Lilawati Hospital, Bandra

The Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, located at Bandra Reclamation in Mumbai, is a landmark healthcare facility designed by Shashi Prabhu & Associates. Completed in the early 1990s, it introduced a modern spine-and-pavilion concept in hospital planning, optimizing functional efficiency while ensuring patient comfort. The design centralizes key services—such as diagnostics, operation theatres, ICUs, and emergency care—along a main service spine, while specialist departments and patient wards are arranged in peripheral pavilion blocks, allowing seamless horizontal and vertical circulation.

A defining architectural feature is the central courtyard, which breaks the building mass and enhances natural light and cross-ventilation, creating a healing environment within an otherwise dense urban context. The façade adopts a climate-responsive design, with deep sunshades, horizontal bands, and high-performance glazing to reduce heat gain while maximizing daylight.
The hospital was designed to start with 300 beds, multiple modular operating theatres, advanced diagnostics, and research facilities. Its modular grid system allows flexibility for expansion and internal reconfiguration, ensuring long-term adaptability.

Lilavati Hospital has since evolved into one of Mumbai’s premier multi-specialty healthcare destinations, setting a benchmark for functional, patient-centric hospital architecture. It demonstrates how thoughtful design can balance medical technology, operational efficiency, and humane spatial experience within a compact urban site.