Texas Children’s Hospital
is one of the leading children’s medical
facilities in the country. Located in Houston’s
Texas Medical Center, the hospital entails
a campus of three large buildings separated
by public streets. Basement parking areas
and research facilities extend underground
beyond the buildings resulting in a landscape
that is largely a roof garden at street
level. White Oak Studio landscape architects
have completed all of the landscape development
in two major projects in 1990 and 2002.
Using native trees, azaleas, ornamental
grasses, earthforms and landscape lighting,
one objective was to unify the separate
sites into a coherent identifiable campus.
A major public artwork was integrated at
the corner of Fannin and Holcombe streets,
in collaboration with architect Charles
Tapley. At the north entrance to the professional
building, a giant mosaic lizard greets children
with a colorful grin. This sculpture (mosaic
tile by artist Fletcher Mackay) was inspired
by a picture by a young hospital patient.
A wonderful playground for patients and
siblings (by architect Charles Tapley) welcomes
visitors to the Critical Care facility.
Rooftop courtyards and landscaped balconies
are used to bring natural elements further
into the experience of hospital patients.
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