MAGGIE'S CENTRE, GARTNAVEL, UK, GLASGOW, 2008
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| A cancer care centre on the grounds of Gartnavel hospital |
By OMA © All rights reserved
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The aim of a Maggie's Centre is to provide an environment of
practical and emotional support for people with cancer, their
families and friends. Since the opening of the first Maggie's
Centre in Edinburgh in 1996, the Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres
foundation has grown substantially, commissioning and developing a
series of innovative buildings designed by world class architects.
While contemporary architecture has a reputation, deservedly or
not, for being at times cold or alienating, the goal of each
Maggie's Centre - whether in Glasgow, London, or Hong Kong - is to
provide a space where people feel at home and cared for, a space
that is warm, receptive, and welcoming. more.. |
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Maggie's Centres rely on the fundamental precept, often overlooked,
that exceptional architecture and innovative spaces can make people
feel better - thereby kindling the curiosity and imagination
fundamental to feeling alive. Grand in their ambitions, but
designed on a small scale, Maggie's Centres provide a welcome
respite from typical institutional hospital architecture. Their
spaces are more than merely functional; they serve as a haven for
those receiving treatment. In creating a place to connect and learn
from others who are going through similar experiences, Maggie's
Centres help patients to develop their sense of confidence and
resourcefulness.
In 2007, Maggie's Centre approached OMA to design a new centre on the grounds of Gartnavel hospital in Glasgow, close to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre. OMA designed a single-level building in the form of a ring of interlocking rooms surrounding an internal landscaped courtyard. Seemingly haphazardly arranged, the building is actually a careful composition of spaces responding to the needs of a Maggie's Centre and providing a refuge for those coping with cancer. Instead of a series isolated rooms, the building is designed as a sequence of interconnected L-shaped figures in plan that create clearly distinguished areas - an arrangement that minimises the need for corridors and hallways and allows the rooms to flow. The plan has been organized for the spaces to feel casual, almost carefree, allowing one to feel at ease and at home, part of an empathetic community of people. At the same time the design also provides spaces for more personal moments - either in the intimate setting of the counselling rooms, or in smaller nooks and private spaces. Located in a natural setting, like a pavilion in the woods, the building is both introverted and extroverted: each space has a relationship either to the internal courtyard or to the surrounding woodland and greenery, while certain moments provide views of Glasgow beyond. With a flat roof and floor levels that respond to the natural topography, the rooms vary in height, with the more intimate areas programmed for private uses such as counselling, and more open and spacious zones for communal use. More than any other space, the internal courtyard provides a place of sanctuary and respite. |
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FACT SHEET
Project: A cancer care centre on the grounds of Gartnavel hospital Client: Maggie Keswick Jenck's Cancer Caring Centres Year: 2008 Status: Construction Type: Residential Location: Glasgow, Scotland Site: Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, on a green area adjacent to the Gartnavel Royal Hospital East House, a Category A listed Building Program: Located near the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, the second largest oncology centre in the UK, the new Maggie’s Centre Gartnavel will provide a space for practical and emotional support for people with cancer, their families and friends
COLLABORATORS
Structure: Sinclair Knight Merz Services: KJ Tait
CREDITS
Partners in charge: Rem Koolhaas, Ellen van Loon Associate in charge: Richard Hollington III Team: Atsuo Arii, Josh Beck, Alexander Giarlis, Stephen Hodgson, Takuya Hosokai, Maria-Chiara Piccinelli, Koen Stockbroekx
PRESS
Guardian, 20 February 2011 FRAME, 23 November 2010 The Independent, 30 April 2010 BBC, 3 October 2009 Evening Times, 26 June 2009 The Herald Scotland, 30 December 2008 |
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