A space of their own': how cancer centres designed by top architects bring hope to patients

"It was then, in the early 1990s, that the Scottish artist and garden designer imagined her own blueprint that would allow cancer patients a space of their own within the alienating, clinical confines of the hospital estate, one where they might not lose the joy of living in the fear of dying."

"Welcome, colour, joy and proximity to nature are all part of Maggie's unique design brief, which has since been interpreted by some of the world's most acclaimed architects, including Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster and Benedetta Tagliabue. Yet the centres all look wildly different, says the curator Meredith More, because there are infinite ways to address the brief creatively."

Maggie Keswick Jencks conceived the idea for Maggie's Centres after experiencing impersonal, clinical hospital environments during her own breast cancer treatment in the early 1990s. Following her death in 1995, the first centre opened in Edinburgh in 1996, designed by Richard Murphy in a converted stable block. Over three decades, more than 30 centres have been established across the UK and internationally, each designed by world-renowned architects including Zaha Hadid, Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, and Frank Gehry. Despite their different appearances, all centres share a unified design philosophy emphasizing welcome, colour, joy, and proximity to nature. An exhibition at V&A Dundee celebrates this legacy of conscious design, showcasing how architects creatively interpret the brief through diverse architectural approaches.

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