Garden Clinic
Sector
Public
Location
Itheca, NY
Year
2022
Cen Shen, Changsong LI
Client
Cornell University
Purpose
Healthcare
Award
Muse-Plantinum
Garden Clinic is a reproductive healthcare facility designed within a university campus, exploring how medical architecture can be integrated into public and academic environments.
The project challenges the conventional separation between clinical facilities and public space by proposing a building that is both protective and open.
The building is organized through a series of layered gardens, courtyards, and circulation spaces that create gradients of privacy and accessibility. Instead of relying only on enclosed corridors and waiting rooms, landscape and spatial depth are used to guide movement, control visibility, and protect patient privacy.
Environmental strategies are integrated into the architectural design through daylight access, natural ventilation, and planted courtyards that improve microclimate conditions and create a therapeutic environment. The landscape becomes part of the building’s environmental and spatial system rather than a separate element.
The project proposes an architectural approach that integrates building, landscape, environmental performance, and social infrastructure into a single spatial system, demonstrating how architecture can respond to sensitive social programs through spatial design and environmental strategy.
