The Sightsavers Garden: We Start With Sight But We Don’t Stop There

A sensory sanctuary where thoughtful, innovative design invites us to experience how inclusion, accessibility and belonging benefit everyone.

Inspired by Sightsavers' mission to protect sight, eliminate disease, and champion disability rights, this garden reimagines an intimate urban space as a richly layered haven alive with sound, scent, and texture. Simple materials, multi-sensory planting and a central turning circle designed for wheelchair users welcome all visitors, inviting them to slow down, pause, connect, and to imagine a more inclusive and sustainable world.

Brush against textured foliage, breathe in aromatic herbs, feel the warmth of sunlit brick, and listen to the gentle fall of water. Planters and walls, built from interlocking three-hole bricks personalised by artists, staff, and supporters, symbolise growth, resilience and collective strength. At the heart, a corten-steel water halo gathers rain, releasing it into a cooling pool that fills the space with a quiet calm. Immersive, welcoming, and restorative, the garden celebrates how inclusive design can enrich everyday life and inspire change.