Roseburg, Oregon

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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.

Oregon City, Oregon

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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.

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.

Corvallis, Oregon

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Corvallis, Oregon

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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.

Hillsboro, Oregon

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On the Boards

Macdonald Environmental Planning, PC was approached by Partin & Hill Architects to provide Landscape Architectural services for this hospice project in Hillsboro, Oregon. Our design intent was to embrace the natural woodland adjacent to the project area by incorporating native plant species into the site landscaping to imitate a natural environment.
Creating spaces for respite and reflection was a high priority for this project. Patients, family members, and staff will all have an opportunity to take a stroll through the meandering pathway or sit and listen to the trickle of water coming from one of the water features adjacent to one of the outdoor patios.
Other site features include stormwater swales that will help to reduce runoff; a rainwater celebration feature, which will be viewable from the main entrance; a donor wall; and an outdoor labyrinth.

Milwaukie, Oregon

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Shortly after completion of the Providence Milwaukie Healing Place, a new ER/MRI addition was underway and we created a beautiful drop off and entrance landscape for the building. The plantings again reflected the overal campus with a variety of flowering trees, ornamental grasses and accent plantings in pots at the front door.

Portland, Oregon

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The Yakima Farm Workers Agency added a Clinic in east Portland Oregon.  The landscape approach was developed to help screen the busy street and place emphasis on the entrance.

Woodburn, Oregon

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The Yakima Farm Workers have been expanding their clinic footprint throughout the Pacific Northwest and we were asked to update the campus of this new addition to the Woodburn Oregon Clinic.  The overal scope included an interior courtyard and water feature and the rehabilitation of the existing grounds.