Hospitals and medical complexes are critical in our society. They are places of healing, birth, and, unfortunately, sometimes death. Within their walls, people experience great joy, intense sorrow, and unimaginable stress.
It’s natural that building planners and administrators are constantly seeking ways to comfort and improve the mental well-being of all who stay, visit, and work within the confines of these institutions.
Hospitals Seek a Less Stressful Environment Using Green Spaces
Today’s more holistic approach to medicine drives hospitals and medical complexes to offer a more comforting and less stressful environment. Along with stress reduction, the goal is to ease the fears of patients that can interfere with their recoveries.
We are witnessing a growing trend of health complexes offering garden retreats and green areas. Patients, workers, and visitors can relax in these welcoming spaces to recover, reflect, and recharge.
Over the years, studies have shown that interacting with nature, or even just viewing nature, can contribute to a shorter hospital stay and a better sense of well-being.
A classic study performed by environmental psychologist Roger Ulrich confirmed that recovering heart patients who viewed scenes of nature while in the hospital were less anxious. They even needed less pain medication.
It is now accepted that exposure to nature can lower your heart rate and reduce blood pressure. Experiencing nature can affect your moods; it can lighten depression, increase positivity, and allow a person to experience a general sense of well-being or improvement.
When you add up all these benefits, it’s of little surprise that exposure to nature can even lead to shorter hospitalizations.
NYU Langone Hospital: Site of Our Extensive Landscape Installation
We are extremely proud to have handled the complete landscape installation for NYU’s Langone Hospital, Kimmel Pavilion and Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital.
We thoroughly enjoyed working in collaboration with Hargreaves Jones (formerly Hargreaves Associates) as landscape architects, and Ennead Architects, a New York City-based architectural firm.
This extensive and complex project involved the creation of rooftop terraces, lush gardens, and expansive outdoor spaces. The hospital’s campus covers four blocks in Manhattan on First Avenue, from East 30th Street to East 34th Street. It is one of the largest scale projects to be undertaken in Manhattan in recent years.
These new outdoor spaces give patients, visitors and staff access to natural light and open space. Imagine during a stressful day, stepping onto a 7th floor terrace and feeling renewed by beautifully landscaped gardens, complete with towering trees.
The Ground Level Arrival Plaza
There is a ground level arrival plaza for the new hospital tower that spans 1-acre of prime Manhattan real estate. The arrival garden and plaza seamlessly blend with the roadway that allows patients to arrive and be dropped off by car.
A retractable flood barrier is also incorporate into the design to accommodate variable weather conditions.
The 7th Floor Terrace and Roof Garden
We’re particularly proud of the 7th floor’s outdoor children’s terrace and roof garden. It spans 26,000 square feet and overlooks the East River and offers a view of the Empire State Building.
Amenities include gardens, outdoor dining, an outdoor classroom, and interactive elements for pediatric patients. It offers extra space for conferences and fundraising events.
Visitors enjoy the welcomed feel of sunlight, greenery, and open space. If you ever experienced the relief sunrooms offer, imagine the joy of being outside on the 7th floor terrace, drinking in the sunlight, nature, and fresh air.
One interesting challenge with the terrace involved the microclimatic conditions that existed in the relatively small terrace space. Within one area, we had to provide specific plantings for different climate conditions including:
- Sunny, wind-tolerant native coastal planting
- Seaside garden plantings
- Shade-loving, low-height, highly textured plantings
We wanted visitors to feel that they were walking through a garden setting. So, we designed the terrace to accommodate a soil depth of 24″. This allowed the plantings to be set flush with the pavement.
The eventual result of this massive installation project was the creation of garden areas that offered comfort and calming reassurance for all.
A tremendous amount of planning and work went into this installation.
It called for:
- Over 5,000 perennials and plantings
- Over 2,000 cubic yards of engineered soil to reduce stormwater runoff
- Intricate custom paver installation
- Elaborate IPE structures, woodwork, seating, and decking
- A canopy perennial viewing roof
- 7″ caliper specimen trees craned to rooftop positions
Sponzilli Landscape Services Featured in Turf Magazine
It gratified us to have our NYU Langone hospital installation featured in the Fall 2021 issue of Turf magazine. The article is titled, “Urban Greenery At NYC Hospital.”
Sponzilli Offers Landscaping Solutions for Healthcare Centers
At Sponzilli, we are excited to offer landscaping solutions for hospitals and medical centers, along with our complete residential and commercial landscape services.
We have completed landscape installations at a number of area hospitals including:
- NYU Langone Hospital, Manhattan, NY
- Stamford Hospital, Stamford, CT
- Coney Island Hospital, Brooklyn, NY
- Lawrence Hospital, Bronxville, NY
Our company’s special training and experience regarding creating outdoor spaces for hospital outdoor rehabilitation areas ensures that our medical facility projects have successful outcomes.
Sponzilli Landscape Group is also OSHA 30 compliant. We know how to work successfully around clean zones while minimizing any disruptions.
Sponzilli not only installs, but also maintains landscaping for medical facilities and hospitals. We service the areas of northern New Jersey and the New York City area.
