HEAL Architects

610 Renaissance Hall

Fargo, ND 58102

December 4th 2009

Kevin Brooks

Barry Hall

Fargo, ND 58102

Dear Mr. Kevin Brooks,

Health, Enviornment, Architecture, and Landscape (HEAL) is a firm based on the

healing and development of people to help people grow not just as a person but to
incorporate the enviornment, culture and feeling to evoke emotion throughout the
structure.

Second life is the perfect way for people to escape from the hectic realizations of the
real world, and to go to a place where they can be who ever and do what ever they
wish without limitations.

Having a Virtual Peace Garden (VPG) in a place like second life is such an opportunity
to have people come and face some of the things that are troubling them. Thats what
HEAL is willing to provide a multitude of spaces with in second life to act as personal
healing spots for poeple to think, and reflect on whatever is bothering them. So
when they go back to their life they will know somewhat of how to deal with them,
and potentially change their life for the better.

HEAL is the perfect firm for a virtual peace garden in second life, becasue we are
committed and determined to make the best for our clients no matter what. As a
team we are qualified not only in creating a strong concept and well developed
design, but we have the experience and knowledge of knowing second life fluently.
Second life is a great way for us to create a multitude of structures to potentially
help not just one person but many people, from all over the world. We are very
excited for the opportunity to work in such a unique and innovative way, and look
forward to working with you in the future. PLease take some time to look at our
E-Portfolios:

http://mbrown35.wordpress.com/
HTTP://malfoo.wordpress.com/
http://samijade.wordpress.com/

Thank you for your time,

Melissa, Malini, and Sam

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This document serves as a proposal to design a peaceful healing garden in the Virtual Peace
Garden of Second Life. The focus of this design is to create a place where people can interact and
draw more people to the virtual peace garden. It is also a place for one to experience or recover
through the healing process in a virtual world. Therefore, HEAL Architects is proposing these
designs below that could be added to the Virtual Peace Garden:

Underneath It All
This is the entry point to the healing garden. It is a misty and rundown looking space that is placed
underwater. It gives visitors a moment of seclusion from reality.

Eternal Chapel
This is a chapel designed to sit by the river, that will provide visitors a space to relax and recollect
thoughts and just be themselves.

The Ball of Life

A rotating marble ball that provides soothing sounds of nature to an individual as a place to seek
inner peace and relaxation.

Inner Meditation
This is a place dedicated for meditation that involves the human body. It is a form of meditation on
water that gives visitors fulfillment.

Sky of Memories
An interactive open garden that gives visitors an oppurtunity to let out their grief and thoughts
openly through the virtual world.

HEAL’s goal in this design effort is to provide an excellent quality of work that will give
visitors the same effect of healing in Second Life as they would receive in reality. Amongst the
uniquness of the peaceful healing garden is the ability for one to pursue psychological healing
through the virtual without having to consult another individual directly. Hence, this gives visitors
a reason to be more open and confident. We are also determined to provide a space in the virtual
world for individuals to interact with each other and with the site. HEAL would also like to take this
design a step further by providing visitors an individualized journey of healing. HEAL hopes that
with the individualization, the peaceful healing garden would be able to draw people back to the
site.

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 PROPOSAL

To: Dr. Kevin Brooks

From: HEAL Architects
Date: November 25, 2009
Subject: A Peaceful Healing Garden

Drawn from peace gardens around the world, the Virtual Peace Garden (VPG) promotes peace through
the virtual world of Second Life. Although the VPG still needs to grow and develop in its collection
of exhibits, it is still a place that inspires harmony and vitality in one of the most unique and inventive
ways possible, it still needs a large and more diverse collection of exhibits. HEAL Architects propose a
peaceful healing garden in which those who are in pain, physically or emotionally, can find peace within
themselves. This simple concept has been studied and we are certain it will make an amazing addition
to the VPG.

