Design Principles of Clinical Sites with Emphasis on Components of Healing gardens, Horticultural Therapy Spaces and The Persian Garden

Spending long time in the hospital environment, usually for patients, staff and visitors is stressful and unpleasant experience. In this study, we attempted to integrate principles of healing gardens, horticultural therapy and Persian gardens in order to extract suitable criteria for designing therapeutic environments which provide peace of mind and wellbeing for the individuals present at these sites. We specially considered the cultural and climate specifications of Iran in developing the criteria.
Since, one of the main components of healing gardens and horticultural therapy spaces is their user-oriented nature. These spaces should be compatible with the interests and preferences of each society. Therefore, this study was carried out based on the methodology of combined strategies and case studies. Because of abundance of contents, in this paper, only the first part is discussed and the second part: “synthesis strategies” is explained in detailed in another paper.
In this study, principles of the Persian Garden, healing gardens and horticultural therapy was combined and then design principles of therapeutic environments with special emphasis on the comfort of users through the stimulation of the senses, simplicity, visual pleasure, increased social interaction, rehabilitation patients, etc. were developed.
Although, the healing gardens have gained an extensive attention from different countries in recent years, this kind of gardens have not been implemented in Iran yet. Consequently, it seems that the combinationof Persian garden principles with healing sites design principles along with appropriate planting can create a peaceful and wellbeing place for patients, visitors and staff and leads to reduction of stress, increase of social interaction and life expectancy, and improving healing of users.