Maggie's

History

Maggie's was founded by and named after the late Maggie Keswick Jencks, who died of cancer in 1995. Like her husband, architectural writer and critic Charles Jencks, she believed in the ability of buildings to uplift people.

In 2016, Maggie's merged with Cancerkin, a charity in the United Kingdom which offers support to breast cancer patients. Cancerkin is based at the Royal Free Hospital in North London and was founded in 1987.

The Scottish registered charity (registration number SC024414) that promotes, builds and runs the centres is formally named the Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Trust, but refers to itself simply as Maggie's.

The buildings that house the centres have been designed by leading architects, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid and Richard Rogers. Christian Voice has been criticised for its role in causing Maggie's centres to decline a four-figure donation from the proceeds of a special performance of Jerry Springer: The Opera. The charity had been due to receive £10 per ticket for an afternoon gala in 2005 but declined the donation after Christian Voice had threatened to picket their centres.{{cite news | access-date=2 October 2008

Patrons of the charity include Frank Gehry, Janet Ellis, Norman Foster, Kirsty Wark, and Sarah Brown, wife of former British prime minister Gordon Brown. The charity's chief executive is Dame Laura Lee, who was founder Maggie's cancer nurse. The president of the charity is Queen Camilla.[[File:Maggie Jencks statue @ Maggie's Centre, Edinburgh.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Maggie Jencks at Maggie's Centre in Edinburgh]]

Locations

Scotland

Edinburgh

The first Maggie's centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, and is located within the Western General Hospital on Crewe Road. The centre is housed in a converted stable block. The conversion, designed by Richard Murphy, was nominated for the 1997 Stirling Prize. The centre was extended, again by Murphy, in 1999.

Glasgow

Glasgow's first Maggie's centre opened in 2002 and was located at the Western Infirmary on Dumbarton Road, near the Kelvingrove Museum. The centre was housed in a former gatehouse lodge of the University of Glasgow, renovated and altered by Page\Park Architects. Charles Jencks designed the landscaping around the site, and contributed a DNA sculpture for the garden. In 2011, a new facility opened at Gartnavel, designed by OMA and led by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and Ellen van Loon.

Dundee

Frank Gehry's first building in the United Kingdom was the Maggie's centre at Dundee. The centre opened in September 2003 at Ninewells Hospital. Gehry's design was named "Building of the Year" by the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland, and was also nominated for the 2004 RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture.

Highlands

The Maggie's centre in Inverness, Highland, is at Raigmore Hospital, and was designed by David Page of Page\Park Architects. Landscape design and sculptures were again the work of Charles Jencks. The building opened in 2005, and won the 2006 RIAS Andrew Doolan Award for Architecture.

Fife

The Maggie's centre in Kirkcaldy, Fife, opened in November 2006 at the Victoria Hospital. The building was designed by Zaha Hadid, and is her first built work in the UK. In the building there is emphasis placed on the transition between the natural and the man-made, and on the period between the hospital and home; the transition after having undergone treatment. There was an emphasis on clear and translucent glass, with powerfully sculptural cantilevers. The entrance facade is almost entirely made from glass. On the north side, the roof extension protects the entrance, while to the south, it provides shade. This can be seen as a fusion between form and function. Much thought has gone into the layout of the building, with the kitchen as the centre of the building and an informal atmosphere.

Aberdeen

Maggie's Aberdeen was designed by Norwegian architects Snøhetta at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen and opened in 2013.

Lanarkshire

Maggie's Lanarkshire opened in 2014 at Monklands Hospital, Airdrie and was designed by Reiach and Hall Architects of Edinburgh.

Forth Valley

Maggie's Forth Valley was designed by London-based architects Garbers & James and opened in 2017. The centre borders Larbert Loch, by Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

Dumfries

In August 2025 it was announced that the building of a new Maggie's had been green-lit, to be located in the grounds of Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary.

File:Maggie's Centre, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary-geograph-4277045-by-Bill-Harrison.jpg|Maggie's Centre, Aberdeen Image:Maggies centre Dundee.jpg|Maggie's Centre, Ninewells, Dundee File:Maggie's Centre, Edinburgh.jpg|Maggie's Centre, Edinburgh Image:MaggiesCentreKirkcaldy.JPG|Maggie's Centre, Fife File:Maggie's at Gartnavel - geograph.org.uk - 6769841.jpg|Maggie's Centre, Glasgow File:Maggie's Centre, Inverness - geograph.org.uk - 3857445.jpg|Maggie's Centre, Inverness

England

London

Maggie's West London was the first purpose-built Maggie's centre in England. It is located at Charing Cross Hospital, West London and opened in April 2008. The centre was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and Dan Pearson designed the garden around the centre. In May 2009 the centre won a RIBA award for architectural excellence and was named as London Project of the Year. In October 2009 Richard Rogers and his team at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners were awarded the Stirling Prize for the building, and donated the £20,000 prize money to the cancer care centre.

Maggie's Royal Free opened in 2016 in an interim building at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. A new purpose-built centre, designed by Daniel Libeskind of Studio Libeskind, was officially opened in 2024 by Queen Camilla.

Maggie's Barts opened in 2017 on the site of St Bartholomew's Hospital and was designed by Steven Holl.

Maggie's Royal Marsden, designed by Ab Rogers Design, opened in 2019 at the Royal Marsden Hospital, Sutton.

Cheltenham

Maggie's Cheltenham, beside Cheltenham General Hospital, was opened by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in October 2010. The centre was designed by Sir Richard MacCormac of MJP Architects, and the landscaping by Dr Christine Facer.

