Maggie's Centres: Architectural Havens of Hope for Cancer Patients
Frank Gehry designed the Maggie's Centre at Dundee's Ninewells hospital, part of a network that uses inspirational architecture and design to help patients retain the 'joy of living'. These centres, celebrated in a free exhibition at the V&A Dundee, showcase how top architects create spaces that bring hope to those facing cancer.
Origins and Vision
Maggie Keswick Jenks, a Scottish artist and garden designer, conceived the idea in the early 1990s after receiving breast cancer treatment in a bleak, windowless room at Edinburgh's Western General hospital. Her husband, landscape designer Charles Jenks, described it as 'architectural aversion therapy'. Maggie envisioned a blueprint for cancer patients to have 'a space of their own' within hospital grounds, where they might 'not lose the joy of living in the fear of dying'.
The first Maggie's Centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, a year after her death, designed by Richard Murphy in a converted stable block. Today, there are over 30 centres across the UK and a few overseas, each adhering to a unique design brief focused on welcome, colour, joy, and proximity to nature.
Exhibition Highlights
The V&A Dundee exhibition, running from Friday, contrasts designs by acclaimed architects like Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, and Benedetta Tagliabue. Curator Meredith More notes that while all centres address the same brief, they 'look wildly different' due to creative interpretations. For instance, the Barts centre in London features a wide, translucent glass facade, while Frank Gehry's Dundee design is squat and homely, and the Oxford centre hovers like a treehouse surrounded by saplings.
Visitors can hear a soundscape of interviews with centre users, described by More as 'a soundtrack of people talking about the power of beautiful space'. Scale models of striking centres are displayed on an eight-metre-long kitchen table, a central element in the design brief that fosters community and sharing.
Personal Impact
Kirsty Speers, who visited the Dundee centre after her diagnosis at age 34, observed the 'subliminal' effect of the table, where she shared intimacies with strangers. She praised the 'warmth and comfort' of the layered wood interior and 'mesmerising' art. Notably, she appreciated the choice of seating at different heights, which proved crucial after major abdominal surgery, highlighting how the design anticipates patient needs.
Dame Laura Lee, Maggie's chief executive and an oncology nurse who treated Maggie, emphasizes that 'these buildings are a statement of care'. She recalls how patients in the first centre began sharing deep emotional concerns, facilitated by the architecture. Another key tenet is incorporating 'zest', as Lee explains: 'Even when facing a life-threatening illness, in the moment we still need hope. If your eye is taken by a plant or art, life still has value.'
The exhibition underscores how Maggie's Centres use design to transform the cancer experience, offering solace and inspiration through thoughtful architecture.
