Ocean Medical Center

Ocean Medical Center is a community-based hospital serving the coastal region

of New Jersey, since 1984. The Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Emergency Care Center

represents OMC’s efforts to create a new model for emergency care, one more efficient,

tranquil, private and less stressful. In response to a facility master planning effort, the

new Emergency Care Center created the opportunity to transform a parking lot into a

calming restorative landscape, infusing nature into the symbolic and physical heart of

the campus.

The garden serves as a metaphorical echo between the Center’s mission of care and the

region’s resilient coastal ecology. Reminiscent of the fluid forms of a coastal landscape and

honoring New Jersey’s rich coastal dune ecology, sweeps of grasses, native perennials,

shrubs and trees seamlessly weave together, creating a variety of ecologically diverse,

seasonally interesting settings.

The landscape’s healing and restorative qualities address the sense of vulnerability and

isolation that comes with illness and crisis. Serving the medical community twenty-four

hours a day, a variety of safe and secure seating areas offer opportunities for quiet respite,

privacy and socialization. Within the calming undulating forms, plant materials are

strategically placed to frame important views and screen nearby distractions. Centrally

located between the Emergency Center and Ambulatory Care entrances and structured

parking, the garden provides opportunities for staff and visitors to engage with nature,

offering a place to pause, pass through and view from key arrival and destination points.

Location
Brick, NJ

Size
11,000 SF

Completion
2014

Collaborators
WHR Architects