To put a loved one into long term care is never an easy thing. Located in front of Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in Mount Pleasant, this garden seeks to help families dealing with the guilt and trauma of this difficult transition through a journey of acceptance. Fragrant and tactile spaces offer a mindful experience that can be shared between visiting family members and residents to improve the quality of their time together. Intimate alcoves give an opportunity to develop a meaningful relationship with care workers and foster trust. The Pathways to Acceptance Gardens offers holistic and meaningful healing through multisensory spatial experience.
OVERALL CONTEXT
The garden is located in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, just north of the Mount Saint Joseph’s field hospital.
CONTEXT PLAN 1:250
Northeast of the selected site is Kingsway Street, a busy road in Vancouver. A line of spruce trees runs around the field north of the site, standing about 20 meters tall (see site photos).
SITE PHOTOS
An in depth site analysis was done before the health issue was selected. The most noticeable initial “landmarks” were the spruce trees lining the field, the existing Liriodendron tulipifera, and the slope leading down into the hospital parking lot. Each of these elements would play a significant role in the design process. (See Assignment 1A for all site photos and site sketches).
MULTISENSORY ANALYSIS
A multisensory analysis was also done on site. The main takeway was there was considerable noise from both Kingsway Street and the hospital. Crows were very prevalent in the spruce but the border plantings on the southwest side of the site were home hummingbirds and chickadees.
MULTISENSORY ANALYSIS
I discovered the hospital had a long term care facility on its second floor. While choosing a health issue, I realized this area was quite far away from the residents and it would be difficult for them to visit a garden on a regular basis. (See figure below for relative distance).
Since it was next to one of the larger parking areas, I saw this as an opportunity to design a garden for the people who were visiting their loved ones. Those who had to make the difficult decision to transition the care of someone who may have once cared for them. This decision is almost universal in western society, and yet the guilt and trauma that comes with it is seldom discussed or researched. The concept diagram below summarizes the key takeaways from my research, and some early ideas of how to help alleviate this health issue spatially.
CONCEPT DIAGRAM
ITERATIONS: TERRACES OF ACCEPTANCE
From here I performed several different iterations of two different concepts (detailed extensively in the assignment 1B post). The first idea was a series of three small spaces, each one weaving a narrative of acceptance as the visitor moves from the parking lot to the hospital.
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION: TERRACES OF ACCEPTANCE
As I drew sections for this concept I realized planting would play an important role in establishing the different sightlines of each terrace.
EXPERIMENTAL PERSPECTIVES AND ISOS: TERRACES OF ACCEPTANCE
ITERATIONS: ALCOVES AND MINDFULNESS
The second set of iterations focused on improving the relationship between care workers and family members of residents, while also having a space dedicated to improving the quality of the visit. This “quality” space ranged from a flower picking garden to meandering paths, but the idea was that it would be accessible if family members wanted to bring the residents there during their visits.
EXPERIMENTAL SECTION: ALCOVES AND MINDFULNESS
EXPERIMENTAL PERSPECTIVES: ALCOVES AND MINDFULNESS
During the development phase of the alcove concept, I played with the idea of lighting in the alcoves. People would be visiting their family members year round (usually after work) and it was important that these spaces be usable after dark. While no detailed lighting plan made it into the final design, it is an important consideration.
FINAL DESIGN: PATHWAYS TO ACCEPTANCE
While I liked the idea of a narrative connecting each space, I felt the research supported the alcove concept more than anything else. The final design takes the idea of a journey of acceptance, but the usable space within it is broken up into rooms designed to increase the quality of the visit, and strengthen the relationship family members have with care workers. The Shattered Rock Sculpture serves to draw attention to the garden upon entrance, and to represent the traditional care dynamic being shattered. This brings the user into the garden both physically (through sightlines) and mentally (through metaphor).
The Fragrant Memories space is a year round fragrance garden that can either be experienced alone or with a loved one staying at the hospital. The idea is to use fragrance to draw upon pleasant memories, to acknowledge the care dynamic that once existed, even if it has shifted to a new normal. There is a table in this area for arranging fragrant bouquets, one side is benchless to accommodate wheelchairs.
The Grounding Plain serves to bring the user into the present through touch. Tall pensive drooping plants hang over a boardwalk. Through touch and form, this space gives a feeling of changeability, that despite a dynamic of care being shifted, there is still hope for meaningful visits and connections. Users can bring their loved ones with mobility issues to this space through the Fragrant Memories area.
The Alcoves represent the hope for a future care dynamic. Situated on the west side of the site to protect from the sound of both the hospital and Kingsway Street, these areas use the sound of birds (and rain in the winter) to further mask these disruptive noises. The plantings are enclosed and intimate, allowing users and care workers to discuss a future for their loved ones with a sense of safety and privacy.
The sculptural shrub near the exit of the site calls back to the Shattered Rock Sculpture. As boulders come together around a beautiful red-veined enkianthus, the possibility of acceptance and a new care dynamic comes to fruition.
The slope is planted with sun loving grasses, calling back to the areas of the garden that can be shared with loved ones. The idea behind this is that when entering from the hospital side, people may be bringing their relatives (the residents). The garden is designed for the healing of the visitors, but the residents experience in the space is integral to this healing. As such, it was important that the “exit” served as a meaningful entrance when bringing loved ones. The sun loving grasses and existing trees serve as a welcoming entrance, whereas the northern entrances are more focused and somber. Once a place of acceptance has been reached, the garden shifts and offers up opportunity for quality time with residents. The grass on the slope captures all of this, and also visually connects to the plantings of the Grounding Plain, one of the main shared spaces in the garden. Finally this is also the view residents would have from their floor of the hospital (see Assignment 1B) and it is important that this view offers a feeling of invitation.
SITE PLAN: PATHWAYS TO ACCEPTANCE
A. LONGITUDINAL SECTION: THE PATH DOWN
The following section cuts across the main path down, showcases how the garden functions as a journey through space and acceptance. Note the border plantings ensuring a sense of privacy.
B. TRANSVERSE SECTION: ALCOVES AND FRAGRANCE
The transverse section below showcases the alcove design and fragrance garden.
PLANTING GOALS
Each planting served to emphasize the goal of each space. The diagram below summarizes the goal of each planting.
PLANTING VISUALIZATIONS
The entrance plantings serve to visually connect the site to the existing spruce trees, as well as focus attention of the large shattered rock sculpture. This draws the user into the garden both physically and mentally.
The Fragrant Memories space offers year round olfactory experience, a space users can reflect and enjoy with loved ones staying at Mount Saint Joseph’s Hospital or on their own before a visit.
The Grounding Plain gives the opportunity to bring oneself to the present through touch, with soft drooping plants blurring the lines between the pathway and the plantings. It offers open space, opportunity and resting space.
The Alcoves offer a intimate space, where the sound of birds, or rain softly falling on a roof give an escape from the buzz of the hospital or constant hum of Kingsway Street. These alcoves are located in the quietest part of the site.
PLANTING PLAN
The plan below details what plants are used for each area in the Pathways to Acceptance Garden.
Through multisensory planting and topography, a loud, poorly drained field next to a parking lot has transformed into a space where visitors can move through and heal. Processing the guilt and trauma transitioning a loved on into long term care is a long process, but this garden offers a hollistic and meaninful start on that journey.