Nottingham

Completed in 2011 Piers Gough's building for Nottingham's Maggies offers a "light, peaceful and non-institutional design (to) be a sanctuary for all those who walk through the door. Sheltered by trees, the centre (is) a homely, comfortable space next to the busy hospital, where anyone affected by cancer can come to relax. The centre is a safe space where visitors can engage with nature while being sheltered from the elements. From the outside the playful appearance entice(s) people to take a look through the door; once they do the harmony of light and space will create a uniquely welcoming environment." The interior was designed by fashion designer Paul Smith, who grew up in Nottingham.

Cambridge

Maggie's Cambridge opened in 2012 is an interim building on the site of Addenbrooke's Hospital.

Newcastle

Maggie's Newcastle is located at Freeman Hospital, a short walk from the Northern Centre for Cancer Care (NCCC) and was designed by RIBA Royal Gold Medallist, Ted Cullinan of Edward Cullinan Architects. It opened in 2013.

Oxford

Maggie's Oxford opened in 2014 at Churchill Hospital, Oxford. Its timber treehouse-style building and landscaped garden were designed to be integrated in the natural wildlife.

Wirral

Maggie's Wirral opened in 2014 in an interim centre in the grounds of Clatterbridge Hospital. On 5 February 2018 it was announced that two new Maggie's centres would be built, at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre on the Wirral and the Royal Liverpool Hospital in the city centre, as part of a joint project with the Steve Morgan Foundation.

Manchester

Maggie's Manchester was designed by Foster and Partners and opened in April 2016 by the Christie Hospital.{{cite web|title=The Duchess of Cornwall opens Maggie's Manchester

Oldham

In 2017, Maggie's Oldham was built next to the Royal Oldham Hospital. The wooden building was designed by Alex de Rijke of dRMM and is held suspended over the garden below, supported by steel stilts.

Yorkshire

Maggie's Leeds was designed by Heatherwick Studio and opened in June 2020. It forms part of the city's St James's University Hospital.

Southampton

Maggie's Southampton opened in 2021 on the site of Southampton General Hospital and was designed by Amanda Levete.

File:Maggie's Oldham.png|Maggie's Centre, Oldham File:Maggie's Centre, Charing Cross, London.jpg|Maggie's Centre, London File:Maggies Cancer Care Center at Nottingham City Hospital.JPG|Maggie's Centre, Nottingham File:Maggie's Centre, Oxford.jpg|Maggie's Centre, Oxford

Wales

Swansea

Maggie's Swansea centre at Singleton Hospital, Swansea was designed by the late Japanese Architect Kisho Kurokawa shortly before his death in 2007. The centre was opened in December 2011 by First Minister Carwyn Jones in the presence of guests of honour including Japanese ambassador to the UK Keiichi Hayashi, the family of architect Kisho Kurokawa, and Welsh footballer John Hartson.

Cardiff

Plans for Wales' second Maggie's centre, for the Velindre Cancer Centre site in Cardiff, were revealed in 2014. The design was by Dow Jones Architects. Funding of £850,000 was made available by the Wales Government in 2017 to begin work on an interim Centre. The centre was officially opened by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, on 4 July 2019.

International

Hong Kong

Maggie's Hong Kong was the first affiliated overseas Maggie's centre. It opened in a permanent location at Tuen Mun Hospital in March 2013, after operating from an interim site since 2008. The premises were designed by Frank Gehry and comprise the programme building surrounded by a tranquil outdoor environment.

Tokyo

Maggie's Tokyo opened in 2016. The main building was designed by Cosmos More, and an annex building designed by Nikken Sekkei.

Barcelona

Designed by architect Benedetta Tagliabue of the Miralles Tagliabue EMBT studio, the Maggie's centre Kálida Barcelona opened in 2019.

Netherlands

The first Maggie's centre in the Netherlands was opened in April 2024 at the University Medical Center Groningen. The building was designed by architect Marlies Rohmer, and the surrounding gardens were created by renowned landscape architect Piet Oudolf.

References

References

1. "Cancerkin and Maggie's merge".
2. See [[Charles Jencks]] and [[Edwin Heathcote]], ''The Architecture of Hope: Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres'', London, Frances Lincoln, 2010. {{ISBN. 978-0-7112-2597-8
3. (16 March 2011). "Midweek". BBC.
4. "HRH The Duchess of Cornwall became President of Maggie's in November 2008.".
5. (6 May 2010). "Maggie's Centres: healing architecture?". The Guardian.
6. (3 October 2011). "Maggie's cancer care centre opens at Gartnavel Hospital". BBC News.
7. Schmertz, Mildred F.. (28 February 2009). "Maggie's Centres". [[Architectural Digest]].
8. (27 October 2006). "Maggie's Centre, Kirkcaldy by Zaha Hadid". Building Design online.
9. (12 August 2025). "Dumfries Maggie's centre plans given green light".
10. Pearson, Dan. (10 May 2008). "Dan Pearson on creating the garden for the London Maggie's Centre for cancer care". The Guardian.
11. ''Rogers deserves recognition for this delightful building'' London Evening Standard, 21 May 2009 [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23696364-details/Rogers+deserves+recognition+for+this+delightful+building/article.do]
12. (19 October 2010). "Duchess of Cornwall opens Cheltenham cancer care centre". BBC News.
13. "Find your nearest Maggie's Centre".
14. (5 February 2018). "Maggie's cancer support centre opening in Wirral". Click Liverpool.
15. (9 December 2011). "John Hartson at Maggie's Swansea cancer centre opening". BBC News.
16. Emma Sisk. (7 May 2014). "Plans revealed for Wales' second Maggie's Centre for cancer sufferers". [[Wales Online]].
17. (17 June 2017). "£850k for Maggie's cancer centre at Velindre Cardiff site". BBC News.
18. "Opening of the first purpose-built Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre in Hong Kong". Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre.
19. "Maggie's Centre brings its patient-centric healthcare design to the Netherlands".