The six-story facility includes an immersive outdoor environment that is integral to the therapeutic process and pays homage to Louisiana’s physical environment. The hospital’s healing garden accommodates whimsical recreation, passive contemplation, events like fundraisers, and dedicated staff areas to unwind. Conceptually, the garden evokes Louisiana’s geography with boardwalks passing over depressed, swamp-like grounds, thick pines conjuring piney woods, play mounds inspired by hills, meandering walks recalling winding rivers, and plantings representing the arpents brought over by the French. A prominent statue of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, is right at home among animal statues, tracks imprinted into concrete walks, and three oversized bird houses for an owl, woodpecker and brown pelican.
Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital
Baton Rouge, LA
It’s Baton Rouge’s first freestanding, dedicated children’s hospital— and its physical environment articulates a rich story of regional history, geography and zoology.
HKS, Inc.
- Landscape Architecture
