Last week Thomas Heatherwick unveiled his design for a Maggie’s cancer-care center in Yorkshire, England, Dezeen reports.
The design resembles a collection of plant-filled pots, aimed to take advantage of the therapeutic effect of plants. Once completed, which is scheduled for 2017, the Yorkshire location will join 18 other Maggie’s Centre branches that have been designed by prominent architects including Snøhetta, OMA, and Richard Rogers.
"Instead of taking away the open space, we wanted to make a whole building out of a garden," Heatherwick told Dezeen about his plan. "The design developed as a collection of large planters defining the building by enclosing a series of shared and private spaces between them."
Though all centers are drastically different, they all have “healing power” in common. Architecture columnist Matt Hickman writes in the Mother Nature Network, “Maggie's Centres provide ‘practical, emotional and social’ support to cancer patients and their families in joyously non-clinical environments that could easily be described as architecturally stunning: bold, beautiful, uplifting, challenging, welcoming, the antithesis of drab and oppressive."
Hickman adds that the well-designed buildings “[instill] patients and their loved ones with a sense of optimism and positivity,” instead of inducing boredom and dread.
The Yorkshire location is planned to offer psychological support, benefits advice, nutrition workshops, relaxation and stress management, art therapy, tai chi, and yoga.
To complete the verdant plan, Heatherwick will work with landscape designer Marie-Louise Agius of Balston Agius.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
ASHRAE introduces building energy label prototype
Most of us know the fuel efficiency of our cars, but what about our buildings? ASHRAE is working to change that, moving one step closer today to introducing its building energy labeling program with release of a prototype label at its 2009 Annual Conference in Louisville, Ky.
| Aug 11, 2010
10 tips for mitigating influenza in buildings
Adopting simple, common-sense measures and proper maintenance protocols can help mitigate the spread of influenza in buildings. In addition, there are system upgrades that can be performed to further mitigate risks. Trane Commercial Systems offers 10 tips to consider during the cold and flu season.
| Aug 11, 2010
McCarthy, Skanska among nation's largest healthcare contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Healthcare Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
AECOM, Arup, Gensler most active in commercial building design, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 100 Commercial Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Payette completes Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute
Payette, a leading architectural design firm specializing in complex buildings for medical and scientific research, academic teaching, and healthcare, announced today the Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony was held on June 26, 2009. The new 176,000 square foot Cancer Institute is located on the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Campus in University Park, Pa.
| Aug 11, 2010
Perkins+Will master plans Vedanta University teaching hospital in India
Working together with the Anil Agarwal Foundation, Perkins+Will developed the master plan for the Medical Precinct of a new teaching hospital in a remote section of Puri, Orissa, India. The hospital is part of an ambitious plan to develop this rural area into a global center of education and healthcare that would be on par with Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford.
| Aug 11, 2010
Turner Building Cost Index dips nearly 4% in second quarter 2009
Turner Construction Company announced that the second quarter 2009 Turner Building Cost Index, which measures nonresidential building construction costs in the U.S., has decreased 3.35% from the first quarter 2009 and is 8.92% lower than its peak in the second quarter of 2008. The Turner Building Cost Index number for second quarter 2009 is 837.