Main Courtyard
Staff Courtyard
Main Courtyard
Housing Landscape Design
Institute on Aging
San Francisco, California
This project encompasses transitional housing for the elderly, daycare for adults (primarily Alzheimer’s patients), education and fundraising, and community outreach functions; it was co-developed by Bridge Housing and the Institute on Aging.
The landscape features a glass-enclosed central courtyard, houses a water feature, large planters filled with large-timber black bamboo, embedded boulders and seating. The bamboo is a symbol of a firm and noble person who bends in the wind but never breaks; the boulders symbolize longevity. Paving is designed according to feng shui principles: The entry patterns are meandering and the central water feature has ripples of paving for energy in facilitating the flow of chi.