Landscape & Urban Design Issue 28 2017 | Page 4

AHBE Landscape Architects Unveils Healing Gardens for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center AHBE Landscape Architects TEXT AHBE Landscape Architects 4 Landscape & Urban Design PHOTO @heliphoto.net T he Healing Gardens for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center create an environment in the heart of the city that help to promote healing, health and well-being. AHBE Landscape Architects, an esteemed Los Angeles-based firm known for its expertise in designing thoughtful, evocative landscapes that allow for contemplation and reflection, has created a healing environment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for patients, hospital staff, and visiting families and friends.   Unique solution transforms a concrete plaza into a restorative space in the city. The existing site consisted of a concrete plaza atop a multi-level garage. Using the metaphor of human skin, AHBE developed a multi-layered landscape solution that protects the existing building’s structural and mechanical integrity and accounts for an existing drainage system, emergency access, lighting and way finding, as well as extreme weather conditions. The solution – a unique, green roof-inspired system built onto the plaza’s existing structure – maximizes the impact of the landscape while minimizing construction and alterations to the existing building.