Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center
Landscape Architecture Goals, Objectives, and Program

BACKGROUND      The Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center is located on a 70 acre campus on the northwest side of Carson City providing regional services. The hospital is sited on the north side of Eagle Valley Creek and existing riparian corridor which served as a focus of the site design. Trails connect additional medical office buildings and the main hospital to a regional creek trail. The program for the landscape areas includes a regionally inspired planting design using drought resistant plants, interesting mulch textures, entry monuments, plaza sited for spectacular off-site views, lower healing garden near riparian areas with private patient hospital access and a campus trail system. Site planning, plaza design, and landscape design were provided.

MISSION STATEMENT    :  ‘The Healing Power of Nature’ Provide a naturalistic landscape that pulls from and relates to the surrounding landscape addressing needs for user groups including patients, visitors, staff and the community; with hotel like elegance for the public spaces and residential/home like qualities for the patient areas, integrating the hospital and grounds design with the natural site qualities/elements, and enhancing the existing natural features.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES and NOTABLE ASPECTS  
- A pedestrian circulation system was provided which allows for a regional campus trail and smaller scaled walking experiences for hospital patients in a healing garden setting.
- An outdoor healing garden was designed below the main plaza near Eagle Valley Creek with private patient access and stable concrete walking surfaces. Seating, highly colorful and aromatic plantings were provided in the healing garden. Planters are designed which can be used in patient occupational or physical therapy where patients can sit on walls and work on plants within.
- A grand arrival experience to the main hospital was provided with patient drop area. The adjacent dramatic, elevated outdoor plaza area was designed as a landmarks/focal point relating to the natural environment and to see spectacular off-site views. Large gathering space is provided for receptions and fund raisers. The plaza is sub-divided to provide pockets of seating and shade is provided while not obstructing views from inside the hospital.
- Gardens were provided with residential/home like qualities for patient use with plants typical in a residential setting (colorful perennials, plants with familiar smells: roses, lilacs, herbs); with site elements designed in a more organic, informal way by use of line, form, color, and texture; and with a more intimate scale for gatherings, a smaller scale of plantings areas, a greater mixture of species and colors and special attention to micro-climate.

- The hospital grounds design was integrated with the natural site by locating large garden areas at Eagle Valley Creek and by providing plazas, trails, gardens, adjacent to natural areas assisting users in appreciating and relating to the site’s natural systems such as water, wildlife, and views. Elements of the Eagle Valley Creek riparian zone, such as water, boulders, and naturalized riparian vegetation were incorporated into the main building and plaza areas. Seating and gathering areas were provided which capitalize on the best off site views to the mountains and to downtown and to on site views including the creek corridor and existing landmark trees.
- The hospital architectural design/façade geometry was integrated into plaza and hardscape design.
- New detention basins were designed in a manner providing the necessary storm water management functions while visually blending in with natural creek corridor wetland and new site features.
- Perimeter parkway and parking lot landscape is designed with groundplane patterns that were drawn from the nearby braided stream with bands of plants and limited turf bands. The regional ornamental plant palette was extensively researched. Native plants are used in addition to others chosen with drought resistance appropriate to the high desert but with interesting textures, form, and year round color.