Celebrating Will’s Garden: A Therapeutic Retreat atop Carle Foundation Hospital

Omni is proud to celebrate the recent opening of Will’s Garden at Carle Foundation Hospital located in Urbana, IL. Built in collaboration with architecture firm, Shepley Bulfinch and general contractor, Findorff, and made possible by the Carle Health Center for Philanthropy, this 6,700-SF retreat is named after a former pediatric cancer patient who loved nature.

This rooftop oasis is located on the sixth floor of the world-class, regional healthcare provider, and now provides a tranquil retreat for patients, staff, and family to escape the intensity of the hospital in a relaxing, nature-filled environment. The garden is surrounded on three sides by interior circulation on several floors and is visible from a large part of the hospital.

Will’s Garden is an accessible, year-round space, away from vehicular and pedestrian traffic, that provides respite, healing, and restoration. It consists of bright colors and fragrant herbal trees, shrubs, and potted plants intertwined with a wide path that enables wheelchair and hospital bed access. The topography adds visual complexity and, along with designed “nooks,” providing privacy and places to rest and stop along the path. Will's Garden embodies the therapeutic value of green space for patients, their families, and healthcare workers.

Omni Workshop and team had to dial in the design to work within the very limited structural loads of the old hospital building and location above a neonatal intensive care unit. The result is a lush ecosystem growing in six inches of Omni Infinity Media or less throughout.

Read more about the opening and Will’s story here.