Architectural firms strive to design an efficient infrastructure in multiple typologies of buildings - Commercial, Institutional, and more. With the aim of designing infrastructure for Healthcare, Shree Designs was established and under the leadership of Kshititi Nagarkar, the firm is creating innovative and salutogenic Healthcare Designs. The firm provides healthcare consultancy services such as functional &space programming & planning, holistic infrastructure consulting -- architectural &interior design. The firm is passionate about creating restorative spaces that champion human-centered design.

Kshititi Nagarkar has completed her Bachelor of Architecture from Sir JJ College of Architecture and completed her Master of Architecture specializing in Institutional Healthcare Architecture from the same college. She started her career as an Architect at Raja Aederi Architect and went on to establish her own architectural firm as Shree Designs. She possesses rich professional experience in her domain of over two decades and she is playing a pivotal role in the healthcare industry with her philosophy of creating healing spaces. Let’s hear from Kshititi Nagarkar.

How did your past experience influence you as an architect and as a business leader?

I was always fascinated with the glass facades, so I joined Raja Aederi Architect to work on their most prestigious project, ICICI in BKC. Having worked on ICICI and Techno-park projects, I realized that a lot more goes into a project than the form and function. I also realized that site coordination for architects is a must to sync in the design and is critical for the success of a project. During my short service at BARC, we would travel for projects, mainly in tier II, and tier III cities. That’s when I experienced a stark contrast between facilities in the metros and these cities. In 1997, I read many articles and what caught my attention was the healthcare facilities were not top-notch. This inspired me to do a Master of Architecture in healthcare and while working on the ground, I realized that the infrastructure that did exist was not well planned or expanded haphazardly.

Introduce us to Shree Designs. Tell us about the different responsibilities you shoulder as the Principal Architect of the firm.

Shree Designs focuses on Health-care Architecture and our motto of Creating Healing Spaces encourages us to push our creative and logical limits. Shree Designs was started as a small team of three and after doing market research, networking, and campaigning, we got our first big project. Being a small team, we dedicate all our focus and effort to one project that helps surpass the client’s expectations and deliver to their complete satisfaction. To date, our firm has completed more than 25 projects, and currently, Shree Designs has marked its presence across many cities within and outside Maharashtra and is looking to grow by leaps and bounds.

My Responsibility as a Principal Architect is to reach out to doctors to explain our unique services and mentor the team to deliver the best service to our esteemed customers.

Throw some light on your design philosophy. What are some key things you keep in mind while working on a new design project?

We don’t really have a signature style as we want each of our projects to have an identity of its own. Also, healthcare is a constantly evolving space, in terms of technology, both in operations and equipment. Therefore, I believe that we need to design these spaces to be less intimidating, and more humane and should support quicker healing.

While designing a new project, our innovation revolves around the design of lighting and acoustics of the indoor space to cater to the sensitivity of the patient and design to control & contain infections within the facility by bringing in the latest concepts. With that in our mind, at Shree Designs, our source of innovation comes from our mantra of Creating Healing Spaces.

What are some of the most critical challenges that Indian healthcare architects face? What steps do you undertake to overcome these roadblocks?

One of the most challenging situations that Healthcare Architects practically face is to align clients to follow norms like the NABH. With the policies followed to date, people would feel that they could get away with the noncompliances and still function, but these are changing in the current environment and people started following rules & guidelines. Apart from these, the challenge at the urban site is to accommodate maximum within the minimalistic space, and with rural sites, basic amenities issues like electricity and clean water supply pose challenges.

Tell us about some of the key milestones you have achieved throughout your professional journey.

Currently, Shree Designs has marked its presence across many cities within and outside Maharashtra and is looking to grow. We feel extremely motivated when the facilities designed by us get Awards and it's happened a good number of times. After establishing our credentials across segments, we, at Shree Designs, are now reaching out to create awareness of our capabilities to a wider spectrum of healthcare providers. Undoubtedly, none of this would have been possible without the sincere perseverance, passion, and dedication of our staff along with constant support from our esteemed clients.

Kshititi Nagarkar, Principal Architect, Shree Designs Healthcare Architects & Planning Consultants

Having a working experience in architecture for over two decades, Kshititi Nagarkar is doing wonders in designing healthcare facilities. She has a proven track record of working in healthcare architecture & planning and has planned more than 25 hospitals to date.