Saturday, August 31, 2013

Therapeutic Landscapes


Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces [Kindle Edition]

Author: Clare Cooper Marcus | Language: English | ISBN: B00FCUE6NK | Format: PDF, EPUB

Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces
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This comprehensive and authoritative guide offers an evidence-based overview of healing gardens and therapeutic landscapes from planning to post-occupancy evaluation. It provides general guidelines for designers and other stakeholders in a variety of projects, as well as patient-specific guidelines covering twelve categories ranging from burn patients, psychiatric patients, to hospice and Alzheimer's patients, among others. Sections on participatory design and funding offer valuable guidance to the entire team, not just designers, while a planting and maintenance chapter gives critical information to ensure that safety, longevity, and budgetary concerns are addressed.

Download latest books on mediafire and other links compilation Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces
  • File Size: 76268 KB
  • Print Length: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 20, 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B00FCUE6NK
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray:
    Not Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,258 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
    • #50 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Landscape
First, given his long history of publications and credibility in this area, when Roger Ulrich writes the foreword to a book, there is a pretty good chance that the book itself will be extraordinary. And Therapeutic Landscapes is extraordinary.

There is one significant detail missing from the book description above (i.e. the material lifted from the back cover) - I was very surprised to find about 300 beautiful photographs and illustrated designs (all with the exception of one or two are in full color) perfectly nestled and numerically captioned to accompany the written text. The photographs are of such high quality, and each is appropriate to the educational components being described in each chapter. There is an average of about 1 beautiful image per page, and in a book about the therapeutic value of nature and design with nature in mind, this visual is so important - the book comes alive and the material is more relevant.

The written content itself is a precise match with its description - highly researched! It was obvious before even finishing the introduction that this project involved gathering and synthesizing a tremendous amount of cutting-edge studies (as well as historical documents) from a wide variety of medico-scientific and design publications. There are many texts that have attempted the same; however Therapeutic Landscapes excels because of the way in which the information is presented -

1. Just the right amount of historical background to provide a frame of reference
2. Makes the scientific case for evidence-based design with just the right amount of depth without being too technical
3. Explores the general and specific considerations and guidelines for design
4. Each chapter is referenced - how valuable!
5.
Being in the outdoors and the action of gardening itself can be incredibly healing to people who are recuperating from surgery or a major illness, and for their caregivers. When I was a teenager, I had multiple rounds of lung surgery, and gardening on my front porch was one of the first things that made me feel human again after being in the hospital almost constantly for over a month. I think this experience was pivotal in my decision to become a landscaper a few years later.

So it was with great interest that I picked up this book on therapeutic landscaping. The publisher and the price point should make it obvious that this isn't a book for casual readers but more a text to be used in landscape design classes, for healthcare professionals, or for anyone who may be designing an outdoor space for people to rest and recover in. That said, the text is simple and clearly laid out and you don't need any kind of architectural or professional background to derive great benefit from the practical tips, clear photos, and steady guidance within.

Though I have picked up multiple books on how to design gardens for people with disabilities, how to select tools and plants, and what to consider when creating healing gardens, this book is far and away the most authoritative and clear compendium of every consideration you will need to create a therapeutic landscape in pretty much any setting. The book covers issues of liability, signage, best practices for pathways and seating and more.

Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces Download

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