DESIGN FOCUS:

Situation

The Virtual Peace Garden is a great opportunity for bringing people together. With additional exhibits
and spaces, the garden will not only grow but become more interactive and visitor friendly. Right now
the garden is relatively small and can be visited, in whole, within an hour, and there isn’t much to keep
visitors coming back. The VPG needs another addition that is educational and entreating. If the VPG
can bring people’s attention to issues not usually covered in our local and national news and create a
peaceful and engaging garden at the same time, then it can grow to be a very popular retreat.

Concept

HEAL has come up with a solution that will meet your expectations. We propose the installation or
an addition of a Peaceful Healing Garden to the VPG that would give visitors a sense of belonging,
peace, and fulfillment. Our concept as a whole is to provide a garden that serves multiple healing
purposes yet it is specific to an individual. The garden will become a place for people to be
themselves yet have the ability to hide their identity trhough the use of avatars. The garden will also
be individualized based on visitors emotions and feelings.

Gardens

The proposed healing garden includes installations of structures to the VPG as listed below:

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ENTRANCE- UNDERNEATH IT ALL

HEAL wants to provide visitors with an enriching experiencing as they arrive at the site. The entrance
to the gardens has been specially designed to momentarily take visitors away from their busy lives
to a space underwater. Visitors will be teleported to the entry point where a plaque will appear in
front of them. From here, they will be directed to one of the four gardens available after they
complete answering all the questions on the plaque. The entry point is purposely designed to look
old and misty to not only seclude visitors but also to encourage humbleness within themselves.

ETERNAL CHAPEL

This chapel is a place where people can come and be by themselves to think, reflect, or escape from
the hectic realizations of life. It is located next to the river, which allows the water to trickle around
the interior boundary of the structure; also, the water provides calming and soothing sounds to re-
lax a person. The chapel only has one window, which has a tree in it, to symbolize growth and the
strength of a person. The tree also sets off an amazing glow that illuminates the entire structure, and
hopefully the person with in. According to Day the writer of Healing Silence: The Architecture of
Peace, silence is very important to the development of a persons healing. A designer must thought-
fully consider elements such as light, color, and texture to provide a place of silence where noise
does not need to be. We believe that the elements have been thought through and that this chapel
is a place where silence can be welcomed.

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THE BALL OF LIFE

HEAL came up with a concept to draw visitors to the site during the night with the use of a ball. This
ball which shall be made of marble will be two times taller than a five feet tall person. It will
rotate throughout the day and night but will only light up at night. The ball will rotate continuously
on water while giving visitors the subtle sound of water flowing. This spot will serve as a meditation
and relaxation area for visitors to relax and meditate as a healing process. In Linday’s ‘The virtual
memorial garden’, She explains that a memorial garden is for one to remember their loved ones.
In that garden, they have incorporated the essence of a memorial garden which is remembering.
However, in HEAL’s proposed garden, we want to incorporate the essence of remembering as well
as healing. Hence, visitors are more than welcome to treat the ball of life as an inspiration towards
healing by meditating or will also be given the opportunity to remember by interacting with the
ball. Visitors can send positive messages to the ball, and it will change color momentarily.

INNER MEDITATION

This type of healing is based off of the concentration and awareness of one’s body. Each color
represents a different level of the body, which is symbolic for areas of a person’s life. There are
seven main Chakras; each is indicated by a color red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
These chakras start at the center of the spine and move up towards the crown of the head. This
particular place of meditation is placed on water so that the individual can just focus and
concentrate on that specific area. Usually, this sort of meditation is contained to a room, but
nature is such a strong element for healing that the sunlight and fresh air will be more beneficial to
the healing of a person who seeks Chakra as a way of healing.

