Books

 

Clare Cooper Marcus and Naomi A. Sachs, Therapeutic Landscapes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Designing Healing Gardens and Restorative Outdoor Spaces. (Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley and Sons, 2014).

An indispensable resource for landscape architects and healthcare administrators, emphasizing the importance of evidence-based design to meet the needs of specific patient populations, visitors, and staff. This book presents an overview of healing gardens and therapeutic landscapes from planning to post-occupancy evaluation. Patient-specific strategies address twelve categories ranging from burn patients and psychiatric patients to hospice, sick children, and Alzheimer’s patients. Case studies of exemplary gardens demonstrate best practice and provide inspiration. Informative chapters focus on participatory design, funding, research, planting and maintenance, horticultural therapy, and sustainability.

House as a Mirror of Self: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of Home(Berkeley,CA:Conari, 1994; Nicolas-Hays,FL, 2004)

A unique explorations of people’s emotional attachment to home via in-depth interviews with more than sixty individuals and couples living in houses, flats, apartments, a houseboat, converted factories, a dome in the forest, etc. Discussion of themes such as people who love their houses, hate their houses, have lost a loved home via fire or divorce, keep moving house, can’t move house, recreate their childhood home, come apart as a couple over building a house, etc. Suggested exercises encourage the reader to explore their own connection with home.

A best seller that continues to engage and intrigue the reader. The book was selected as the Book of the Year by the Detroit Free press in 1994, and the author appeared on the Oprah show to talk about ”What your house says about you”.

(Ed. with Marni Barnes) Healing Gardens: Therapeutic Benefits and Design Recommendations (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1999)

The definitive guide to research on the restorative power of nature and its applications to the design of healing gardens in healthcare. Illustrated design guidelines and case studies of outdoor spaces in a variety of healthcare settings such as acute care hospitals, children’s hospitals, nursing homes, Alzheimer’s facilities, psychiatric hospitals, and hospice. Received awards from American Society of Landscape Architects, and the American Horticultural Therapy Association.

(Ed. with Carolyn Francis) People Places: Design Guidelines for Urban Open Space (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2nd Edition, 1998)

Research-based recommendations on the design of urban open spaces such as parks, plazas, playgrounds,campuses, etc, together with illustrated case studies. Used as a text in many schools of landscape architecture. Received award from American Society of Landscape Architects.

(With Wendy Sarkissian),Housing as if People Mattered: Site Design Guidelines for Medium Density Family Housing (Berkeley,CA: University of California Press, 1984)

Illustrated recommendations to guide the site design for family housing at medium densities, based on a review of more than a hundred case studies of resident reactions to the design of affordable housing in the English-speaking world. Used as a text in many schools of architecture. Received award from Progressive Architecture.

Easter Hill Village: Some Social Implications of Design (New York: The Free Press, 1975. Out of print)