The Healing Power of Nature: Anderson & Desimone Healing Garden

A short drive from Downtown Boston, MA, you'll find the Anderson & Desimone Healing Garden, a testament to biophilic design's profound impact on health and well-being. Nestled on the 6th floor of BIDMC's Klarman Building, this garden is more than just a space for relaxation—it's a sanctuary for healing, reflection, and connection with nature.

Central to the garden's design are Tournesol's Kitsap Modular Planter Walls which are critical to the project's wayfinding strategy. The weathering steel walls of Kitsap guide visitors through the rooftop garden, creating an intuitive and immersive experience with each curve and bend that frames the space. Kitsap artistically cradles perennials strategically planned by landscape designers, ensuring the garden remains vibrant and full of life year-round. The biophilic design benefits patients, their families, and the dedicated staff at BIDMC.

Payette Associates, the landscape architects behind the project, along with Turner Construction and Xquisite Landscaping, transformed the rooftop space into 11,000 square feet of ADA-accessible pathways of flourishing plantings, completed in 2022. The customizable Kitsap walls allowed the designer to incorporate varying planter wall heights easily to accommodate the site's needs, and specifying our weathering steel finish not only gives a beautiful, rich patina finish but has its own set of benefits.

Tournesol's weathering steel finish is resistant to atmospheric corrosion compared to other steels. Under the influence of weather, weathering steel forms a protective layer on its surface, continuously developing and regenerating to form a protective coating. This unique characteristic allows the steel to rust in a way that protects it and creates a natural look.

The Anderson & Desimone Healing Garden represents hope and healing, exploring the intersection of nature and healthcare. It reminds us of nature's influential role in our lives, especially during recovery. For more insights into transforming urban spaces into flourishing gardens, visit our blog on incorporating well-being into the built environment.

Together, the Anderson & Desimone Healing Garden and Tournesol products illustrate the possibilities of combining innovative design with nature to create spaces that truly cater to the well-being of everyone involved, showcasing how thoughtful landscape architecture can create spaces that heal, inspire, and uplift.