Abstract:
One in ten people over 65 and half of those over 85 have Alzheimer's disease (Dana,1995). Long term care facilities for Alzheimer's patients often have courtyards and open spaces that lay empty or are designed in a way which fails to address the basic and therapeutic needs of patients, staff and visitors. The landscape around us greatly effects our sense of well-being (Cooper Marcus 1995). Outdoor spaces serve to extend indoor therapies and allow patients with a degenerative disease to maintain independence and dignity. Because of this there is a great need for special care facilities that have a holistic approach to care, especially with a focus on incorporating the outdoor environment.Therapeutic garden design is a relatively new field in Landscape Architecture. Designers are attempting to reach a new population through the study of environmental behavior, horticultural therapy, and psychology. New paths are opening in practice and research expanding this specialized design field with each passing year. This study applied the latest information and design trends for Alzheimer's patients in order to develop a therapeutic garden for these patients. Landscape designs at Sedgewood Commons, Falmouth, Maine (1994), The Family Life Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan (1997), Providence Centre, Alzheimer Day Program Garden, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada (1998) were used as model projects demonstrating state-of-the-art theory principles, concepts and design techniques in the emerging interdisciplinary field of Therapeutic Garden Design.The garden is located at Westminster Village, a long term care facility that houses Alzheimer's patients in Muncie, Indiana. This facility has a central courtyard which is divided in two by an indoor glass walkway. This walkway serves to connect two separate buildings and is used by staff and for physical therapy each day. One side of the courtyard is bordered by assisted living units and a dining hall. The other side is bordered by hospital units, a nursing center and second dining hall. There are four doorways from the walkway into the space, and four others from the living units and dining halls. The uses surrounding the outdoor courtyard made it an ideal site to develop garden spaces for two different ability levels. Potential uses for the spaces included intimate and group gathering spaces, seasonal and year-round interest plantings, bird watching, and physical therapy. In this case study the designer applied design guidelines in order to transform the empty space into a healing setting for the interaction of patients, caregivers, staff and family members.
