Throughout the history of landscape architecture, the garden has played a vital role as a site for healing, as well as the growth of medicinal herbs that contribute to health and recovery. The 10-acre landscape we designed for LAC+USC Medical Center places the health of the patients at the center of the garden’s role, connecting this urban environment with its surrounding natural landscape.
Our research for the design documented varied geological formations in Los Angeles, extending from mountains to the ocean. At the lowest elevation of the site, we used abstract wave-like patterns to animate the concrete paving surface and benches. At the high point of the site, columnar Canary Island pine trees we placed to evoke images of the mountain environments of the Los Angeles region.
The campus landscape is organized into three distinct garden areas. Outpatient Gardens provide an active outdoor lobby for various users seeking treatment. An Inpatient Plaza includes a grand entry garden for longer-term patients. Finally, the Courtyard Garden serves various users: doctors, nurses, patients and visitors alike mingle in a terraced landscape connecting the site’s new and old campuses.
Site work consists of the design of automobile and pedestrian circulation systems, entry plazas, pedestrian plazas and gardens, and the overall development and patterning of hardscape and planting elements. By re-interpreting elements of the new building design, relating the architecture and landscape architecture and making use of existing site patterns throughout the entire hospital campus, the design manages the interaction of the hospital with the surrounding community. We also designed a line of concrete and metal site furnishing for the project, which are composed of a system of repetitive parts and echo the overriding conceptual design of the project.
To encourage the integration of the hospital with the surrounding community, we re-interpreted elements of the new building design, relating the landscape architecture to the local vernacular gardening tradition and making use of common patterns throughout the campus. Large, bold patterns abstracted from historic references and geological features form the basis for much of our design for the LAC + USC Medical Center campus, providing soothing stimulation for patients and employees alike.