by Brianna Crandall — February 8, 2015—The Angie Fowler Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Institute at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital recently selected a modular living wall system from Tournesol Siteworks to serve as a Children’s Healing Garden to promote healing and well-being for its young patients, their families and staff members.
The Tournesol Siteworks VGM Modular Living Wall system was selected for the project. The VGM living wall free-stands in the healing garden and is comprised of 94 modules covering approximately 375 sq. ft. Adding an additional layer of complexity to the project, a tubular steel support structure needed to be engineered and erected for the VGM system’s mounting rails to attach to.
According to the company, the term “healing gardens” is most often applied to green spaces in healthcare facilities that specifically aim to improve health outcomes. These gardens provide a place of refuge and promote healing in patients, families, and staff. According to leaders in this field, healing comes from the garden’s ability to promote relief from symptoms, stress reduction and improvement in overall sense of well-being and hopefulness. Any environment can promote healing, but gardens are particularly able to do so because humans are hard-wired to find nature engrossing and soothing, points out Tournesol Siteworks.
This particular garden was spearheaded by architects Stanley Beaman and Sears of Atlanta. Regional salesperson Brian Mitalo assisted them with the basic design, and they engaged local landscape architects Visionscape to help with the horticultural design. Steve Lukasik of Wolf Creek Company (a local irrigation design/distributor) helped design the irrigation plan, rounding out the full team effort.
A video about the VGM living wall module assembly is available on YouTube.
The Fowler Cancer Institute is at the heart of groundbreaking cancer research and advanced care specifically for patients ages 15 to 30. Through a unique partnership with the Livestrong Foundation and the National Cancer Institute, the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Center is addressing the specific needs of adolescents and young adults with cancer including age-appropriate inpatient and outpatient facilities.
Tournesol Siteworks’ complete range of commercial-grade siteworks enhance a building and its environment with fully integrated landscape solutions. The company manufactures lightweight pots, planters and site furnishings in FRP fiberglass, GFRC concrete and thermoplastic materials, with groundbreaking container irrigation systems to match. The rapidly expanding business offers a broad pallet of innovative solutions for commercial living walls. Its tested solutions for hanging planters from buildings and lining built-in place planters provides the basis for its green building components.
