An oasis of calm springs from Maggie’s Centre Oldham, designed by dRMM
![Exterior view of the new dRMM-designed Maggie’s Centre](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pTJHcdM2fuDXtVacADDpeG-415-80.jpg)
Alex de Rijke, founding director of dRMM, describes the latest Maggie’s Centre in Oldham as a straightforward box with a powerful void in the centre. Located near Manchester, the new cancer support centre has sunshine yellow flooring and corrugated-style timber cladding.
The single-storey building stands on legs over a gravelled garden area. One birch tree has been planted in the centre of the garden and is enveloped by the void’s asymmetrical glazing. ‘The idea was of a kind of treehouse in its wood,’ says de Rijke. ‘I knew that we didn’t need to do much more than bring the outside into the building.’
The firm sited the centre on a northerly corner site of The Royal Oldham Hospital – a space formerly occupied by a mortuary. From there, its north-facing glazed wall has inspiring views to the Pennines.
Explore the architecture of Maggie’s Centres in the UK, including this Frank Gehry-designed facility in Dundee.
On approaching the centre, the scent of tulipwood – a cross-laminated hardwood – wafts over a short footbridge. Timber is a key ingredient throughout, from the door handles and the slatted ceiling to the kitchen’s walnut-topped counter and large round table.
The wood is off-set by a poured resin floor, and the tall doors – all in an unexpectedly bright yellow. More warmth is expressed through grey felt, used to frame doorways and as a backing to the seating nooks. Meanwhile a full-height reversible curtain loop by Dutch designer Petra Blaisse can cordon off one part of the open plan space for privacy.
‘This is a reaction to hospital design and the reminder that it can be different from the depressing norms of the hospital environment,’ says de Rijke. Maggie’s Oldham is the latest in a string of centres by high-profile and interesting architects at hospitals across the UK and beyond.
London-based dRMM join Frank Gehry, the late Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Snøhetta, Amanda Levete and Herzog & de Meuron, among others. The blockbuster line-up surely makes Maggie’s CEO (and former cancer nurse) Laura Lee one of the most significant commissioners of contemporary architecture.
The single-storey building stands on legs over a gravelled garden area.
Tulipwood is used widely throughout the project, chosen because of its warmth and positive health benefits.
The elevated building is open plan with exposed timber and glazing.
Curved glazing brings nature into the interior from below.
Maggie’s is a charity that provides practical and emotional support to people living with cancer.
Tulipwood is one of the most sustainable timber species because of how fast it replenishes, through natural growth alone
A landscaped garden beneath the building grows up organically through the building.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Maggie’s Centre website and the dRMM Architects website
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Clare Dowdy is a London-based freelance design and architecture journalist who has written for titles including Wallpaper*, BBC, Monocle and the Financial Times. She’s the author of ‘Made In London: From Workshops to Factories’ and co-author of ‘Made in Ibiza: A Journey into the Creative Heart of the White Island’.
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
Tour the Natural History Museum’s new gardens, a Jurassic lark in London
The Natural History Museum in London has unveiled two new gardens, with resident dinosaurs, after a transformation led by architects Feilden Fowles
By Bridget Downing Published
-
Drama Republic moves into a colourful, handcrafted workspace in London
For the new creative HQ of production company Drama Republic, Emil Eve Architects remodels a warehouse into office space in London’s Holborn
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
Hideaway House in London features timber panelling inspired by the New York hospitality scene
The elegantly refurbished Hideaway House by Studio McW in London features timber panelling inspired by Philip Johnson’s The Four Seasons Restaurant
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
‘Modern Buildings’ tours south-east London through a guide to post-war Blackheath and Greenwich
‘Modern Buildings: Blackheath and Greenwich’ is a detailed survey of a London borough’s rich trove of new modernist architecture
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Triangle House invites you to its inner world of colourful surprises
Triangle House by Artefact is a private home in Epsom, outside London, combining Caribbean style, colour and functionality
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tour the refreshed Saint Andrew Holborn: an icon reveals its crisp new interior in London
DaeWha Kang reimagines Saint Andrew Holborn church through a sensitive architectural solution that blends tradition and modernity in London
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
A Suffolk house by Studio Bark pairs a fresh visual language with low-energy design
Suffolk house Water Farm is off-the-grid but defiantly on the map, a bold new object in the landscape with a strong visual impact and minimal carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Westminster Coroner's Court renovation delicately blends moments of softness and austerity
Westminster Coroner's Court gets a refresh and addition, courtesy of Lynch Architects and artist Brian Clarke
By Ellie Stathaki Published