When nature heals!

Info & Images: Courtesy V2com

Photography: Heliphoto

Read Time: 2 mins  

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AHBE Landscape Architects chisel Healing Gardens for Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre to promote healing, health and well-being…

Los Angeles-based AHBE Landscape Architects, known for their expertise in designing thoughtful, evocative landscapes that allow for contemplation and reflection, has created a healing environment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre for patients, hospital staff, and visiting families and friends.

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A unique solution transforms a concrete plaza into a restorative space in the city. The existing site consisted of a concrete plaza atop a multi-level garage. Using the metaphor of human skin, AHBE developed a multi-layered landscape solution that protects the existing building’s structural and mechanical integrity and accounts for an existing drainage system, emergency access, lighting and way finding, as well as extreme weather conditions. The solution – a unique, green roof-inspired system built onto the plaza’s existing structure – maximizes the impact of the landscape, while minimizing construction and alterations to the existing building.

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AHBE further redefined the space architecturally by creating four distinct gardens – the Garden of Whimsy, Blue Garden, Plaza Garden and Education Garden.

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Garden of Whimsy is intended to lift and energize the human spirit. The garden features a sculptural pavilion by Ball Nogues Studio and undulating planters that when illuminated at night creates a scenic view from the patients’ rooms above. The pavilion knits together the landscape environment and creates a defining visual moment for visitors.

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Blue Garden is a counterpoint to the Garden of Whimsy. Given its shady orientation throughout the year, this garden is about quiet, coolness and calm.  Intended as a meditative place, AHBE located smaller, closely positioned seating areas in the garden for private conversations or solitude. Small circular reflecting pools with custom “firefly” light fixtures are placed throughout the landscape. The garden’s lights will change colours and enhance an experience that replicates serenity in nature.

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Plaza Garden is a flexible event space with moveable and convertible furniture that functions as an outdoor cafe for a restaurant and a large courtyard space for tented receptions and larger events. Planters in the Plaza Garden feature textural foliage and large-scaled plants, such as agaves, supplemented with succulents and other shade loving plants.

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Education Garden is intended to illustrate to the public how plants from Mediterranean climates, known as “adaptive natives” with similar rainfall from around the world can be adaptable to Southern California. The garden incorporates spaces for outdoor lectures, health fairs and informal meetings.

The collaborative design supports Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre’s commitment of continually setting new standards in quality and innovation in patient care, research, teaching and community service.