Nationwide Children’s Hospital

OLIN has designed the surrounding campus and healing gardens for Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, one of the largest pediatric hospitals and research institutes in the United States. The campus was designed as a cohesive healing environment that reaches beyond the institution itself. The design for the new six-acre landscape is adjacent to historic Livingston Park, and creates a continuous park setting along the southern perimeter of the campus. There is a series of healing gardens, one featuring a sensory-rich maze of plantings such as lemon and chocolate mints, wild thyme, lamb’s ear, cone flower and colorful snapdragon. The gardens also include children’s climbing sculptures and a moonlight garden that extends the use of the site into the evening. Green infrastructure practices were incorporated into the landscape with rainwater collection, storage and re-use, and an approximate 2.5-acre increase of permeable surface throughout the campus. A LEED® certified central energy plant supplies sustainable energy to the entire hospital campus.

The design team created continuity between interior and exterior spaces. Interior design of the tower incorporates playful nature-themed motifs, such as mobile sculptures depicting colorful flocks of birds. The welcome lobby employs wood paneling and surprises guests through the use of playfully monumental sculptures of rabbits, deer and turtles. This relationship between interior and exterior is fully realized in the dining courtyard, which connects the hospital tower to the landscape. The tranquil courtyard creates a feeling of woodland surround with a canopy of Locust trees and vertical plantings of Virginia Creeper. Bluestone paving is bordered by grooved walls which are reminiscent of the regional limestone strata of nearby Hocking Hills State Park.

Location
Columbus, OH

Owner
Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Status
Completed 2012

Key Team Members
Laurie Olin, Partner-in-Charge
Hallie Boyce, Associate-in-Charge
Richard Roark, Project Manager

Awards
2012, American Society of Landscape Architects Ohio Chapter, Merit Award