MAGGIES CANCER CARE CENTRE

Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre in Oldham, UK is the world’s first building made from hardwood crosslaminated timber (CLT). The centre, designed by dRMM Architects, using American tulipwood CLT and thermally modified tulipwood cladding, was a pivotal moment for timber in modern architecture and construction.

Maggie’s is a charity that provides practical and emotional support to people living with cancer following the new ideology of cancer care laid out by Maggie Keswick Jencks. Built on the grounds of specialist NHS cancer hospitals, Maggie’s Centres are warm and welcoming places with qualified professionals on hand to offer a programme of support shown to improve physical and emotional wellbeing.

dRMM is a London-based studio of architects and designers, founded in 1995 by Alex de Rijke, Philip Marsh and Sadie Morgan. Since 2000 dRMM has pioneered the use of engineered timber as the most relevant material for 21st century architecture. The studio co-invented tulipwood CLT, alongside AHEC and Arup engineers, in 2013 for use in the groundbreaking structure, Endless Stair .

This pioneering piece of permanent architecture is constructed from more than 20 panels of five layer cross-laminated American tulipwood, ranging in size from 0.5m – 12m long. The centre stands atop 4m steel legs on concrete pads within Royal Oldham Hospital grounds. Its garden slopes down before and panoramic vistas stretch to the Pennines.

The curve of the interior CLT walls hug the contours of the glass and poured resin floors reinforce the sense of flow. The slatted ceiling in the flat-roofed structure is also American tulipwood, made from leftover wood from the CLT fabrication process, ensuring minimal waste.

The Centre breaks further new ground by featuring thermally treated (TMT) – the first time that TMT tulipwood has been used to clad an entire structure in the UK.

dRMM chose tulipwood for the design of Maggie’s Oldham for the positive influence wood has on people and for the beauty, strength and warmth inherent to American tulipwood.

“In wood there is hope, humanity, scale, warmth, and nature’s clever plan to absorb carbon. Wood is a nontoxic, versatile, benign, anti-carcinogenic material. Maggie’s Oldham has a built-in, very visible holistic design message that supports the central aims of the design – to uplift and offer hope to people affected by cancer. The applications for sustainably grown hardwood, particularly fast growing tulipwood CLT is endless.” – Professor Alex De Rijke, Founding Director, dRMM Architects.

The finished building is thoughtful, holistic, therapeutic, warm and filled with surprises, - even the smallest detail has been carefully considered and chosen to improve the patient’s wellbeing. The main kitchen table, which visitors are encouraged to sit around, is a design by Barnby Day that was commissioned by Alex de Rijke and AHEC for The Wish List for London Design Festival 2014. A second table was made by the craftsmen at Benchmark Furniture using recycled tulipwood CLT from the off-cuts from the windows and doors from Maggie's Oldham.

American white oak replaces the cold metal, traditionally used for door handles and support rails, that can be harsh on sensitive skin caused by chemotherapy treatment.

Outside, thermally modified American ash decking is covered by the roofs canopy, American tulipwood, to offer shelter for those with light sensitive skin from radiotherapy, without detracting from the tranquil views over the hospitals gardens.