117-year-old municipal hospital in South Mumbai gets a Rs 24 crore facelift

Conservation architect Rahul Chemburkar along with his team, built a new Gothic heritage tower (seen behind) that was homogeneous with the rest of the structure

A true-blue South Mumbaikar will never miss noticing the tiniest changes in the city's landscape. Fiercely protective and territorial, they know exactly when and where a new barricade has been constructed, an ugly highrise built, or which quaint structure was recently forced to bite the dust. And yet, we had no idea that a little-known heritage tower exists bang in the middle of bustling Fort. Now, noticeable atop the 117-year-old Atmasing Jessasing Bankebihari ENT Municipal Hospital, which stands at the intersection of Maharshi Dadhichi Marg and Mahatma Gandhi Marg, it shines thanks to the work of conservation architect Rahul Chemburkar of Vaastu Vidhaan Projects, spearheading the R24-crore restoration project of the structure.

A view of the recently restored structure from across Mahatma Gandhi Marg, Fort. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Started in 2018, and helmed by the Heritage Conservation Cell of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which is headed by Ashwini Bhide, work on the building is just a few days shy of completion. The highlight point here is the new Gothic tower, which was once part of the original building, but had long disappeared. "There is no record of what happened to it [tower]. All we could see were remnants of the base. It is most likely to have been demolished during some internal changes . Until we came across an old photograph, while poring over archival material, we were vaguely aware of its existence," says Chemburkar. "The good thing is that since it was erected [a few months ago], I have not had a single person come up to me, expressing surprise. Everyone has accepted its existence very naturally. That's the beauty of restoration. Any addition should feel seamless." This is the first-ever comprehensive restoration being undertaken in the building - in 2009, Chemburkar and team
had repaired its sloping roof.

An archival image of the City Improvement Trust Office, later converted into a municipal hospital

Originally built for the City Improvement Trust Office in 1904, the Grade II-B building, as per records, was designed by Charles Frederick Stevens, the son of Frederick William Stevens, who is the architectural genius behind the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. While details are vague, Charles is said to have obtained the first prize in Bombay for this particular design. Made using two types of stones, Malad and Porbunder, with Mangalore-tiled sloping timber roofs, the structure (the northern and western façade in particular) boast of typical Gothic motifs in the form of arches, windows, finials, porch and stained glass. For nearly six decades, the building functioned as the trust office, before it was converted into an ENT Hospital in 1960 - the only one of its kind in South-East Asia to be run by a municipal corporation, claims Chemburkar. "The building is a perfect example of adaptive reuse, which means that it was not designed for a hospital, but successfully functioned as one. The idea was to respect the heritage character, and arrest any distresses in the building, without affecting activities of the hospital." His partner Bhalchandra Tople, he says, planned the layout of the restored structure, keeping the hospital's requirements in mind.

The team made several cosmetic changes within the building, including polishing the marble flooring, cleaning the stone masonry and refitting missing elements, both in the interiors as well as the exteriors

One of the first sections mid-day visited was the out-patient department, where earlier, chipping paint, exposed leaking roofs, and broken teak furniture, greeted the 500-odd patients, who came daily. "We did minimal intervention," says Chemburkar. "Wherever necessary, especially in areas where more light was required, we used modular ceilings to cover the original, after repairing it. Modular ceilings can be removed as and when required." New blue and red signage, with legible lettering, was mounted across the OPD to make it easier for people to navigate the space. "The original marble cladding on the wall, which had been damaged, was restored to its original glory," Chemburkar added. The wooden benches were replaced with modular furniture. "That was a conscious decision. It wouldn't have been practical to have wooden furniture. We are trying to merge the new design with the character of the structure," he says. Similarly, wooden partitions were made for offices of the hospital management, which can be dismantled when required. "These help create new spaces without disrupting the structural core of the building," he shares. The operation theatre and the audiology lab received a major facelift, with modern, state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure, apart from complete renewal of electrical installations, fittings and fixtures. An important feature of the structure are the stained glass windows seen within the arches. These too, were restored with the help of experts. Other cosmetic changes include polishing the marble flooring, cleaning of the stone masonry and refitting missing elements, both in the interiors as well as the exteriors.

Patients outside the OPD, where minimal intervention was made. Modular ceilings were used to cover the original, after repairing it, and new signage, with legible lettering, were mounted

While a majority of the repair work had been completed before the pandemic, it was the tower that the architects were busiest with, all of last year. "Considering structural loads, we used glass reinforced concrete (GRC) instead of stone masonry [for the tower], which is lightweight. For the roof, we used structural steel with Mangalore tiles."

An important feature of the structure are the stained glass windows seen within the arches, and visible from the nurse quarters and hospital foyer. These were restored with the help of experts

The challenge, though, was to replicate the details with just an archival image at hand. "We wanted to make it homogenous with the rest of the building and try to keep the sanctity of the original design [of the tower]." It's why all the intricate elements - right from the pointed arches, to the capitals, and the pillars - of the new tower have been inspired from Gothic architecture. "At this point, what I feel is a lot of pride. We have been able to give back to the city, what it lost."