The Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (HBCH&RC) in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, was developed by the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) under the Department of Atomic Energy. It sits within the Campus of Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) and brings cancer care to North Bihar and neighbouring states, a region that has long been underserved.
Low, open and human in scale
The Hospital is low-rise and kept to a human scale. Its plan is modular and zoned, with patient, clinical and administrative areas kept apart so that each runs without getting in the way of the others. Corridors are wide. Waiting areas are lit by daylight, and generous green courtyards give patients and families somewhere calmer to be during long days of treatment.
Bihar’s summers are harsh. The building’s orientation and envelope are set for thermal comfort, with cross-ventilation and shaded windows reducing the need for mechanical cooling. Inside, a white and green palette keeps rooms calm and easy to keep clean.
Treatment and research
The 100-bed Hospital offers outpatient clinics, chemotherapy wards, diagnostic imaging, radiotherapy and a palliative care wing. A genomic Laboratory reflects the centre’s aim to bring research into everyday clinical work. The radiotherapy wing, supported by the Alkem Foundation, is built with radiation shielding.
Rainwater harvesting and solar water heating are part of the design, and modular service ducts let the building adapt over time. On the site, vehicles, patients and services follow separate routes, which helps both daily running and infection control.
Care closer to home
About 250 patients come each day. Under TMC’s subsidised model, more than 60 per cent of treatment is free or heavily subsidised. As part of TMC’s national cancer grid, the Hospital also supports research and teaching in oncology across the region. For many families, it means diagnosis, treatment and support can happen near home, without the long journey to a metropolitan city.
The project
Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre
Muzaffarpur, Bihar
See the project