DATEJan 1, 2019
STATUSUnder construction
CLIENT
Maggie’s
BUILDING SIZE
DESCRIPTION
Studio Libeskind is honored to have been asked to design a Maggie’s Centre for cancer patients. Located at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London, the Centre will join the Maggie’s charity network, providing cancer patients and their families with wellness and emotional support.
Visitors to Maggie’s at the Royal Free Hospital will be able to visually identify its presence from afar, as it will be designed to contrast with its more clinical hospital surroundings, drawing in newcomers with an approachable and undulating timber form. The facade’s folds and crevices optimize privacy, light, and shade to create a calm and peaceful interior space that offers patients moments of serenity. To maximize the site’s potential, the footprint has been kept small at the ground level and the form expands as the building rises. Although limited in size, the site will be landscaped with both soft and hardscape areas and offer quiet seating as well as connecting to existing walkways on the hospital campus. The building will be nestled into a planted garden in the rear and front along Rowland Hill Street which provides direct access to the building’s two entry points. An additional garden component of the design has been elevated to the roof level to create a serene enclosure for visitors, a peaceful outdoor retreat that aligns with the canopies of the surrounding foliage.
The project carries significant meaning for Daniel Libeskind as Maggie’s charity was led by his late friend Charles Jencks, who founded the charity with his wife Maggie, who sadly died of cancer in 1995. The centres are designed by leading architects in the spirit of Maggie and Charles’ belief that spaces can be used to uplift people.
Construction started in October 2021.