Check matte: Steven Holl creates a glowing Maggie’s Centre in London
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

When New York-based architect Steven Holl started piecing together ideas for the newest Maggie’s cancer care centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, he knew that the structure was going to form a pivotal part of a much longer story. Adjacent to the 18th-century stone building by architect James Gibbs, the design of Maggie’s Centre Barts reveals a softened, translucent exterior in the day in contrast with its lantern like state at night; an intentional feature that Holl says distinguishes the care centre from the medieval structures that surround it.
Inspired by the musical notation in existence at the time the hospital was founded in 1123, the three-storey vertical design mimics the stretch and fluidity of the musical staff against five horizontal lines. The nonlinear elements of shape-notes, represented by coloured glass, connect the new structure to the history on which it stands. Selected for his ability to manipulate the use of light, Holl wants the Maggie’s Centre Barts to create a dialogue for future generations as he believes how we design today has a place amongst historical work.
Following the conceptual framework of a ‘vessel within a vessel within a vessel’, Holl constructed the enclosure using glass, concrete and bamboo. Opposed to the dominance of shiny glass buildings, Holl created a matte exterior using Okalux edged glass. By cutting a single pane into two, Holl invented a 21st-century illusion of original stained glass by positioning a coloured film between the Okalux panels.
Straw-like fibres imitating the qualities of polar bear hair were slotted between the singular pane cut in two, creating a textured opaqueness from the outside. With a gently sloped concrete staircase spiralling the interior perimeter of the building, the bamboo panelling is highlighted throughout the interior. From the inside the reflection of the steel lined exterior parallels the rhythmic rotation of the interior, utilising the textured opaqueness of the glass to soften the cement. By allowing only the direct sunlight and coined shadows from the Gibbs building to enter the building, there is a sense of seclusion and mindfulness within.
With limited vision of the hospital, the Maggie’s Centre Barts opens those living with cancer to the west facing rooftop garden designed by Darren Hawkes, an aspect that puts into proximity only trees and vacant sky. Insularly structured, the protection and autonomy that the building strives to infiltrate in those living with cancer illustrates why architects like Holl continue to push the boundaries of what design can achieve.
The building features a softened, translucent exterior in the day, which lights up like a lantern at night.
The structure spans three levels and its fluid interior was inspired by music.
Holl was selected to create this centre specifically for his ability to manipulate the use of light.
Opposed to the dominance of shiny glass buildings, Holl created a matte exterior using Okalux edged glass.
INFORMATION
For more information visit Stephen Holl Architects' website (opens in new tab)
-
Marco Campardo wins Design Museum’s emerging designer prize
The Design Museum, London, announces Marco Campardo as winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize, an annual accolade to celebrate and support emerging designers
By Rosa Bertoli • Published
-
The Audi Activesphere is the fourth in a series of genre-defying concept cars
The Audi Activesphere concept offers up the SUV of tomorrow, a sleek luxury coupé that can dress down and transform into a pick-up truck
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Home and art gallery Maison Colbert is a London transformation story
Maison Colbert by Chris Dyson Architects reimagines a row of London houses into a single home and artist's gallery in the East End
By Marwa El Mubark • Published
-
Home and art gallery Maison Colbert is a London transformation story
Maison Colbert by Chris Dyson Architects reimagines a row of London houses into a single home and artist's gallery in the East End
By Marwa El Mubark • Published
-
The dMFK office in Fitzrovia hails a postpandemic approach to workspace
The new office of architects dMFK in Fitzrovia, designed by the studio alongside architects Sher + White, exemplifies the reimagining of workspaces for a postpandemic London
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Two Hands nursery by vPPR is where design flair meets sustainability
Two Hands nursery in London, designed by vPPR, mixes colourful interiors and sustainable architecture elements with wellbeing in mind
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Is ProxyAddress architecture’s answer to solving homelessness?
ProxyAddress founder Chris Hildrey talks to us about architecture changing the world, and his pioneering initiative to help solve homelessness
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Sustainable Farnham house unites contemporary architecture and nature
A sustainable Farnham house in the Surrey countryside combines a secluded, sloping site with modern materials
By Ifeoluwa Adedeji • Published
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we. Scroll below, for some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Looking Glass Lodge immerses its guests in British nature
Looking Glass Lodge by Michael Kendrick Architects is an idyllic woodland retreat in the UK’s East Sussex
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Brown & Brown designs Cairngorms house blending raw minimalism and nature
Spyon Cop by Brown & Brown is a contemporary home in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park
By Ellie Stathaki • Published