san diego medical center healing garden

LOCATION:

San Diego, CA

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Located in a suburban neighborhood of San Diego, the Kaiser Permanente Zion Medical Center serves the health needs of the city’s metropolitan population. McCullough was hired to re-design the front entry of the Center as part of the hospital’s plan to give a fresh look to its facility. The team took this as an opportunity to install a healing garden to benefit all users of the Center. An entry plaza inherently allows patients and visitors alike to benefit from the pleasant environment. The goal was to create a space for visitors and patients as they enter the building and for discharged patients waiting to be picked up after release. While working closely with OSHPOD and the local municipality for permitting, McCullough achieved Kaiser’s goals by creating a design with relaxing water features, a meditation garden, calm plantings with shade and movement, and a variety of seating areas surrounded by fragrant plants that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

PROJECT CHALLENGES: This project’s challenge was to create a warm and inviting place for patients and visitors while also screening the building and nearby areas of heavy traffic. This was accomplished by combining natural barriers, such as soft grasses and trees, along with constructed barriers, such as a woven basket-weave fence and planters. This combination of materials serves to create a healing oasis at the front of the Medical Center.