Hope Memorial Garden

A new respectful Garden that connects a University campus community to a serene place of hope, reflection, and celebration.

Grief is already an isolating experience but losing a young college student or young friend due to illness or an accident is devastating. Students at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Campus were grieving after fellow students passed away prematurely and unnecessarily. Their outpouring of emotion created a call for action, so they approached the school requesting a suitable sacred celebratory place to honor their present and former late classmates. With that heartfelt plea and during the University’s campus master plan development, the design team collaborated with the University, students, and parents to create the new “Hope Memorial Garden.”

Assessment of current campus monuments, gateways, and memorials throughout the public realm, led the team to propose a new home for all to reflect calmly and respectfully. The Garden’s final location is in a secluded corner of the University’s eight-acre campus, offering a unique contrast to the other well-trafficked pedestrian corridors. A superfluous wedge of lawn, shrubs, and trees would metamorphose into a small oasis. Quiet architectural facades protect the site on its south and east, while large trees provide dappled shade to the north, anchoring a diagonal walk that vacillates students from classroom to cafeteria.

Click here to learn more about LJC’s broader role at The University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.