Sacred Places
Terrace Garden at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center
A suspended garden in the tree tops, open around the clock.
WHERE
Portland, OR
SETTING
Healthcare
PARTNER INSTITUTION
Legacy Emanuel Medical Center
Visit
Where it is
2801 N Gantenbein Avenue, Portland, OR 97227
What happens here
On any given day you will find labouring mothers rocking in chairs, nurses and doctors taking a moment to pause, and cardiac patients resting and recovering. The garden is accessible round the clock to all hospital patients, visitors, and employees. It has also served as a research site, with studies focused on the role nature plays in the birth experience of labouring mothers and families, and on nature as a means to combat stress and burnout among nurses.
HOW IT CAME TO BE
Just over the threshold.
01
The Need
The Family Birth Center, the Cardiovascular ICU, and the family waiting rooms all sit on the same floor, serving people in very different states at very different moments.
02
The Vision
The garden was designed to accommodate a wide range of physical conditions, abilities, and needs, and to sit just over the threshold of the Family Birth Center rather than somewhere that required a journey to reach.
03
The Transformation
The 6,500-square-foot suspended green space connects to all three. Among a four-seasons array of ever-changing plants are benches, chairs, and tables configured either to accommodate groups or to provide privacy. A canopy of mature trees gives the garden a tree-top experience unusual for a hospital.
WHO TENDS IT
HEAR FROM THE VISITORS
From the Little Yellow Journal
Happy Garden to Reflect on Life when a Loved one is in Dire need! Thanks
– Lance
