Design Considerations
Even in busy urban settings, plants and water features can help create places of respite by moderating the distraction of nearby sights and sounds. Rockefeller Center Channel Gardens.
Carefully crafted details can provide moments of delight and introspection. A changing collection of poems in Braille are recessed into wooden handrails. Evans Restorative Garden.
Even short garden paths can incorporate a variety of garden experiences, providing opportunity and choice for every visitor regardless of capability. Evans Restorative Garden.
Sensitive site planning and building systems integrated with natural systems provide the chance to live within nature while honoring its mandates and processes. Mountain House.
Bringing nature to city rooftops requires a reality check: ecological balance needs to be tempered by the realities of urban conditions. 150 Charles.
Creating distinct microclimates can help with orientation. Tree canopies that extend over water features can define space by retaining moisture in the air. Evans Restorative Garden
Reduced sensory spaces can provide refuge, comfort, and calm for overactive individuals. Pebble seats, a playful alternative to standard benches, provide varying levels of proprioceptive and vestibular experiences. Sensory Arts Garden.
In response to the challenges of climate change, multi-discipline, community-based initiatives can build resiliency in vulnerable ecosystems. West Pond Living Shoreline.
Familiar garden tasks can be used to achieve targeted therapeutic objectives, such as coordination, balance and stretching, while encouraging participation and contribution. Life Enrichment Center.
Coordinated with health and safety protocols, nature can be incorporated into high-tech healthcare settings. Bamboo trunks filter views, creating a sense of privacy between public corridors, waiting areas and treatment rooms. Monter Cancer Center
By applying sustainable, regenerative, and salutogenic ideas to resolve complex problems, design can be an effective resource for inspiring individuals, engaging communities, and advancing larger ecological initiatives. West Pond Living Shoreline
Water features can be used to create dramatic arrival spaces while also forming an integral part of a building’s cooling and mechanical systems. Simons Center.
For individuals with autism spectrum disorder, textured, colorful water walls can provide many sensory experiences. Sensory Arts Garden.
The process of healing land and rebuilding damaged ecosystems can strengthen a sense of community, belonging and identity. Camphill Community.
Even gentle gradients can pose physical challenges. To help conserve strength and stamina, create discreet places to pause and rest while enjoying nature. Evans Restorative Garden.
Sensitive site planning can encourage a sense of connection between a newly established human community and re-established natural communities. Camphill Community.
Material changes can provide visual clues, signaling different experiences and activities. A paving band encircling a gathering space encourages focused attention. Sensory Arts Garden.
Designing in partnership with nature can honor ecological and cultural history. Camphill Community.
Settings that are safe and serene can provide opportunities for discovery. Evans Restorative Garden.
Gardens can be designed to help alleviate the sense of unknown that can come with new experiences. Clear views, recognizable landmarks, and engaging features can help build a sense of confidence. Sensory Arts Garden.
Ensuring the experience of nature is part of everyday life helps us become stewards of the land, nourishing that which nourishes us. Camphill Community.
A progression of protective spaces helps create a comfortable transition between interior and exterior spaces. For individuals unsure of their abilities, quiet and accommodating choices provide powerful encouragement. Life Enrichment Center.
Living in nature while restoring and protecting vulnerable ecosystems requires design solutions sensitive to the individual and the larger environment. Beach House.
Living laboratories, incorporating geology, botany, hydrology, and ecology can help us understand our place in the natural world. Natural Sciences Courtyard.
“Sensory rooms” can discretely target specific senses, allowing individuals to explore their surroundings while improving balance, motor skills and spatial orientation. Sensory Arts Garden.
Within a newly constructed living shoreline, design strategies can leverage natural systems to restore critical habitat while engaging surrounding communities with its protection. West Pond Living Shoreline.
Landform and raised plant beds filled with aromatic plants can create heighted sensory experiences and moments of privacy within public settings. Evans Restorative Garden.
Gardens can be designed to accommodate different levels of interest, varying cognitive and physical capabilities, and evolving therapeutic programs. Joel Schnaper Memorial Garden.
Design collaborations can lead to engaging, accessible, and ecologically vibrant landscapes. Transforming a parking lot into a park, nature returns to the heart of a health-focused campus, creating a resilient, restorative setting where everyone is welcome. Lakeshore Foundation.
Sound can help define space in a garden. Cascading water buffers not only noise from nearby activities but also screens private conversations from passersby. Evans Restorative Garden.
Landscape design can integrate the work of multiple disciplines to express educational goals, sustainability missions, and state of the art technology. Simons Center.
Double planters mounted to railings allow individuals to tend plants from either side, encouraging socialization and learning from each other. Staff can easily engage and provide help when needed. Life Enrichment Center.