Nuestros Hijos Foundation Garden

In 2023, we signed a collaboration agreement with the Nuestros Hijos Foundation to design Healing and Therapeutic Gardens for the residence where they welcome and support children and adolescents with cancer, as well as their caregivers, who need a place to stay while receiving treatment in the city of Santiago.

This organization supports these families by implementing medical, rehabilitation, research, and development programs, as well as social, foster, and educational initiatives. Its goal is to offer them the opportunity to face the disease with dignity and reduce the multidimensional impact that cancer can have on their lives.

Based on a physical, social, and clinical diagnostic process and participatory design activities, we designed a master plan for natural areas, meeting the expectations of caregivers and patients for peaceful and accessible outdoor spaces, including adapted play areas for children with delicate health conditions, and integrating sensory elements that harmoniously incorporate nature.

The participatory processes, which also involved child and adolescent patients, highlighted the importance of having public meeting places and separate, private areas for reflection, emotional support, and grieving.

Based on these needs, we designed a Healing Gardens Master Plan composed of six areas inspired by the various “refuges” that animals use to live, breed, or protect themselves:

• Hive: A children’s play area designed to provide a stimulating and safe environment for their development and enjoyment.
• Den: An intimate area for teens, providing a place where they can socialize and have privacy.
• Nest: spaces for rest and support, designed to offer calm and recovery to residents and their caregivers.
• Penguin Colony: Exclusive space for caregivers, providing a resting place for those accompanying patients.
• Spider Web: A meeting area for family and colleagues, facilitating interaction and mutual support.
• Cocoon: A spiritual and memorial space dedicated to reflection and remembrance, as well as emotional support.
• Garden: An area for therapeutic activities using medicinal plants and herbs, such as lavender and mint. The garden is designed to provide an educational and recreational space where residents can engage in planting and caring for plants, contributing to their emotional and physical well-being.

Each space was carefully designed due to the patients’ vulnerability, who must be protected to avoid worsening their health conditions. Shades were included to protect from the sun, soft, rock-free floors were considered to prevent falls, and plants or materials that cause allergies, rot, mold, or attract many insects that can cause infections were avoided. Easy-to-clean materials and wheelchair-accessible spaces were preferred, among many considerations to avoid any type of impact on patient health.

Cocoon Space

Thanks to the support of Equinix, the Siete Sueños Foundation, and Easy, we will open Espacio Capullo in December 2024. Designed to provide calm, reflection, and connection for patients, their families, and the shelter’s staff, this space is inspired by the transformation of a butterfly within a cocoon.

This space honors the memory of those who have passed away. It is intended as a tribute to the children who have passed through the residence, celebrating the lives of those who have completed their treatment, and fondly remembering those who have sadly passed away.