Multisensory Therapeutic Garden for a General Special Education School

Abstract

Therapeutic landscapes involve the collaboration of landscape architecture, architecture, planning, and behavioral psychology. By incorporating research from each field and tailoring the design to a generalized special education elementary school, this project aims to create a multisensory experience that incorporates opportunities for play, education, community, and relaxation. Preliminary research explored the history of therapeutic landscapes and architectural design in historical psychiatric facilities, which then led to the current literature on therapeutic design for educational campuses. Findings show that the use of these therapeutic design principles are becoming more common, but there is still room for improvement. The proposed school site is based on the Bedford School in Fairburn, Georgia, but does incorporate the current academic program. The theoretical program for grades 1-6 focuses on cognitive ability, and relies on the outdoor space as an important part of the educational program. The proposed site design includes aromatherapy, tactile therapy, audial therapy, visual therapy, and levels of enclosure. The design will incorporate an open lawn area, a traditional playground, a music area with equipment and instruments, several outdoor classrooms, a produce garden, small, enclosed quiet rooms, a path with seasonal plants and seating areas, and a relocated soccer field. Given the constraints placed on this project, such as time, inability to visit the site, and inability to have discussions with the client, it is as complete as possible. That being said, future advancements in the field may build on it and create a fuller set of guidelines for multisensory therapeutic design.