Lovingly-designed outdoor spaces within The ANCHOR Centre will give patients and their families a chance to enjoy fresh air and beautiful surroundings during their visits.
As part of our ANCHORED Together appeal to enhance what is already planned to be a state-of-the-art facility, we’ve commissioned a special outdoors project that will provide an oasis of calm.
Award-winning garden designer Kirsty McLean is behind the plans for the outdoor spaces, which include an accessible courtyard on the ground floor of the new ANCHOR Centre. Here, she lifts the lid on how the courtyard has been designed, while 3D visuals show what the space will look like when fully planted.
What's the inspiration behind the spaces you're creating?
The courtyard can be enjoyed by patients on their visits to The ANCHOR Centre, and it will also be seen from inside the treatment space, thanks to large windows overlooking it. With that in mind, I wanted to evoke thoughts of warm, sunny colours - perhaps even creating the feeling of a holiday abroad, where you would bask in warmth and watch the world go by.
There are warm sunny colours, with blue and white mosaic tiles and soft terracotta planters with green, large-leafed planting to evoke a sense of peace and relaxation.
We hope that through the design we can bring something uplifting for patients to focus on, or simply a moment of welcome distraction, that reminds them that there is something beyond this place and point in their life.
What's one of your favourite features you have planned for this project?
Planning for and planting a space like this requires careful foresight and a thorough maintenance plan. Has it been tricky to create something suitable?
