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Therapeutic
Garden for Children
Wellesley, Massachusetts
Douglas Reed Landscape Architecture Inc.
 Topographic model
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On a 1-acre site adjacent to the Institute for child and adolescent development, is located a therapeutic garden an integral component of the treatment of behavioral disorders in traumatized children. It was developed as an environment where children and therapists could engage in treatment through the experience of a series of unprogrammed and evocative spaces, in addition to opportunities for play. The garden expresses the belief that interaction with landscape, designed for therapeutic purposes, enables a child to enter the deepest reaches of self. |
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The design expresses the narrative of a watercourse weaving its way through the site, linking a sequence of spaces that correspond to stages of child's recovery. The topography of the site was reshaped into a series of archetypal land forms carved by water; a cave-like ravine for safety and security, an upland wooded plateau for exploration, a mount for climbing, an island for seclusion, a pond for discovery, steep and shallow slopes that invite risk, and a large open glade for running and playing.