Therapeutic & Rehabilitation Garden Design

Therapeutic & Rehabilitation Garden

Summary A therapeutic garden where organic curves, planting, and sensory activities create a gradual journey from discovery and seclusion toward a central water experience.

01 — Project Overview : The project is a therapeutic and rehabilitation garden that relies on organic curves to shape diverse spaces combining openness, mystery, and seclusion. Plants play an essential role in guiding the user through the garden, while activities range from music and painting to other spaces designed to promote relaxation and meditation.

02 — Project Goal : The design aims to create a gradual sensory journey rather than a direct arrival at the destination. The user experience moves between different spaces of privacy and openness, where curves and plants help shape the path and indirectly guide movement. At the center of the project, water becomes the main attraction; a circular platform suspended over the water has been designed, allowing users to hear the sound of water and experience the space from beneath it as well. The goal was to make reaching and discovering this point an essential part of the therapeutic experience.

03 — Design Challenges : The challenge was to create a sense of mystery and discovery without losing clarity of movement. Therefore, direct paths were avoided; instead, curves and plants were used to create sequential views that conceal some parts of the garden while gradually revealing others. Additionally, designing the center required achieving a clear sensory relationship between the user and the water, ensuring it is not merely a visual element, but can be heard, approached, and experienced by passing underneath the suspended platform, making the experience multi-sensory.

04 — What I Learned : The project taught me that designing a therapeutic garden can rely just as much on senses and movement as it does on spatial distribution. A curve can create mystery and seclusion, plants can serve as a guiding tool, and sound, water, and activities can transform the nature of the experience from one place to another. Furthermore, the project developed my understanding of how to translate an abstract idea—such as relaxation and meditation—into spatial elements that users can actually see, hear, and experience.