Size: 3.15ha
Location: Cambie-41st Ave
Framing the Vision for Columbia Park
LARC 502_ASSIGMENT 1 TEMPLATE_2022-min
* The link above is the artboard presentation pdf
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.
The garden is located in the Mount Pleasant area of Vancouver, just north of the Mount Saint Joseph’s field hospital.
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).
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).
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.
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.
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.
As I drew sections for this concept I realized planting would play an important role in establishing the different sightlines of each terrace.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The transverse section below showcases the alcove design and fragrance garden.
Each planting served to emphasize the goal of each space. The diagram below summarizes the goal of each planting.
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.
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.
Please click on link above
WIND SONG
Loneliness as a negative emotion is increasingly seen among all groups in society. Fast-paced life is a major cause of loneliness, and people are often unable to immerse themselves in nature for healing or to interact with people in a comfortable outdoor space. The study aims to transform a wilderness site in the southeast corner of the UBC campus into a healing garden to alleviate loneliness for UBC students and the surrounding residents.
CONTEXT PLAN
The 1,000-square-metre site, adjacent to Thunderbird Stadium, is a shortcut for people arriving at the shopping village from campus. The site is surrounded by lush vegetation and a construction materials pile. The site is open all day and is very bright at night as it has four brighter light poles on the site. As a shortcut from the campus to the shopping village, the site attracts a large number of UBC students and surrounding residents.
CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
Plan
SECTION
PERSPECTIVE
PLANTING PLAN
Site: UBC Totem Park Residence Open Field
The project site is located in the Totem Park student residence, UBC, which sits on the traditional unceded territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish territory. The site was chosen as I was drawn by how the open field was surrounded by student residential blocks, primarily for 1st year undergraduate students, and also the site was a traffic circulation hotspot for people to walk to other totem park buildings and to the West Mall and the Thunderbird Boulevard.
Concept Statement
A healing space for those who say “I like to be alone” and “I want to develop meaningful social interactions”. The park aims to invite lonely students to the outdoors and away from their comfort zone- dorm, by offering safe and comfortable spaces for individual activities and social interaction opportunities in an informal setting. The park also offers seven different types of spaces, both enclosed and open spaces, for students to communicate with nature elements and allow for time to reflect, relax, and heal.
Site observations
The site is an under-utilized space, as it is used as a pathway alternative of the main corridor and the hidden pathway in the tree canopy. Most people tend to commute in the open field diagonally, as seen in the photograph above.
The site contains several interesting features, this includes the enclosed space created by spruce trees, the drainage vegetation area near buildings, the closure between buildings and the outdoor space, and the interaction of residents inside the building and the field, as seen in the sticky notes, which reveals how students in Totem Park may be lonely and long for social engagement.
Research on loneliness
According to a study on determining loneliness and its association to the year of study in University of Gondar, it is reported that first year are in higher risk of loneliness compared to other years, and this may due to the short duration of stay in the university and the need to abruptly adapt to a new environment, and this is found in a study in Washington University. Furthermore, in the article of “Students are lonely. What can we (and UBC) do about it?” published by The Ubyssey, Cardenas who was a second-year business student shared that “My transition to UBC was very hard. I felt so lonely during my first year that I actually considered dropping out of UBC”, and how even though she had “friends but they were not really friends. How could I even call them friends? We barely [knew] each other and it was very hard to be able to find them around later”.
Research questions
Three types of loneliness and three types of spaces
Loneliness could be understood as three types, this includes: 1) Intimate loneliness (loneliness from lack of emotional support); 2) Social loneliness (loneliness from no quality friendship); 3) Collective loneliness (loneliness from no active friendship group). Additionally, these three types of loneliness could be correlated to one’s attentional spaces, which means an individual’s amount of mental capacity available to focus on and process things in the moment. This creates three compartment of spaces, including: 1) Intimate spaces (space that surrounds one person); 2) Social space (space which makes an individual feel comfortable to interact with people); 3) Public space (an anonymous and free space).
Salutogenesis theory applied on loneliness
The Salutogenesis theory sees loneliness not as a mental illness, but an emotional state that is normal and ubiquitous among people. The application of the Salutogenesis theory is applied to lonely people and spaces,. The urban tree hole proposal aims to provide lonely people a safe and comfortable space in public areas, these spaces are usually hidden in the public and would provide individuals a chance to get along with nature and feel lonely. Furthermore, the concept of urban tree hole utilizes the concept of spiritual gardens.
Design concept development
Six design typologies are developed after my research, this includes: 1) Completely enclosed space- 80% (1 person occupancy, nature sound, hidden pathway); 2) Partially enclosed space- 60% (1-2 person occupancy, nature sound, hidden pathway with a meeting point); 3) Semi-partially enclosed space- 30% (small groups, nature and non-nature sound, shared pathway); 4) Open space (different group sizes, different types of sounds, open circulation); 5) Invisible mode of communication; 6) Closure to nature.
Programs and Design concepts
The programming are based on my research and design typologies identified above. Furthermore, these designs explore different representation of various intensity of enclosed spaces and open spaces, in consideration with its functionality, its closure with nature elements, and its fluid circulation in the field.
Final Design
The final design comprises of seven types of spaces, this includes: 1) Intimate individual space; 2) Social friendship gathering space; 3) The small forest; 4) The social gathering space; 5) The open field; 6) The artboard; 7) The rain garden and flower terraces. Each space has different purposes, as seen in the description in the Base Plan. Additionally, all these spaces share a fluid form, this allows circulation for students to pass through buildings or into West Mall, as well as to create different types of meandering pathways (e.g. hidden vs open, individual vs shared) based on different users’ need. Ultimately, the shared fluid form also symbolizes as a progression of lonely people slowly feeling comfortable to interact with other people.
References
Dagnew, B., & Dagne, H. (2019). Year of study as predictor of loneliness among students of University of Gondar. BMC research notes, 12(1), 1-6.
https://www.ubyssey.ca/features/breaking-down-loneliness-at-ubc/
Weiss, R. S. (1973). Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Cacioppo, S., Grippo, A. J., London, S., Goossens, L., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2015). Loneliness: Clinical import and interventions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(2), 238-249.
Gandong, C., & Mingjie, C. (2020). URBAN MENTAL DESIRE–TOKYO LONELINESS TREE HOLE PLAN. Landscape Architecture Frontiers, 8(6), 120-127.
Early studies into the benefits of outdoor spaces for those with psychosis (and more specifically, schizophrenia) suggest that gardens, especially those focused on communal, productive gardening, can assist in the social, emotional and cognitive development and recovery of these patients.
On a disused site less than 100m from the Psychosis Research Program at UBC Hospital’s Detwiller Pavilion, could the construction of a purpose-built garden for the treatment of those patients allow for this research to be continued?
