Therapeutic garden at the Oregon Burn Center with raised planters, handrails, and city views beyond.

Legacy Oregon Burn Center Garden

Legacy Emanuel Hospital
Location: Portland, Oregon
Collaborators: Andersen Construction (Contractor) NBBJ (Architect) Mayer/Reed (Landscape Architect)
Role: Project Manager / Design Lead
Status: Completed 2022
Credits: Images courtesy of NBBJ, Mayer/Reed, and Steven A. Miller

Legacy Emanuel’s new Oregon Burn Center is the only burn care facility of its kind between Seattle and Sacramento, and now includes a new therapeutic garden designed as a restorative landscape rooted in empathy and healing. The design team collaborated closely with clinical staff to create a blend of private, social, and therapeutic spaces that support the complex needs of burn survivors, their families, and their caregivers.

Mobility-focused features — ramps, stairs, handrails, and varied surfaces — facilitate rehabilitation, while non-toxic plantings offer calming sensory experiences. Private seating areas accommodate end-of-life moments, and a small nature play space welcomes visiting children. A private staff area offers rare outdoor respite. For patients not yet able to venture outside, the garden is designed to offer moments of connection from within the unit’s interior spaces.

As a Senior Landscape Architect with Mayer/Reed, Tim Strand was project manager and design lead for this project.

Mayer/Reed Team: Carol Mayer-Reed, Tim Strand, Emily Kuo, Josh Carlson

People walking and sitting in the therapeutic garden with raised planters and seating. View of the therapeutic garden with trees, shrubs, and accessible pathways. Stone ramp with handrails surrounded by plantings in the therapeutic garden. Close-up of plants in raised planters in the therapeutic garden. People in the therapeutic garden with planters and a reflection of the city on the building. Raised planters with diverse plantings along a courtyard wall in the therapeutic garden. Fungi growing on a fallen log surrounded by rocks in the therapeutic garden. View of the therapeutic garden through large windows from inside the building while under construction. Aerial view of garden paths and plantings beside the building.