Archive for the ‘Project’ Category

Olympia Crest II

Olympia, Washington

This affordable housing project for the Thurston County Housing Authority included a special storm water spillway that moved through the walkway and between the parking and the buildings and finally terminating at a Rainwater Celebration Plaza.  This feature created a unique opportunity to incorporate native plantings for a naturalized landscape.  The Client was committed to this special feature which has gained praise and will be incorporated into their next project Littlerock Housing in Tumwater, WA.

Kaiser Permanente- Courtyard

Salem, Oregon

Our firm was asked to step in to provide re-imaging of an existing central courtyard which was viewed from a Patient Waiting Room on one side and the Staff Break Room.  The challenge was to provide a design solution that screened the Staff use area from the Patient view.  We removed the existing paving and furnishing and proposed using the excavated materials to create a planted berm to create the separation of uses.  Then a compacted granite plaza with seating sheltered by an arbor/trellis screen helped to provide the privacy for the caregivers on break.  The final project has won praise from the Patients/ Staff and Administrator as a great transformation into useful and attractive Courtyard.

Red Rock Center

Tigard, Oregon

The Red Rock Center was originally a commercial shopping center with numerous leased spaces planned in the Tigard Triangle area.  Since the development slow down it has been refocused to provide Medical and Dental Offices, Drive in Banking and flex space.  The Landscaping needed to address the sensitive wetlands at the corner of SW 72nd Avenue and Haines while creating a special point of entry intersection for that Triangle.

Clastop Care Health District- Memory and Bariatric Care Living Center

Astoria, Oregon

This memory and bariatric care facility incorporated a special garden memory care garden complete with raised beds, perennial gardens and covered walkways and seating benches for viewing the colorful landscape.  The site was situated in the Coastal community of Astoria, Oregon.  We wanted the planting not only to fit into the seaside character be full of colorful perennials and graceful ornamental grasses.

Vista Court Senior Living Facility

Vancouver, Washington

Vista Court a Senior Housing project for the Vancouver Housing Authority was completed in the winter of 2011.  The entire project encircles a very old London Plane tree while allowing the residents to walk to the surrounding neighborhood and take pause at the many benches placed for viewing the new landscaped grounds.  Van Vista an existing high rise senior apartment tower is directly adjacent to the new Vista Court building.

Roseburg VA Medical Center Acute Psychiatric Facility

Roseburg, Oregon


ON THE BOARDS

The design for the Acute Psychiatric Facility is a relocation of existing beds to the new 13-bed Acute Psych Ward located at the Roseburg Veterans Affairs  Medical Center. It serves a broad demographic of returning soldiers, from aging veterans of the Vietnam era to young and middle-aged veterans serving in Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and future needs.

The VA Roseburg Medical Center is a safe acute psych environment that serves male and female veterans in a calm, residential atmosphere. The design promotes a sense of peace and security for both patients and staff. The landscape design involved the design of gardens and surrounding landscaping integrated with the hospital’s physical infrastructure while providing safe and secure outdoor areas for patients and staff.  The design included a courtyard garden for family, patients and pets, a patio garden adjacent to patient dining, a staff garden, an ecoroof as well as site and entry gardens.  The sustainable approach here also incorporates a rain garden and bioswales.

Children’s Center of Clackamas County

Oregon City, Oregon

Laurel Macdonald Bonnell has worked on the Willamette Falls Hospital Campus on numerous building expansion projects over the past ten years.  She was asked to get involved with the Children’s Center and chose to donate all the initial design services to submit for Design Review in Oregon City, OR.  The two signature gardens were then designed and marketing perspectives were prepared for the Client so that addition donations and funding could be secured.  The recognition garden includes a small water feature, a sculpture of playing children and stone columns for the recognition of all the donors.

Designing Specialized Healing Gardens for “Behavioral Health” Centers

The characteristics and functions of a typical healing or therapeutic garden are becoming more widely documented, yet those for specialized healing environments within the hospital setting remain relatively unknown. We at MacDonald Environmental Planning are very excited to be working on three separate hospital projects with a “behavioral health” garden component, and adding to the dialogue on creating healing garden environments for these distinctive users in the months to come.
A well designed garden contributes substantially to the overall perception of health and wellness within any healing environment. A profusion of plants and plant/people interactions, defined seating areas and garden perimeters, easily readable pathways, and understandable wayfinding all work together to form gardens which provide a sense of security, serenity and safety for patients, family and staff alike.
When designing for the emotionally vulnerable and/ or cognitively impaired, security and safety become primary. Insure that gardens are indeed secure through physical enclosures such as high walls and plantings that are not scalable. Remove any potential weapons by securing furniture to paving, and using solid concrete rather than pavers or stone which could be dislodged and thrown. As in any healing environment, avoid any and all poisonous plants.
In this challenging economy, hospital administrators are facing strong pressures to become more patient- oriented and improve patient healthcare experiences. A number of studies have demonstrated the healing effects of nature to patients, families and staff in highly stressful situations. Additionally, it is being shown that creating gardens is an effective means for hospitals to achieve more positive market identities. As evidence-based design becomes the standard in hospital design, so too is the inclusion of healing or therapeutic gardens.

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center – Healing Environments Master Plan

Corvallis, Oregon


Good Samaritan Medical Center – Healing Garden

Corvallis, Oregon

The Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center is underway with numerous expansion projects and the landscape is being improved significantly to meet the adopted standards.

One of the most vital additions to the campus is the introduction of a major Healing Garden adjacent to the Main Hospital Building, Heart Center and the New Ambulatory Services Center.  The garden will have a wonderful water feature which flows through the center of the garden, with a looping walkway that bridges over the spillway, a covered seating area, arbors, an elevated deck and arbor over a rain fed creek to wetland.  A wide variety of seating is provided for small meditative spaces to open table seating with umbrellas.  Ramps, stairs and varied paving materials are accessible for therapeutic sessions.

This garden will be the center piece of the campus offering many healing attributes both environmentally and for the users being patients, family, friends of patients, and staff.

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