LARC 502 | Sensing Landscape

After investigating the topography and multisensory qualities of my site, and investigating the idea that a garden could heal the guilt and difficult emotions associated with having to transfer the care of aging loved ones, I was encouraged to dive deeper and try some completely different ideas.

From my intial research I knew there were several ways that people could come to terms with such difficult emotions. My previous post showed a focus on strengthening the relationship with the care workers through intimate spaces, as well as a mindfulness garden one could bring their loved one to, I wanted return to the research and try something new.

I decided to iterate on the idea of acceptance, and tried to design a space that would help people realize that accepting care from whatever dynamic they had been used to is okay.

The final idea I settled on was a set of three terraces, each one with a zen garden of sorts. The first a reflection and memory space to realize the dynamic of care that once existed. The second a shattered rock garden representing the difficult change in that dynamic and finally a permaculture planting to symbolize that is okay to accept care from places outside that dynamic (the care workers).

There was also a hidden path that would be visible on the way back from the first visit, encorperating all three elements and having a viewing area where all three terraces could be seen.

I wanted eacb garden to have a multisensory element that strengthened the message.

I developed some sections to see the reality of the elevations and how I might have to use planting to achieve the sightlines and experiences I was envisioning.

While there were elements of this concept that I like (the prevailing narrative). I ultimately decided that my original concept had stronger research backing it. Having a space that could be used to strength the relationship between care workers and the family members of patients was too crucial to be left out. That being said, as I returned to iterate this original concept, I noticed elements of the terrace idea appearing in some iterations.

The final form I decided to refine had elements from both ideas. While the intimate alcoves and more open space for “quality of visit” remained, I also decided that weaving a narrative of acceptance could help inform my circulation and give more weight to the areas outside the alcoves in my garden.

As I was iterating I also used sections to get a sense of how these mounded alcoves would take up space. Through these sections I realized that reducing the number of the alcoves would allow for much more robust planting.

The triangular form shown below was taken form the tops of the spruce trees just outside the site. These tree tops are prevelant in most sightlines in the area (sometimes more so than the buildings themselves).

This final form would be taken into Rhino for further refinement and application of multisensory design. The section below gives an idea of the elevation elements I would be working with.

While I was developing this form I also made a very rough model to help investigate the complex topography of my site. Note that the form of this model was not the exact form I settled on, but it did help me realize the importance planting would play in achieving the sightlines I wanted.

From here the next steps are refining the design, choosing plants that reflect my healing aspect and putting together a refined final representations that fully capture my site. More to come!