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Abstract
In order to address the healthcare industry’s substantial ecological footprint, sustainability has become an overarching goal in healthcare design. However, its implementation tends to focus on built facilities themselves: energy, water efficiency, and indoor environments. Little research has been conducted on the integration of sustainable design into therapeutic landscapes, but some have questioned the restorative value of sustainable design alone, as it may fail to enhance beneficial human-nature connections. Restorative environmental design (RED), a novel strategy which fosters biophilic connections while avoiding adverse environmental impacts, is used here as a complementary approach to integrating ecological and human health in therapeutic landscape design. This research investigates how sustainable design practices can focus on enhancing experiential, aesthetic, and restorative value for human health and well-being. Practical RED research has been performed within children’s educational environments (Kellert and Derr, 2012), but its latent application for healthcare settings could define a new direction for integrated healing. A comparative case study method is used to document exemplary healthcare projects that demonstrate this interdependence of ecological and human health. Additionally, an evaluation framework was developed using design criteria derived from biophilic design, landscape aesthetics and preference, and restoration theories. Sustainable design strategies at each case study site achieved greater than 82% of restorative value criteria, and exhibited an integration of sustainable design in therapeutic landscapes. Therefore, with biophilic and evidence-based design considerations, sustainable design can be restorative for patients, visitors, and staff.