Healing Garden, Virtual Reality, 2017
Healing Garden is a virtual reality project that I envisioned in 2017. The concept and design are after the medicinal botanical gardens inside the Alhambra Palace in Andalusia, which was the birthplace of the Herbal; the most remarkable manuscripts of medicinal botany in the middle ages, composed by the 12th c. Andalusian physician and scholar al-Ghafiqi. Wearing a VR headset, participants “enter” the Healing Garden, which is a courtyard with white arches, and ten plant beds around a water fountain on a floor that is covered with Moorish tiles. They use their own hands to pick a series of medicinal plants and arrange them in the plant beds. Thus, they create a virtual garden as a metaphor for reconnecting with nature for healing. The plants are modeled after plants’ illustrations in the Herbal. Water and fountains were integral parts of medieval Islamic gardens and palaces of Andalusia. The sound of water fountains and the moving reflections of buildings, trees, and flowers on its rippling surface contributed to a unique, calming experience for the residents. Similarly, in my VR Healing Garden, participants have the opportunity to listen to the sound of the water fountain. The participants can “walk” on the glowing Moorish tiles under the sun and pass through the arcades and enjoy their handcrafted garden from a short distance.
Healing Garden, Virtual Reality, 2017
Design and concept by Pantea Karimi
3-D modeling by Pedram Karimi
Interaction design coding by Cyril Zabala
Events
Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, November 2017
Euphrat Museum of Art at De Anza College, December 2017
Research
Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remains of Roman fortifications, and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada, who built its current palace and walls. It was converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. The below photos are taken in August of 2017, when I traveled to Granada and saw the palace for the first time.