The Course of Empire: The Arcadian or Pastoral State, by Thomas Cole (1834)
This is the fourth post of a series
dedicated to a case study of a single project—the VA Roseburg Healthcare System
Community Living Center (CLC) Expansion— designed by
Robertson/Sherwood/Architects. Click on “A Case Study” in the Labels
list at right for the full series.
Serendipity
kindles inspiration. Our misgivings for the Community Living Center Expansion
site presented to us by the VA prompted the ad hoc search for an alternative.
If it weren’t for the patent shortcomings of that initial prospect we might
never have stumbled upon the fertile alternative we ultimately selected.
Abounding
with potential and anchored by a remarkably large and exotic-looking Persian
silk tree, the chosen site for the CLC Expansion offers the promise of
paradise. We imagine it as a place of refuge from the processes of time and
mortality, even as the depredations of dementia and memory loss exact their
toll. It will be a pastoral haven for the aging veterans who will be consigned
there, a languid and Arcadian setting for the denouement of their life stories.
Our desire
to create a place of refuge (as well as very necessary practical
considerations) prompted our principal design response. We arrayed the program
components—two “houses” accommodating ten residents each, a gatehouse, and a
support wing—around a secure courtyard centered upon the silk tree. As
mentioned in Part 3 of this case study, one of our objectives is to
symbolically acknowledge life’s trajectory. The silk tree figures prominently
in this regard by representing the interconnectedness of all life, its cycles,
and the passage of time. The well-defined courtyard likewise relates the earth
beneath with the sky above, and earthly existence with cosmic reverence.
Concept sketch
Throughout history, courtyards have functioned as moderators of climate
and safe havens protecting their occupants. In dense, urban settings, enclosed
residential courtyards offer direct contact with nature where no other
connection is possible. Archetypal courtyards also evolved to stand in as
analogs for the natural environment or as microcosms of the universe. In this
latter respect they function as mandalas(1), replete with the spiritual and ritual significance traditionally
associated with such geometric compositions.
Our courtyard for the CLC Expansion will fulfill
these roles. Additionally, we have configured it to provide a hierarchy of
places to be: a protective harbor nestled against the house; under the
expansive, sheltering boughs of the silk tree; along trellised and open walks,
etc. The hierarchy sets up a nested precinct at the hub of which is the
magnificent tree. However, the courtyard will not be completely enclosed. Its
southeast corner will open toward a vista of the main oval on the VA Roseburg
Medical Center campus, providing a visual connection to the larger world.(2)
Fundamentally, we picture the courtyard as a
manifestation of the utopian locus
amoenus(3). It will be an idyllic landscape
in the physical sense as well as a landscape for the mind (transporting one to
remote places and times). It will conceptually be a realm for the blessed, an
idealized garden with connotations of Eden before the fall. It will be a place
where the aging residents feel the sun on their faces and the breeze in their
thinning hair. It will be filled with chirping crickets and birds, and redolent
with the fragrance of flowering plants. We want it to be regarded as an
allegorical landscape and relished as an oasis of comfort and serenity.
According
to Wikipedia, the locus amoenus possesses
three basic elements: trees, grass, and water. Accordingly, we’re incorporating
these elements into our design. To realize our vision, we enlisted the
knowledge and skill of Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning, in particular the
services of Justin Lanphear, ASLA.
Justin
extended the concept of the locus amoenus beyond
the courtyard to include the entire setting of which the CLC Expansion will be
a part. He dedicated as much attention to the design of the spaces surrounding
the new facility as he did the central secure courtyard.
View looking toward the Community Living Center Expansion project site. Note the mature landscaping (my photo).
Placing the project in the midst of existing
buildings and mature trees will create a variety of distinct outdoor zones.
Justin assigned names to each of these zones, hinting at their projected
character. In addition to the “Secured Courtyard,” these include the “Entry
Landscape” and two contemplation gardens:“Woodland Forest” and “Open
Forest.”Justin described the specific features of each as part of a narrative
which accompanied our Design Development presentation for the project:
ENTRY LANDSCAPE
The Entry Landscape will be formal in character, serving to
integrate and accent the new facility. Small flowering accent trees will frame
the covered entry walkway. Foundation plantings will consist of deciduous and
evergreen natives and native-analogues. Flowering perennials will accent these
plantings.
