Healing gardens in Italian architectures for health: a current national panorama’s qualiquantitative evaluation

With a clear understanding of the principles of healing gardens firmly in mind, this evaluation considered the provision of therapeutic green space in Italy. Of 634 hospitals surveyed, only 4% of them had a therapeutic garden. This statistic alone demonstrates the importance of the work in which Stefano Capolongo and his team are involved. The presenters closely studied five hospital gardens in Lombardy and an ‘identity card’ was created for each. Their aim was to qualitatively observe these outdoor spaces in order to determine their effectiveness and to suggest improvements. The most noticeable weaknesses in these gardens were lack of signage, seating and shading – a fact that linked neatly with the earlier presentation by Clare Cooper Marcus. The presenters are aware of the need to engage both staff and patients in any discussion of the development, design and improvement of the hospital gardens they work with. A delegate suggested to the team that including the local community in the process could add an extra layer of inspiration and support to their questioning and garden development. The researchers concluded that access to nature and green spaces should be better understood in Italian healthcare architecture. The introduction of specific design guidelines based on the principles of healing gardens could have an important impact on the health of patients in Italian hospitals. Attendees at the presentation will watch the progress of this research with interest.