Healing Space Designed through Landscape: Sheltered Space in Panzhou People’s Hospital

When caring for patients’ physical well-being, hospitals may inadvertently neglect their
mental and emotional health. The focus of most hospitals’ design in China is on the
patients’ physical needs; however, Panzhou People’s Hospital utilizes design to create a
more relaxed and humanized environment. Patients and staff are all more relaxed, open,
and comfortable when in the hospital—everyone benefits, but especially the patients.

The landscape design integrates the new landscaping with the existing building’s form.
Planning began with an overall assessment of the site’s transportation system. The goal
was to use landscaping to create unique healing spaces. The design addresses the
patients’ physical and mental needs while simultaneously creating a community park for
the neighborhood residents.

The overall site planning starts from the rearrangement of the parking lot, which makes
the traffic route more convenient and precise. By incorporating and integrating the
scattered green spaces, the site brings in a new Former District Square and
Rehabilitation Garden. Given this, the site also returns nature to space through a natural
landscape design. Based on existing ecological diversity, the combination of plants and
water further provide a better multi-sensory living experience for the people.

The design uses curved elements that are both powerful and gentle at the same time to
evoke people’s empathy and infinite reveries. It allowed a more organic programmatic
space organization and integration with the surroundings. Consequently, spatial
relationships become more harmonious and serve as an effective guiding tool with the
utilize of design methods such as extension, overlap and reciprocation. Meanwhile, the
separation between people and cars ensures the safety and effectiveness of the traffic
flow. The Rehabilitation Garden is composed of green islands and tree groups on the
side of the municipal road, which effectively help isolate the dust and noise as well as
creating a comfortable environment under the forest. The diversity also provides high-
quality outdoor spaces for patients, their families, and the medical staff.

The project constructs multi-layer programmatic spaces with wide compatibility and high affinity. Scenery outdoor natural landscape companies with running spring water and pool benches cleverly combine physical elements with mental elements, providing sight, smell, touch, hearing, and other sensory stimulation to various groups of people. An outdoor social platform is established for patients, their families, and even people living in the surrounding neighborhoods to collectively engage and bring empathy with each other. A place for them to open their hearts, meditate, and calm.

With the joint efforts of many parties, the Former District Square has already been built. More and more people choose to stop here and stay for a while. This has not only become a place for the patients to relax and rehabilitate, but it also gathers residents in surrounding areas. The design put humanity as its priority. It physically creates a space for patients and their accompanies to stay and interact for emotional support. The design continues to explore and innovate in order to achieve a better, more beautiful, and more healing design approach for the green hospital environment.