NATURE, DESIGN, AND HEALTH
by David Kamp
Library of American Landscape History, 2023
In Nature, Design, and Health, David Kamp looks back on his 40-year career as a landscape architect, educator and advocate. He is the principal of the design firm Dirtworks, which he named for his guiding belief that when life feels like a struggle, or even downright chaotic, “dirt works” to fix our outlook. Explaining the name, he writes “nature can provide balance in our lives.”
Although Kamp always believed in nature as a source of healing, a personal crisis about eight years into his career helped him see the role design might play. A close friend and Kamp’s mother were both coping with serious illness; meanwhile, he tested positive for HIV and began treatment. As he coped with his emotions and observed different health-care settings, including his mother’s home-based care, he realized how much landscape design can improve the lives of patients, their families and care workers.
Health problems present physical, emotional and mental challenges. Kamp’s first opportunity to design with these challenges in mind
