Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center

Downey, CA

Set amongst a bustling hospital campus and regional retail center, the landscape design for Kaiser’s 200-bed tower seeks to unify, welcome, and soothe. The Downey Medical Center expansion and parking structure include a series of public and private healing gardens and a new emergency department grand entry with outdoor waiting rooms in a garden setting. The design takes cues from the modern language of the tower, and at times, introduces new forms that are in stark contrast with this modern language. The site is organized by a series of garden rooms unified by the presence of water.

An entry garden welcomes visitors arriving from the street with planting that screens the parking garage and directs views to the front entrance of the emergency department.

A terrace outside the main entrance defined by the building’s second level overhang contains a focal specimen tree that creates an indoor/outdoor garden-like setting.

A series of strolling paths allow visitors the opportunity to connect with nature and find comfortable spaces of respite.

A private terrace located on the west side of the corridor provides a patio space with a small bubbling water feature under the canopy of a loose arrangement of trees.

With a focus on water conservation, the landscape utilizes the latest technologies in stormwater management and rainwater harvesting systems.

Related