Royal Macmillan Centre | The Manser Practice Architects + Designers

Chesterfield Royal Hospital Foundation Trust required a new building that could combine existing, dated and fragmented cancer services into a purpose-built centre. The design brief was to create a calm, non-clinical environment that would be more than a typical hospital department, maintaining a high quality environment internally and externally.

Our first challenge was to produce a brief to integrate the Oncology, Haematology and Palliative Care departments. We worked intensively with all departments to define care pathways, producing a combined timetable to identify an efficient yet adequate number of key clinical rooms. We then tested the brief against a series of potential positions around the site to identify the best location.

The project was funded by Chesterfield Royal Hospital in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, who received a donation from the National Garden Scheme (NGS). The additional funding enabled the Trust to add value to NHS standards and allowed the design team and a health planner to work with the client at scheme inception, developing and enhancing service delivery and considering patient journey, clinical timetabling and room occupancy. All of this contributed to operational policy, informing the brief.

The unit is one of the first few buildings in the UK to be clad in Corian (rain screen cladding, Corian louvres). We worked closely with art consultants to incorporate artwork into the internal and external fabric of the building – e.g. doors, glass screens and ventilation panels.

The selected location required a predominantly new build structure, linked to the main hospital via a glazed bridge. Patients and visitors enter the centre through a beautifully landscaped garden into an informal lounge area, part of the Macmillan Information and Support Centre which offers help and advice. The main treatment areas are located on the first floor, offering patients superb views out over the surrounding countryside.