Architecture News

Tree House Competition

St. Joseph’s Center serves hundreds of people throughout Northeastern  Pennsylvania through pregnancy, family and adoption services; outpatient therapy; and extensive residential and community-based programs for children and adults diagnosed with mental retardation.

Located close to Marywood University’s campus it is home to 88 permanent residents of severely physically and mentally disabled children and adults.

This past summer the staff at St. Joseph’s center contacted Marywood University’s School of Architecture and asked for assistance with the development of a Therapy Garden.  The garden will be a place for the residents to go outside and experience nature with their families and care givers.  It will contain water features, wind chimes and fragrant plantings for a sensory experience. The focus of the Therapy Garden will be a tree house.  This tree house will be designed by the School of Architecture.

The design of the tree house has been presented as a student design competition open to the entire School of Architecture.  It will be judged by the St. Joseph’s Hospital President and Staff along with local Architects and Marywood University’s School of Architecture Faculty.

The winning tree house design will be selected October 21 and then developed by an engineering firm.  Construction on the tree house and garden is slated to happen in the spring of 2012.