A Place for Healing and Remembrance

A large grass lawn serves as the centerpiece for the English garden inspired design. Hospital staff members take advantage of the comfortable seating and lush landscape that is in the Wings of Hope Angel Garden.

The initial drawing, which was used as part of the fundraising efforts, for the garden shows its close location to the busy entrance and parking garage at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill.

Through an ongoing relationship with Edward Hospital in Naperville, Ill., Hitchcock Design Group was approached to design a garden that would function as a place for healing and remembrance for families who have lost their newborns.

In an effort to make sure this project was completed within the outlined budget, the firm donated schematic design services associated with the project. The Wings of Hope Angel Garden was funded through donations and fundraising efforts undertaken by Edward Hospital and the Naperville SHARE chapter which provides support for these families.

In the schematic design phase of the project, HDG created graphics that allowed the hospital and SHARE to generate excitement about the project as well as garner support and create momentum.

The concept of a quiet English manor garden, which features a fountain and pool with custom-designed architectural precast concrete features, was selected for the site. The implemented designed contains a centrally located large grass lawn which serves as the centerpiece for the design in a way that invites strolling or private introspection.

Clay brick and natural-range bluestone pavers were added to the final project to highlight key areas of the garden. Seating is provided throughout the garden by teak benches and rocking chairs. Large planters and an angel sculpture completed the design.

Accent lighting extended the use of the garden into the evening. Opportunities for donors to recognize and remember their loved ones with inscriptions and other memorials were also incorporated into the garden. These memorials included silhouette butterflies that are etched into glass panels that represent each of the lost newborns.

One of the most challenging aspects in designing the garden was to create a peaceful and serene setting in a site that was situated next to the hospital's busy entrance and parking garage. The brick entry walls and water feature provide a buffer from the surrounding noises.

Additionally, two cedar pergolas on brick columns framed the entries and bracketed the entry wall to create a clear demarcation of where the garden begins and provides users with a feeling of stepping into a separate place of respite while still within the confines of the hospital. This feeling has proven invaluable as families remember and heal during their time of loss.