Jan. 31, 2011

Landscape Architecture students at SNRE present their portfolios for review by outside experts Tuesday during annual Portfolio Day activities.  The day also includes a lecture by SNRE alumna Trish Beckjord, a landscape architect, who is giving a talk from 5-6 p.m. in Room 1028 titled "LEED and Green Design of Health Care Environments."

Seven employers, including five represented by SNRE Landscape Architecture alumni, will be conducting one-on-one reviews with students in the Dana Building. The firms are:

• Conservation Design Forum http://www.cdfinc.com/
• JFNew http://www.jfnew.com/
• Kenneth Weikal Landscape Architecture http://www.kw-la.com/kenweikal/
• Land Architects http://www.landannarbor.com/
• Sasaki http://www.sasaki.com/
• JJR http://www.jjr-us.com/
• Carlisle/Wortman http://www.cwaplan.com/

For more about the Portfolio Day, watch our youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW6pSTCvuTA

During her talk, Beckjord will review alternative rating criteria that support provision of respite space and apply them to two completed LEED hospital projects (one Gold-certified and one expecting to qualify for Gold certification) as illustration. The quality of the external spaces created by the building and site design for each project will be reviewed relative to their meeting Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES) and Green Guide for Healthcare (GGHC) criteria for therapeutic space, and for their effectiveness in creating an outdoor environment that supports the needs of the patients, visitors and staff for healing respite space. The benefits of such space relative to branding in an increasingly competitive market will also be reviewed.

Green space in health care environments may be unintentionally limited by USGBC'sLEED criteria, which encourages high-density redevelopment of previously developed sites to reduce sprawl. On hospital sites, the effect is often a reduction of open space in contradiction to the documented benefits of being able to be in and/or view nature as important support of patient and staff respite. A LEED for Hospitals is expected to be published in 2011.

Beckjord, RLA, ASLA, received her MLA degree in 1996 from the School of Natural Resources and Environment after an extensive health care career. In her practice, she has managed several LEED hospital projects in which she has integrated sustainable site and respite criteria to create a healing campus setting. Her projects have included patient care additions at Advocate Lutheran General and Northwest Community Hospitals in the Chicago area, which will be reviewed in this presentation. She has also served as project manager or significant design lead for a variety of other LEED projects including for the Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, N.Y.; JCI Corporate Headquarters in Glendale, Wis.; and the first LEED Gold-certified McDonald's in Chicago.