"Maggie's Centres" to exhibit starchitect cancer-care center designs in New York

Founded by the late Maggie Keswick Jencks and her husband Charles Jencks, Maggie's Centres is coming to New York to spread its mission of providing global quality cancer care.

Opening at the New York School of Interior Design (NYSID) Gallery on March 6, the "Maggie's Centres: A Blueprint for Cancer Care" exhibition highlights five cancer-care centers designed by renowned architects Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Piers Gough, Richard Rogers and Steven Holl.

Charles Jencks will host the Opening Reception and a lecture on Thursday, March 6 from 6-8 pm. Other related events include a lecture from Michael Graves and Contemporary Art in Healthcare Environments.

The exhibition will run until April 25, 2014.

"This exhibition will focus in depth on five Centres and demonstrate how each one combines aspects of practical, emotional and social support that are often separate in to a single hybrid building type; a space that is part-hospital, part-church, part-museum, and part-home."

Maggie’s Dundee by Frank Gehry

"Maggie’s Dundee, in Dundee, Scotland, opened in 2003 and is situated adjacent to Ninewells Hospital. It was designed by famed architect Frank Gehry. The white, cottage-like building with a wavy silver roof is modelled on a traditional Scottish “butt n’ ben” dwelling. The garden, designed by landscape architect Arabella Lenox-Boyd, contains a labyrinth design that is an allegory for life: It isn’t a maze, there are no dead ends, but you have to trust you will find a route through, even though often it feels like you are heading in completely the wrong direction."

Maggie’s Gartnavel by Rem Koolhaas, OMA.

"Maggie’s Gartnavel, in Glasgow, Scotland, was designed by Rem Koolhaas and his firm OMA, and opened in 2011. The Centre is nestled among the woodland in the grounds of Gartnavel General Hospital. The striking, single-level building is designed as a sequence of interconnected L-shaped figures that create clearly distinguished areas – an arrangement that minimizes the need for corridors and hallways and allows the rooms to flow from one to another. Lily Jencks, daughter of Maggie Keswick Jencks and Charles Jencks, designed the internal courtyard plantings and the wooded areas surrounding the Centre."

Maggie’s Nottingham by Piers Gough, CZWG Architects

"Maggie’s Nottingham, adjacent to Nottingham City Hospital in England, was designed by Piers Gough and also opened its doors in 2011. The building has an unusual shape and a bright-green exterior, and its near symmetrical design and generous height allows Maggie’s Nottingham to have a sense of space and balance. The interiors were designed by Nottingham-born fashion designer Paul Smith, who created an eclectic interior where colorful prints meet classic design and furniture, and every room has a different feel and atmosphere."

Maggie’s West London by Sir Richard Rogers, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

"Maggie’s West London, which opened in 2008, was designed by Sir Richard Rogers of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. The design was inspired by Richard Roger’s concept of a heart nestled in the protective wrap of a building’s four walls. The bright orange exterior walls carry visitors into an equally uplifting interior with cozy rooms, bright open spaces and transitional walls that provide the flexible space needed to host everything from intimate chats to lively exercise classes. The Centre, on the grounds of Charing Cross Hospital, is situated within a series of courtyards and a garden designed by Dan Pearson."

Images courtesy of NYSID.