design Lab along with campus development team is anchoring the process of the development of IIHS campuses. The work includes all vision and planning document, architectural design brief and guidelines, area programme, coordination with consultants for site studies and surveys, ecological master plan, urban design master plan, landscape master plan, etc. The approach is to develop campus planning, design, execution and management processes that may be replicable (as processes) in other campuses that IIHS develops, as well as other campuses of other institutions. The Design Lab has developed the Preliminary Development Plan, including the master plan, staffing and capital expenditure outlays for the Tamil Nadu Institute for Urban Studies (TNIUS) Coimbatore.
Green Buildings
Environmental sustainability is a growing and critical concern among policy-makers, corporates, and research and practice groups/institutions. The Design Lab anchors the discussions and interventions in IIHS on green buildings and sustainability of the built environment from an environmental lens. The approach is through an unbundling of the life-cycle costs of built environment interventions in terms of natural and financial resource usage. The Design Lab, in coordination with the Climate Change team at IIHS, is engaged in developing policy recommendations to encourage sustainable housing.
PROJECTS
Karnataka Health System Development and Reform Project (KHSDRP)- Guidelines for Primary Health Care Infrastructure (Sites and Buildings)
The IIHS Design Lab developed design and services infrastructure guidelines for primary health care infrastructure in 2015-16 for Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka through the Karnataka Health Systems Development and Reform Project (KHSDRP). The guidelines document included aspects of sustainable site planning, regional climate responsive strategies, comprehensive set of recommendations and practices for sustainable services such as water supply, sanitation and energy, besides a set of type designs, room details and visual language components for Auxiliary Nurse and Midwife (ANM) Sub-centres, Primary Health Centres (PHC) and Community Health Centres (CHC) to be developed in the state of Karnataka.
Tamil Nadu Institute for Urban Studies(TNIUS) – Preliminary Development Plan for TNIUS Coimbatore campus and regional centres
Tamil Nadu Institute of Urban Studies (TNIUS) approached the IIHS Design Lab in September 2016 to help them develop a ten-year master plan for their 3.8-acre campus in Coimbatore and other proposed regional centres. IIHS Design Lab developed a comprehensive area programme, phased master plan, spatial standards and environmental benchmarks for the campus, which were then compiled into a Preliminary Development Plan proposal and submitted to the 5th State Finance Commission (SFC) of the Government of Tamil Nadu. TNIUS has obtained approval for a first tranche of funding from the SFC for the development of their Coimbatore Campus.
International Finance Corporation (IFC) – Policy Analysis and Recommendations for Sustainable Housing for Sustainable Housing Leadership Consortium (SHLC)
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group (WBG) has commissioned the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) in 2017 to conduct a policy analysis to develop potential policy bundles that could encourage sustainable housing at scale. The policy recommendations are being developed by the Design Lab in close coordination with the Climate Change team at IIHS and are supported by analytical evidence, Indian and international reference cases and implementation protocols for various levels and sectors of government.
Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project (UPHSSP) -Multipronged strategy for revamping the Outpatient and Emergency Departments (OPD, ED) in 10 District hospitals of Uttar Pradesh
The Uttar Pradesh Health Systems Strengthening Project (UPHSSP), under the Department of Medical Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttar Pradesh has recently commissioned the IIHS Design Lab for the design and development of multi pronged strategies for revamping the Outpatient and Emergency Departments (OPD & ED) in 10 District Hospitals across Uttar Pradesh. The aim of this project is to develop customised strategies and revamp plans which may include changes to patient flow management practices, management processes and policies, including technological solutions with potential to enable these changes based on results of operational modelling and stakeholder consultations.
PEOPLE
Angshuman Das
Bishal Goswami
Deepa Rodrigues
Manpreet Batra
Meenakshi Chauhan Gupta
Noor Fatima Zaidi
Swastik Harish