Olympic cauldron designers put spark into cancer centre
HEATHERWICK STUDIO, the design practice behind landmark projects including the Olympic Cauldron for the 2012 Olympic Games and the redesigned Routemaster London buses, has designed a new Maggie’s Centre which has been put before council planners.
The centre, which is scheduled to open in 2017 in the grounds of St James’s University Hospital in Leeds, will help the charity’s work of providing free practical, emotional and social support for people with cancer and their family and friends.
“Submitting our planning application is an exciting step forward in bringing a Maggie’s Centre to Yorkshire,” said Maggie’s chief executive Laura Lee.
“A cancer diagnosis and treatment brings with it tough questions and difficult emotions which can leave many feeling isolated. The programme of support that we will be offering at Maggie’s Yorkshire will help to improve the physical and emotional wellbeing of people with cancer across the region.”
The design consists of a series of contained gardens that “will capture the therapeutic effect of plants and contrast with the more formal surrounding hospital buildings”. The building will take the form of a collection of stepped planter elements, each holding a piece of garden, bringing the planting into and over the building itself.
Studio founder Thomas Heatherwick said: “We’re delighted to have the opportunity to create a positive environment which will help calm minds and foster a sense of well-being. The building will combine the qualities of a garden with shared and private spaces.”
The new centre will enhance the cancer support already provided through Leeds Cancer Support at the Sir Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre, through Maggie’s evidence-based core programme of support including psychological support, benefits advice, nutrition workshops, relaxation and stress management, art therapy, tai chi and yoga.
Working in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the new Maggie’s Yorkshire Centre will be built adjacent to the Leeds Cancer Centre, in the Bexley Wing, at St James’s University Hospital.
The Leeds Cancer Centre sees over 12,500 people newly diagnosed with cancer per year and provides specialist cancer services to a population of around 2.7m people across the Yorkshire region and beyond.
