This is already the second such center in the city, as cancer incidence is high in its vicinity. Koolhaas, who worked with his OMA partner Helen van Loon, built a new building on the grounds of Gärtnaval Hospital. According to the architect, he added "a little romance" to this ensemble of boring gray buildings: Maggie's center stands in a grove of birches, the same trees grow in his courtyard. The rooms located in a circle either face this "cloister", or are open to the outside - from the windows you can see the greenery and the panorama of Glasgow.
The discreet architecture of the one-story building of glass, concrete and beech wood accentuates the subtle beauty of the natural surroundings: the landscaping, created by the daughter of the founder of the Maggie Charles Jenks program of centers, Lily Jenks, is based on typical Scottish flora. Interiors, where open and more "private" rooms are interspersed, there are no corridors, and natural lighting is widely used, should give the impression of a "comfortable villa" rather than a medical institution.
Designed by Jenks' cancer-deceased wife Maggie Kezwick-Jenks, Maggie Centers should have a homely, welcoming atmosphere in which patients and their loved ones can consult, talk to each other, visit a specialized library, and simply sit in silence. Koolhaas tried to take into account all these aspects: for him the project was important not only for personal reasons (like many other architects of this program, he was a close friend of the Jenks couple), but also as an opportunity to work on a small, rare scale for him, as well as in unusual - social - "genre".
The Maggie Center was Koolhaas' first permanent building in the UK (he designed a temporary pavilion for the Serpentine Gallery in London in 2006). Next up will be the Rothschild Bank International building in London, which is nearing completion.
N. F.
