Authors: Rutuja Nitin. Raipure, Under the Guidance of Prof. Gulfam B. Shaikh, Prof. Malini O. Nathe
Abstract: Most institutional palliative care centres end up making patients more anxious instead of less, mainly because of the stark, sterile look of their building envelopes. This paper looks at what I am calling "The Haptic Envelope" in the context of non-institutional hospice design, and tries to understand how macro-textured, natural building skins can help patients feel more grounded and emotionally secure. The study connects the idea of material honesty — specifically the deliberate use of exposed brick masonry and raw travertine texture — with the broader concept of saluto-genic, or health-promoting, architecture. Looking back at Indian vernacular construction, where raw earth and stone were used to represent stability and grounding (the Prithvi element), the paper builds a qualitative design framework that can be applied to present-day healthcare facades. It also studies how these macro-textures respond to changing daylight to create softer, glare-free visual environments that reduce sensory agitation for patients. The Benziger Hospice Home by Srijit Srinivas Architects is used as the primary case study, since it is a real, award-winning example of unplastered brick being used to turn a healthcare building into a calmer, more earth-bound space.
