Construction Begins on Eagle Courtyard at Walter Reed
Construction has begun on the redesigned Eagle Courtyard at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The courtyard is the hospital’s primary outdoor space between its inpatient buildings, replacing a largely concrete area with empty planting beds.
The landscape plan by Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects was developed with input from therapeutic-garden specialist Dr. Naomi Sachs. It organizes the courtyard around clear sightlines for orientation, semi-private seating for family visits and sensitive conversations, accessible furniture, and wheelchair-accommodating paths.
A dedicated children’s area and outdoor spaces for staff extend the project beyond a patient garden. The planting strategy calls for more than 2,000 perennials and 3,600 bulbs, together with new trees and shrubs. Sunny areas will support pollinator gardens, while shaded zones will use woodland planting.
Why the courtyard matters
The project treats landscape as part of healthcare infrastructure rather than as decoration. Its combination of legible circulation, privacy, inclusive access, family use, and staff respite shows how a relatively contained outdoor space can address several operational and human needs at once. This is ArchUp’s interpretation of the published design information; clinical outcomes have not been reported.
The Garden Club of Chevy Chase led fundraising and secured in-kind labor, professional services, and materials. It has committed to 10 years of plant maintenance, with the Walter Reed Society donating maintenance services for five of those years. A construction completion date has not been announced.
