LAE students, alumni team up to help Gainesville Fisher House
2012
Wonderful things can happen when DCP alumni team up with students.
Last spring, 16 landscape architecture students got an opportunity to compete for the ultimate design of the Fisher House Gardens, a therapy garden for the Gainesville Fisher House Foundation.
Jackie Owens, MLAE 1995, landscape architect for the planned Fisher House therapy garden, got the ball rolling on the project after contacting the department with the idea to work with students.
The project, the design for which will be located at the future North Florida/South Georgia Fisher House on Malcom Randall VA Medical Center property, was a combined effort between the Planting Design Studio, taught by adjunct instructor Amy Morie, MLAE 2007, and Kay Williams, associate professor of landscape architecture, and the spring Landscape Construction class, taught by Bob Grist, associate professor of landscape architecture.
The student proposals aimed to balance both occupational therapy opportunities and provide an inviting outdoor atmosphere.
The proposals included sensory elements in the form of water, artwork, an herb and vegetable garden and a soundproof barrier from the adjacent urban area. One of the most important elements The Fisher House aims to provide is the feeling of a “home away from home” for veterans and their families while a loved one is receiving care at the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center.