British studio Heatherwick Studio has finalized the project for the new Maggie’s Centre of charity, for its new headquarters in the city of Leeds, in the north of England. The work of this organization is to provide free practical and emotional support for people with cancer.

The 462m² center, located on the campus of the University Hospital of St. James, in the county town of Yorkshire, is designed from the concept of a group of three large-scale plant pots, built in an inclined situation, where each one contains a different part of the program.
The concept of the Heatherwick Studio project is that the "pots" revolve around the heart of the place, the kitchen. The philosophy that governs the proposal is that the environment and its design can influence and help people feel better. For this reason, materials and techniques that follow this philosophy are used at Maggie's center.

The green areas as well as the roof garden, have been designed with the help of the famous landscapers Balston Agius. Its proposal is directly inspired by the Yorkshire forests and presents native English plant species, thus creating an environment for quiet contemplation and social spaces to encourage group activities.
 

Project description by Heatherwick Studio

Maggie’s Centre is a charity that provides free practical and emotional support for people with cancer. The 462m² centre, located within the campus of St. James’s University Hospital in Leeds, is the charity's 26th centre in the UK and the first completed healthcare project designed by the studio.

Maggie's Leeds is designed as a group of three large-scale planters, built on a sloped site, that each encloses a counselling room. These surround the 'heart' of the centre - the kitchen - as well as more social spaces for group activities including a library and exercise room.

Drawing upon the philosophy of Maggie's and the belief that great design can help people feel better, Maggie's Leeds uses several 'healthy' materials and energy-saving techniques. The building's structure is built from a prefabricated and sustainably-sourced spruce timber system. Porous materials such as lime plaster help to maintain the internal humidity of the naturally- ventilated building, which has been achieved through careful consideration of the building's form and orientation.

The rooftop garden, designed by award-winning landscape designers Balston Agius, is inspired by Yorkshire woodlands and features native English species of plants, alongside areas of evergreen to provide warmth in the winter months. Inspired by Maggie Keswick Jencks’ love of gardening, visitors are encouraged to participate in the care of the 23,000 bulbs and 17,000 plants on site.

The interior of the centre explores everything that is often missed in healing environments: natural and tactile materials, soft lighting, and a variety of spaces designed to encourage social opportunities as well as quiet contemplation. Window sills and shelves are intended for visitors to fill with their own objects to create a sense of home. The studio has also designed two tables, inspired by the building's timber fins and built from cork and engineered beech timber, which reside in the heart of the centre.

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Project team
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Group leader.- Mat Cash. Project leader.- Neil Hubbard, Rebeca Ramos, Angel Tenorio. Project team.- Peter Ayres, Alyaa Azhar, Mark Bagguely, Einar Blixhavn, Charlotte Bovis, Erich Breuer, Mark Burrows, Darragh Casey, Francesco Cavaliere, Michael Chomette, Ben Dudek, Antoine van Erp, Alex Flood, Matthew Gilbert, Andrew Green, Hayley Henry, James Hepper, Etain Ho, Kong Hoang, Catherine Jones, Peter King, Nilufer Kocabas, Gergely Kovacs, Hyein Lee, Nick Ling, Freddie Lomas, John Minford, Sayaka Namba, Charmaine Ng, Juan Oyarbide, Monika Patel, Hannah Parker, Tayra Pinto, Luke Plumbley, Gabriel Piovanetti, Ivan Ucros Polley, Enrique Pujana, Manuel Ramos, Silvia Rueda, Deyan Saev, Luis Samanez, Gabriel Sanchiz, Ahira Sanjeet, Wendy Smith, Skye Sun, Cliff Tan, Ruth Vatcher, Brandon Whitwell-Mak, Meera Yadave, Aysha Zahid, Artur Zakrzewski, Pablo Zamorano, Chen Zhan.
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Collaborators
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AKT II, Balston Agius, Blumer-Lehmann AG, Butler & Young, CDM Scotland, Gardiner & Theobald, Light Bureau, Max Fordham Consulting, Sir Robert McAlpine, Olsson Fire & Risk, Robert Lombardelli Partnership.
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Client
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Area
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462 m².
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Dates
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2020.
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Thomas Heatherwick established in 1994, Heatherwick Studio recognised for its work in architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture, design and strategic thinking. Today a team of 180, including architects, designers and makers, works from a combined studio and workshop in Kings Cross, London.

At the heart of the studio’s work is a profound commitment to finding innovative design solutions, with a dedication to artistic thinking and the latent potential of materials and craftsmanship. This is achieved through a working methodology of collaborative rational inquiry, undertaken in a spirit of curiosity and experimentation.

In the twenty years of its existence, Heatherwick Studio has worked in many countries, with a wide range of commissioners and in a variety of regulatory environments. Through this experience, the studio has acquired a high level of expertise in the design and realisation of unusual projects, with a particular focus on the large scale.

The studio’s work includes a number of nationally significant projects for the UK, including the award-winning UK Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, the Olympic Cauldron for the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the New Bus for London.

Thomas is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects; a Senior Research Fellow at the Victoria & Albert Museum; and has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Royal College of Art, University of Dundee, University of Brighton, Sheffield Hallam University and University of Manchester.

He has won the Prince Philip Designers Prize, and, in 2004, was the youngest practitioner to be appointed a Royal Designer for Industry. In 2010, Thomas was awarded the RIBA’s Lubetkin Prize and the London Design Medal in recognition of his outstanding contribution to design.

In 2013 Thomas was awarded a CBE for his services to the design industry.

 

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Published on: June 11, 2020
Cite: "Architecture, design and landscape as tools for a healing environment. Maggie’s Leeds Centre by Heatherwick Studio" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/architecture-design-and-landscape-tools-a-healing-environment-maggies-leeds-centre-heatherwick-studio> ISSN 1139-6415
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