The jury noted the complexity of the task facing the architect: in a gray and inhospitable urban environment, among large buildings and busy highways, it was required to create a small “shelter” for psychological and informational support of patients with cancer, as well as their relatives and friends.
Rogers surrounded the building with trees, painted it red-orange to create a mood, and fenced off the main entrance from the surroundings with a wall: the visitor enters the interior after having passed a narrow corridor. Inside it awaits a two-level space filled with light, partly divided into small compartments with different functions.
The building includes several small courtyards, each with a garden. Some of them serve as a continuation of the "living room" of the center, while others serve as a quiet place to relax.
Rogers himself, as well as the jury members and RIBA President Ruth Reed, who announced the winner, noted that its construction is closely related to the needs of the customer: Maggie Center is "the optimal construction - [the answer] to a specific task."
This is the second time Rogers has received the Sterling Prize, also honoring his Terminal 4 at Madrid Barajas Airport (2006). It should be noted that both in 2006 and in 2009, two Rogers' buildings were shortlisted at once: this time the "understudy" was the Bodegas Protos winery in Valladolid, three years ago - the building of the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff.
