in pediatric oncology
NATURE
NATURE
in pediatric oncology
by kenzie mcneilly
INTRO PROBLEMS SOLUTIONS SOLUTION 1 SOLUTION 2 COLOPHON
At the start of my research, I was interested in incorporating nature within the hospital. I looked into how architecture could represent nature within a space and from there, I shifted my research to finding plant installations that would be safe, visually pleasing, and self-sustainable in a hospital. Touring the pediatric oncology’s floor at Johns Hopkins Hospital, inspired me to switch gears and create a solution for the lack of nature that was in this part of the hospital. My book explains two ideas that could incorporate nature more effectively within the pediatric oncology ward.
INTRO
INTRO
PROBLEMS
1
2
Glancing out the first window we came to on the pediadtric oncology floor, I instantly noticed how terribly brown the green roof at Johns Hopkins was. There seemed to have been little thought put into the design of the green roofs, even though they were perfectly visible throughout many other parts of the hospital. I immediately wanted to solve this problem and re-imagine how a green roof could be enjoyable to look at from anywhere in the hospital, even in the winter.
Seeing the hallways and the patient rooms in the pediatric oncology ward at Johns Hopkins Hospital allowed me to see how nature was not present in the design. Patients had little to interact with on the bare walls and their rooms were very drab. Our tour guide informed me that it would be very unlikely for plant installations to be allowed in a patients room, like I originally planned to do, because of the risks involved. I began imagining other ways patients could have something safe to interact with on a regular basis that brought in nature to their environment.
SOLUTIONS
1
2
Due to the poor design, I chose to re-imagine the green roof at Johns Hopkins. Instead of it being a grid with the same plant in each plot, I wanted the green roof to have a variety of self-sustaining, durable plants that provided color and interesting patterns. Inspired by Roberto Burle Marx, a well known Brazillian landscape architect, I drew a layout of a possible design for the green roof. The layout involves organic shapes to balance the man made, geometric shapes on the exterior of the hospital, and also used color to represent each plant on the roof.
Bringing the roof top garden into a patient’s room, so that they can interact with it in a hands on manner, learn, and decorate their personal space is the main goal for this solution. By creating representations of each plant used on the roof in wall decal form, the kids can look at a small poster that has a picture of each plant on it, learn about the plant, and see where it is located on the green roof. They can then choose which ones to place on the walls of their room or in the hallways. Decals would be easy to clean, easy to remove, and add color to the patient’s lives.
SOLUTION:1
ACTUAL ROOF AT JOHNS HOPKINS 02/24/2013
Solution 1 is all about re-imagining the dead green roof that was visible from the pediatric oncology ward and from many other locations in the hospital. The main goal for this new green roof design is for it to be visually pleasing no matter what season. Through research, I was able to find self-sustaining, durable, and beautiful plants that are meant to be planted on green roofs. Each color on the landscape layout signifies a different plant. My hope is for the children to look at the green roof as a symbol of hope.
RE-IMAGINED GREEN ROOF
PHACELIA CAMPANULARIA SEDUM ALBUM ‘coral carpet’ DELOSPERMA ‘lavender ice’ DELOSPERMA DYERI PEBBLE PATHWAY ALLIUM ‘summer beauty’
SOLUTION: 2
BEFORE WALL DECALS outpatient room 2/24/2013
AFTER WALL DECALS outpatient room 2/24/2013
Solution 2’s main goal is to bring the green roof into the patient’s environment in a safe manner. Creating wall decals that resemble each plant used on the green roof, will allow the patients to learn about nature and will also give them something to interact with on a daily basis without risk. To the right are simple translations of each plant and the pebble pathway. The patient can choose his or her favorite decals and place them in their room, or in the hallways.
PHACELIA CAMPANULARIA SEDUM ALBUM ‘coral carpet’ DELOSPERMA ‘lavender ice’ DELOSPERMA DYERI PEBBLE PATHWAY ALLIUM ‘summer beauty’
Each patient will receive a mini poster upon their arrival to the pediatric oncology floor. An outline of the landscape design will be on one side of the poster for them to color. On the otherside will be a picture of each wall decall with information about each plant. This poster should be a keepsake for when the patient triumphantly overcomes their cancer. They can look back and remember the little things that got them through it all.
IN HONOR OF the pediatric oncology patients who are fighting in this battle, the families who stick by their loved ones, and the medical teams that save precious lives everyday. thank you all.
DESIGN Avenir by Adrian Frutiger Neenah Smooth Digital Finish 80lb. text Photographs by Lee Ahlskog Group Members Tori Ero, Jiyoon Cha, Kenzie McNeilly, Rachel Cimino RESOURCES greenroofplants.com hopkinschildrens.org britannica.com (Roberto Burle Marx) SPECIAL THANKS Charlotte R. Bloomberg Johns Hopkins Childrens Center
THANK YOU for your time