If ever proof was needed that good design and architecture can aid the healing process, the respite centres built across the UK by pioneering cancer charity Maggie's are it. With 18 centres already in place, the charity have been granted planning permission for its 19th location – an idyllic centre designed by Heatherwick Studio for the grounds of St James’s University Hospital in Leeds.
Working previously with leading architecture practices – Wilkinson Eyre Architects, Cullinan Studio and OMA among them – Maggie's have created a network of welcoming, calm and uplifting buildings built within the grounds of specialist NHS cancer hospitals, where patients, friends and the families of those affected by cancer can receive practical and emotional support.
The new centre is slated for opening in 2017 and designed to be built next to the hospital's oncology unit, the centre is designed around a series of contained gardens – masterminded by the award-winning landscape designer Marie-Louise Agius of Balston Agius – that soften the rigid formality of the surrounding hospital buildings and harness the therapeutic capabilities of plant life.
The building itself functions a little like a collection of stepped planters, each containing its own slice of Eden that spills over the walls. 'The building will combine the qualities of a garden with shared and private spaces,' says Heatherwick, who has cleverly tucked the centre's interior spaces in and around the gardens.
Designed to be built next to the hospital's oncology unit, the centre is designed around a series of contained gardens – masterminded by the award-winning landscape designer Marie-Louise Agius of Balston Agius
Maggie's have already created a network of welcoming and uplifting buildings where patients, friends and the families of those affected by cancer can receive practical and emotional support
The centre hopes to soften the rigid formality of the surrounding hospital buildings and harness the therapeutic capabilities of plant life
The new centre is slated for opening in 2017
-
The artistry of Japanese wineFine wine from Japan may not yet register highly on the radars of most oenophiles, but for those who know, it's a hugely rewarding and rich tapestry of flavour. Drinks expert, Neil Ridley visits London's Luna Omakase for the launch of a new dedicated Japanese wine pairing menu
-
In Los Angeles, Darling doesn’t want to be your average dinner spotVinyl, live-fire cooking, and California’s finest ingredients come together in this immersive new concept from a celebrated Southern chef
-
Ashlyn, the quietly romantic New York label from a Yohji Yamamoto alumnaThe focus of our latest Uprising column, Seoul-born Ashlyn Park worked for fashion greats before starting her own label in 2020. Showing her S/S 2026 collection at NYFW yesterday, she talks to Wallpaper* about marrying Japanese influences with the romance of Parisian savoir-faire
-
Can design make you healthier? Inside the architecture of wellnessAs wellness-focused Gen Z enters the marketplace, buildings are no longer being viewed as merely containers for living and working – they're environments that influence physical and mental wellbeing. How can we create spaces that support health and humanity?
-
Tour Xi'an's remarkable new 'human-centred' shopping district with designer Thomas HeatherwickXi'an district by Heatherwick Studio, a 115,000 sq m retail development in the Chinese city, opens this winter. Thomas Heatherwick talks us through its making and ambition
-
Architectural gardens around the world to soothe the soulFrom small domestic gardens, to nature reserves, urban interventions and local parks, here are some of the finest green projects that place nature at their heart
-
Heatherwick Studio’s Azabudai Hills district launches as Tokyo’s newest city-in-a-cityTokyo welcomes the Azabudai Hills district, designed by Heatherwick Studio and constructed as a city-in-a-city after over three decades of planning
-
Thomas Heatherwick's 'Humanise' is a book campaigning for joy in architectureThomas Heatherwick's 'Humanise' is a new book - and the start of a campaign - by the designer, arguing against 'boring' buildings
-
Azabudai Hills to bring a slice of wildness to Tokyo’s megacityHeatherwick Studio’s design for Azabudai Hills aims to bring some soulfulness and a slice of wildness to the megacity
-
Heatherwick Studio unveils undulating mixed-use Tokyo scheme design -
Heatherwick Studio’s glasshouse architecture flowers in the English countrysideHeatherwick Studio’s new glasshouse is a floral haven in West Sussex's Woolbeding Gardens
