A large, overhanging roof shelters a wrap-around patio at the latest Maggie’s Centre, designed by London studio Stephen Marshall Architects for Northampton General Hospital in England.
Located on a former car park on the hospital site, the two-storey Maggie’s Northampton features floor-to-ceiling glazing on the lower floor facades, and an upper floor situated in its distinctive pitched roof.
Stephen Marshall Architects has designed a Maggie’s Centre in Northampton
The building is the latest centre to be built by the Maggie’s charity, which aims to provide support to cancer patients and their families in a more homely setting than a typical hospital.
A patio wraps around the square-shaped plan at Maggie’s Northampton, which is accessed by several tall oak doors and sheltered by the overhanging roof.
It has an overhanging roof with zig-zagging edges
Clad in perforated white metal panels and finished with zigzagging edges, Stephen Marshall Architects based the design of the angular roof on white marquee tents.
The studio aimed to create an eye-catching building with a welcoming appearance that stood out from the hospital’s multi-storey brick buildings.
Sheets of perforated white metal clad the roof
“The white perforated roof panels and angled profiles of the building conjure up the appearance of a marquee, a building type that tends to be associated with life’s happier events,” said Stephen Marshal Architects.
“Its distinctive appearance helps visitors locate the building as they approach from oncology for the first time.”
Five square skylights top the centre of Maggie’s Northampton, letting light into the staircase and library on the ground floor below.
Elsewhere on the ground floor is a kitchen, dining room and casual meeting spaces with sofas along with a multi-use room designed for exercise classes and talks.
Oak doors open onto a wrap-around patio
The first floor has staff offices and more meeting spaces contained within the slanted walls of the roof.
Surrounding the building are landscaped gardens designed by Arne Maynard Garden Design, which can be viewed from most of the ground floor through the tall glazing and from the patio.
Skylights let light into the central staircase and library
“The overhanging roof and continuous deck mean that people can walk around the building, viewing the different aspects of the garden, and can also sit out in different weathers,” said Stephen Marshal Architects.
“This emphasises one of the central ideas at Maggie’s Northampton, which is the blurring of inside and out.”
Other Maggier’s Centres that have been featured on Dezeen include a curving centre in London by Studio Libeskind and a mirrored building in Southampton by AL_A.
The photography is by Richard Bryant.
Project credits:
Architect: Stephen Marshall Architects
Interior designer: Designers Guild
Landscape designer: Arne Maynard Garden Design
Contractor: Robert McAlpine
Structural engineer: Les Postawa Associates
Services engineer: HFL Design Limited
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