Maggie'a Cancer Caring Centre | Snøhetta

Maggie’s Aberdeen at the Elizabeth Montgomery Building is located at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill Hospital and was built as a part of the Elizabeth Montgomery Foundation fundraising campaign. The Maggie`s Centre is not a treatment Centre but a place where individuals can meet, connect and receive help and guidance. The number of visitors will be varying throughout the day. Location Located on the Southern boundary of Forester Hill Hospital Maggie`s Cancer Care Centre is a free standing Pavilion at the edge of the Westburn field. This open green field situation is suitable for Maggie`s Centre since it is one both connected to the hospital whilst at the same time being set apart and independent. Nestling in the row of trees marking the course of the Westburn, the Maggie`s Centre enjoys views across the field and ample sunlight from the south and west. Architecture The building is conceived as a pavilion in its parkland setting. The soft exterior form envelops the whole of the centre and defines the courtyard garden. The exterior shell creates the framework for the centre and sculpts the main spaces, whilst the timber interior buildings create to more intimate rooms and spaces that the Centre requires. The centre is primarily on one ground floor level with a smaller mezzanine area devoted to the office functions. The building is approximately 6m above the existing ground level. Landscape The most important landscape aspect to the grass covered field within which the Centre sits. The texture and cutting pattern of the grass is proposed developed to form a large-scale pattern within which the pavilion building forms an integral part. The existing tree line along the Westburn is to be retained and strengthened by new planting of maple trees to the western end. To mark the entrance, a group of Beech trees are planted, contrasting in colour and texture to the existing trees. The external technical area is enclosed by a hedge of English Yew and the solar array panels are integrated into the general landscaping pattern. The courtyard garden is at the heart of the centre and forms a secluded outdoor space. The courtyard is covered with a mix of hard and soft surfaces. The in-situ concrete paving around the edge frames a soft ground cover and centrally planted Flowering Cherry tree. “It is a great honor for Snøhetta to design the new Maggie`s Centre in Aberdeen. For Snøhetta the relationship between form and content is central to the development of our architecture, and we are proud to have been working together with Maggie's rising to the challenge demanded by this building that is small in size but immeasurably larger in content”, says Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, partner and co-founder at Snøhetta.