© Alex de Rijke
The dark wooden box on steel columns stands in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Oldham, a large hospital complex on the outskirts of Manchester.
Today, there are 19 Maggie's Centres in operation throughout the UK with a further one in Hong Kong. In these centres, many of which were designed by leading architects, cancer patients are provided free of charge with emotional and practical assistance.
The concept came from Maggie Keswick Jencks, who herself died of cancer and who believed strongly that the built environment could have a positive effect on the mental well-being of sick people. Conscious of their commitment to this concept, in Oldham the architects dRMM, who are known for their experimental timber buildings, used a material previously unknown in Europe: laminated tulipwood.
Today, there are 19 Maggie's Centres in operation throughout the UK with a further one in Hong Kong. In these centres, many of which were designed by leading architects, cancer patients are provided free of charge with emotional and practical assistance.
The concept came from Maggie Keswick Jencks, who herself died of cancer and who believed strongly that the built environment could have a positive effect on the mental well-being of sick people. Conscious of their commitment to this concept, in Oldham the architects dRMM, who are known for their experimental timber buildings, used a material previously unknown in Europe: laminated tulipwood.