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SKY OF MEMORIES

The sky of memories is more of a psychological healing method for persons who have lost their loved
ones. It encourages individuals to ‘release’ flowers into the sky as a symbol of freedom. According to
LifeNet Health Foundation, on their Healing Spirit site, children are given seed to be planted in the
garden. They will have the option the decorate the garden to resemble values of their loved ones.
Similarly, HEAL drew the concept for the Sky of Memories from Healing Spirit. Before releasing the
flowers, one could write anything that relates to the individual they are celebrating. This would then
give them the opportunity to heal from the grief their experiencing from losing a loved one.

FEASIBILITY

HEAL’s first concern for this project is about bringing or providing the same healing effect in
Second Life as in real life. We want to give visitors the opportunity to experience real healing
through the virtual world. Hence, our solution to this was to present visitors with gardens that are
more or less a resemblance of what can be seen in reality, but yet gives visitors the freedom to do
things they would not be able to do in reality such as releasing flowers into the air that will remain
up there and not come down.

HEAL’s second concern will be to accommodate different individuals and providing personalized
experienced during an individual’s visit to the garden. HEAL’s solution to this, is to use a plaque at
the entry point to the peace garden. Visitors will answer questions related to their emotions,
feelings and purpose of visiting the virtual peace garden. The plaque then will determine the type
of garden one would go to get healed. The challenge will be to ensure that the plaque chooses the
most suitable garden for the visitor.

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QUALIFICATIONS

HEAL is a firm committed and determined to provide a well balanced and environmentally sound
structure for our clients. We are able to come together as a unified and cohesive group, but still keep
with our own individual ideas. Since each of us has our own backgrounds and has had different
experiences in life, it provides a multitude of options and possibilities for our client to get exactly
what they want. Our strength comes from our ability to multitask and work together but
independently at the same time. We would be great for designing a healing garden in the virtual
peace garden in second life because of the different attributes and aspects we each put forward.
Sam is great with investigations and research with in software, Malini takes charge of the situation
and enforces the deadlines to make sure everything gets done, while Melissa artistically creates the
site environment through the development of sketches. Collectively, working on separate tasks
gives each of us a say and purpose to the proposed project, which can only benefit the client.

CONCLUSION

HEAL has came up with a concept that not only provides great beauty and purpose for the Virtual
Peace Garden but also hopefully a sense of satisfaction for the individuals utilizing the space. The
ball of life, eternal chapel, inner meditation, and sky of memories are just the starting few structures
that were developed to provide a sense of belonging and comfort. Using our methodology of
individualizing the different structures based on the type of healing provided, we potentially are
bringing more people to second life. HEAL is very determined, dedicated, and committed to
provide the best healing garden for the Virtual Peace Garden, and will continue in bringing a safe
and healing place for people to be themselves and release from the hectic life that is reality.

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REFERENCE LIST

Annalisa ,V (2002). Healing gardens: Creating places for restoration, meditation, and sanctuary.
Retrieved from http://www.healingthespirit.org/childs-place.php

Day, C. (1993). Architecture with health-giving intent. Places of the soul: architecture and
environmental design as a healing art (pp. 13-24). San Francisco, CA: The Aquarian Press.

Day, C. (1993). Healing silence: the architecture of peace. Places of the soul: architecture and
environmental design as a healing art (pp. 138-148). San Francisco, CA: The Aquarian Press.

Hartig, T., & Marcus, C. (2006). Healing gardens-places for nature in health care. (pp.36-37).
Lancet. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69920-0.

Kreitzer, M. (1999). Creating Healing Environments. Creative Nursing, 5(2), 16. Retrieved from
Academic Search Premier database.

LifeNet Health Foudation (2007).Healing the spirit: A child’s place for remembering.
Retrieved from http://www.healingthespirit.org/childs-place.php

Linday, F. Marshall (1995). The virtual memorial garden. Retrieved from http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/
vmg/aboutvmg.html

Sternberg, E. M. (2009). Healing spaces: the science of place and well-being. Cambridge, MA: The
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Aimee Weber, 2006b, Planetarium in Midnight City [Second Life] s e c o n d l i f e : / / m i d n i g h t

city/93/78/27 [Accessed August 2006]

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