Inspirational architecture helps cancer patients

Associated media

Opening Friday 9 December

The stunning new centre Maggie’s Centre, which provides services for people diagnosed with cancer, was designed by Japanese architect Dr Kisho Kurokawa, of Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates. Sadly, Dr Kisho Kurokawa died in October 2007 but completed his outline scheme designs for Maggie’s South West Wales shortly before his death. Thore Garbers and Wendy James of Garbers & James met with him whilst still alive and undertook to deliver his project as executive architects. The building is surrounded by a landscape design created by Kim Wilkie that has been implemented by Terra Firma Consultancy Ltd.

Dr Kisho Kurokawa who was a great friend of Maggie Keswick Jencks (founder of Maggie’s), based his design on the concept of a cosmic whirlpool, representing a strong symbol of life, with everlasting forces swirling around a still centre. The spiral segments of the building conceptually engage alternate segments of earth and water, separated by shafts of warm light. Hence the concept provided a figure for the configuration of both the interior and the exterior of the building. The central elliptical drum provides a calm, warm social heart to the building, with the wings and associated external terraces providing more personal and focused space from which to contemplate the landscape. The whole composition is in an elevated position, next to woodland, on the Singleton Hospital site.

The late Dr Kisho Kurokawa had said: 'The new Maggie’s Centre will come out of the earth and swing around with two arms like a rotating galaxy. One side will welcome the visitor and lead to the other side, which embraces nature, the trees, rocks and water. A place set apart, as Maggie said of a garden. The connection to the cosmos and contacts between East and West – two motives that Maggie and I shared – are in the design. I hope she would have liked it.'

Situated next to the South West Wales Cancer Centre at Singleton Hospital, Maggie’s will serve people living within the South West Wales Cancer Network. The network covers approximately 900,000 people within the regions of Aberystwyth, Haverfordwest, Swansea, Powys, Carmarthen, Llanelli, Neath, Port Talbot and Bridgend. In this area, there are more than 3,000 new cases of cancer a year. Uniquely, Maggie’s South West Wales will be the first centre to collaborate with the local Medical Genetics service to offer information and practical support to people who are at risk of cancer, based on family history. Maggie’s has had an interim facility on site since 2006.

The centre has been constructed by Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, as main contractor, supported by a number of specialist sub-contractors. The wider design team has included Arup, as structural engineers and KJTait as building services engineers. Ramboll has provided civil engineering support, and the cost consultant was Turner & Townsend.

Maggie's Centres are the vision of the designer and landscape architect Maggie Keswick Jencks which resulted from her own experience of cancer. She had a vision of beautiful buildings, located on hospital grounds, staffed by cancer professionals, where people could drop in at any time for the support and inspiration not only to cope with cancer, but to live their lives to the full. Maggie died in 1995, one year before the opening of the inaugural Maggie’s Edinburgh. Maggie’s has since pioneered a remarkable building design movement, bringing the contemplative architecture of cancer caring centres to hospital sites.

Maggie’s chief executive Laura Lee said: ‘People across the region have put a tremendous effort into fundraising to make this centre a reality and today the local community should be proud of the lasting legacy they have created for the thousands affected by the devastating consequences of cancer. We are also most grateful to the Welsh Government which generously gave £1.5m towards the project. Maggie’s proven programme of support will act as an antidote to the isolation and despair of a cancer diagnosis. The late architect Dr Kisho Kurokawa and landscape architect Kim Wilkie have conceived a truly unique environment, which will help to facilitate this support, by making people feel safe, inspired and valued. Under one extraordinary roof, Maggie’s will help people to find their way out of the hopelessness of cancer.

The Minister for Health and Social Services, Lesley Griffiths said: ‘I am pleased that with the help of Welsh Government funding, the care offered by the Maggie’s centres has been brought to Wales’.