Seat-walls will line the drop-off zone and entry walk. The
landscape flanking the walk will be planted using a combination of flowering
perennials, bulbs, and ornamental grasses.
SECURED COURTYARD
The central concept of the Secure Courtyard is to accommodate a
variety of uses and activities (both passive and active) for people confronting
the challenges of age, dementia, and Alzheimer’s Disease. Views out from
communal living and dining areas are taken into account. Ample opportunities
for seating will be included.
The large existing silk tree in the central courtyard will be
protected and preserved. Given the existing condition of the tree, this effort
seems warranted.
Raised vegetable garden planters will provide residents with the
opportunity to exercise motor and dexterity skills while indulging in the
pleasures of raising herbs and vegetables.
Areas of lawn will permit supervised exercise or games.
The walkway between the two houses will be covered by a
continuous pergola.
CONTEMPLATION GARDENS
The underlying motivation for the contemplation gardens is that
views out of the patient rooms may often be a patient’s only connection with
the outdoor environment. As such, views out of the windows will be framed to
provide changing interest through the seasons.
The Open Forest Contemplation Garden, located at the
southwestern corner of the site, will be planted with a variety of native
shrubs (both deciduous and evergreen) tolerant to both wet winter and summer
drought conditions. The character of this garden will be that of an understory,
open forest swale. Basalt boulder accents will reinforce the sense of a wooded,
outdoor room. New tree plantings will occur primarily on the opposite (south
and west) side of this garden to allow the greatest view potential into the
garden from patient room windows.
The Woodland Forest Contemplation Garden will be located on the
north side of the CLC Expansion. This garden will be akin to the Open Forest
model but will simulate a shady woodland setting rather than an open swale.
Native and adaptive deciduous and coniferous shrubs will be used throughout the
area, with deciduous and coniferous trees planted more heavily at the
perimeter.
Site Plan by Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning (click to enlarge)
To this point, I’ve emphasized the site design moves
which are most specific to the function and meaning of a Community Living
Center devoted to the care of dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. In particular,
I’ve described how the Robertson/Sherwood/ Architects team melded an inspiring
setting with a solution we believe will resonate on many levels. I should also
point out that we looked beyond the immediate site to reinforce the larger
order and geometry of the entire VA Roseburg Medical Center campus. The project
will continue existing physical patterns and structures, and (we hope) embody the
essential and unique spirit of the place.
Because
memory care patients live in the moment, our job is to provide them with as
many good moments as possible. A goal is to expand the possible range of their
experiences by enlarging their frames of reference. If the outdoor spaces for
the CLC Expansion project are successful, they will contribute significantly to
the well-being of the residents by helping them sense the connections between
themselves and all things.
Inexperienced architects too often make the mistake
of relegating design of the landscaping to the status of an afterthought. There
was no way this would be the case for the CLC Expansion project. Once we had
selected the site, the course the project would take was clear. To paraphrase
my former professor, the late Bill Kleinsasser, the design of places for people should
not only support use but also richly evoke human response and involvement; that
is, provide meaning. Enlisting the power of a place vastly enriches the search
for order and meaning among the many constituent systems of which any work of
architecture is comprised. We were fortunate to have found inspiration in a
providential confluence of program and site. We hope the corresponding design we
have generated will be seen as a clear, rich, and meaningful expression of a locus amoenus.
Next in the Case Study Series: Sustainability
(1) A mandala is a concentric diagram that has spiritual
and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism. According to the
psychologist David Fontana, its symbolic nature can help one “to access
progressively deeper levels of consciousness, ultimately assisting the mediator
to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which
the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises.”
(2) To protect the patients, the “open” portion of the
courtyard will be secured with a fence which still allows views to the vista
beyond.
(3) Latin for“pleasant place.”
