Royal Devon and Exeter Hopspital Haematology and Oncology Centre Courtyard Garden
Therapeutic landscape design
The challenge
The site was a three sided courtyard exposed on one side to a vehicle drop-off point at the entrance to the newly built unit. The brief for the project from the clinical staff and health arts organization client team was to produce a high quality welcoming environment for staff, patients and visitors and a place where clinicians might meet for consultations with service users.
What we did
Working with client team, Michael Westley (in partnership with Mor Design) facilitated a brief consultation process. The design aimed to: Provide a welcoming entrance approach from the vehicular drop-off, Create a series of individual respite places for staff and meeting venues for carers and patients & to provide a landscape context for clinicians to develop an understanding in service users of the nature of their illness with reference to plant forms within the natural setting. To achieve this we worked with glass artist Sue Kinley to design glass sculptures echoing microscopic cellular structures in plants, complementing the richly sensory herbaceous perennial planting carpet. Mike Westley produced the final masterplan, details and planting, and undertook construction management.
The result
The brief was successfully answered and has produced a unique, well used space offering an enhanced and enriched environment for all space users.
All material © Westley Design 2008